Abuja – Lovers of
music converged in Abuja on Saturday/Sunday to join in the celebration of the
annual World Music Day.
The annual World Music
Day is celebrated in over 460 cities in 110 countries in the world and was
marked in Abuja with funfair at the French Institute.
The idea of the World
Music Day was born in France, where the first all-night music celebration
marked the beginning of the summer solstice, which took place in 1982 in Paris.
Miss Alice O’Reilly, a
Cultural Programme Officer at the Institute français du Nigeria, said that this
festival has become an international phenomenon celebrated on the same day
World-wide.
“This year’s theme is: “Live
Music Together’ which aims at a large audience, working to popularize musical
practice for young and old people from all social backgrounds.
“It gives an
opportunity to communicate and share a very special moment through music “Electronic
Sounds capes Workshop’.
“In 2015, the Alliance
française Lagos, the
Institut français du Nigeria and the Goethe-Institut
Nigeria organised a workshop in electronic music aimed at expanding the
artistic range of Nigeria’s already booming music scene.
“The traditional music
forms and percussion-based style found in its diverse cultural regions.
“The Nigerian music
scene has, over time, been shaped by Western influences from the 50s and 60s
(High life and Afrobeats) through the 80s and 90s (Hip hop and R & B).
“At the turn of the
millennium, electronic elements increasingly came into the various music
styles, which nonetheless retained the traditional rhythmic structures in the
society.
“La Fete de la
Musique” is above all a free popular music celebration that allows the
expression of the styles of music in a cheerful atmosphere,’’ she said.
Mr Adedolapo
Aina-Marshall alias Dj sketch, who performed at the event, said that the event
allows Africans to enjoy dance with a fusion of our African music and the
European electronic music.
“Dance as you know it,
came out of Africa, our ancestors started dancing and this brought about the
dance culture which has evolved to what we have today.
“Honestly I love the
turnout of guests in Abuja, we didn’t expect this much turn up and they made
this World Music Day more fun and beautiful,’’ he said.
Disc Jockeys (Dj)
Sketch also said that the popularity of DJs in Nigeria was getting better by
each day.
“We are getting more
recognition in Nigeria now than in the past years, right now everybody wants to
be a DJ.
“We hope that this
programme would help boost the value of DJ in Nigeria,’’ he added.
Oluwakemi Famugbode
(Irawo Drumline) also said that the programme was a success, which started at
printing press Lagos, and the grand finale in Abuja was a huge success.
Famugbode said the
programme was not a walk in the park, as we encountered numerous problems such
as financial restrictions and lack of electricity amongst others.
She said they started
the preparation for the programme during the period of the fuel scarcity,
saying that so much money had gone into the purchase of fuel at the black
market rate.
AIso speaking, Bobai
Balat alias DJ bally said the programme turned out better than they expected,
saying, “am really surprised that the audience turnout was more in Abuja than
it was in Lagos.
“I appreciate France
who has always been a major supporter of the African social life and has given
many of us the opportunity to show case our talents in music,’’ he said.
The electronic music
workshop, labelled “Electronic Soundscapes” was facilitated by three
internationally-renowned producers.
These producers are:
Adegboyega Oyedele, (DJ Afrologic; Nigeria), Marko Fürstenberg (Germany) and DJ
R-Ash (France).
The “Electronic
soundscapes” was inspired by the 10 cities Project, which presented an
intersection of club and electronic music between different European and
African cities.
The workshop was set
up within this context and aimed at fostering artistic interaction among
German, French and Nigerian musicians in the area of non-mainstream,
independent electronic music. (NAN)
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