Tribute to Koudede
(J’écrit ces paroles avec une tristesse au delà des mots dans mon coeur….) Tu as quitté la scène pour la dernière fois; on peut crier ‘encore’ mais le podium est vide; les haut-parleurs silencieux…. Cette terre est plus triste est plus sombre sans ta préscence, ta douceur, ton sourire, ta gentillesse; le ciel manque une [...]
Gardens in the Desert (Update)
Food and Water security projects in Touareg villages, Timbuktu region See ‘Tombouctou – projects in Touareg villages’ for more images: http://www.placesandseasons.com/2010/05/travel-photograpy/ Note on current situation: Since writing this article, pre-existing difficulties for rural populations in the Timbuktu region have been exacerbated by the current security situation in northern Mali. In April 2012 Touareg rebel group [...]
Festival au Désert, Mali 2010
This article appeared in ‘Canoe Africa’ magazine: http://www.canoeafrica.com/ (‘Mocha’ issue) Day one The familiar storming bass lines of ‘Amassakoul N’ Tenere’ ring out across the sand dunes as Tinariwen take to the stage in full Tuareg robes & shesh[1] headdress… The now legendary poet guitarists are greeted with rapturous excitement by the audience, as their [...]
Festival Gnaoua, Essaouira, Morocco 2010
Full photo coverage of the festival can be found in the ‘Music’ gallery: http://www.placesandseasons.com/2010/05/music-2/ My review of the 2008 Festival Gnaoua can be found here: http://www.placesandseasons.com/2009/05/festival-gnaoua-essaouira-morocco-2008/ © Alice Mutasa 2010 Day One – Thursday 24/06/10 “There’s a real breath of freedom in this music – because no one sings better of liberty than a person [...]
Interview with Amazigh Kateb
At the Festival Gnaoua et Musiques du Monde; Essaouira, Morocco, 2010 © Alice Mutasa 2010 Algerian musician Amazigh Kateb’s ground-breaking band Gnawa Diffusion blazed a trail across North Africa and France for over 15 years, with their highly original blend of Gnaoua, reggae, rap, funk, punk and traditional North African sounds, complemented by Amazigh’s charismatic [...]
Projects in Cuba 2009 + UPDATE 2012
Teatro Miramar, Havana: renovation project This visit to the Teatro Miramar in Havana was commissioned by the ‘Music Fund for Cuba’, to help raise awareness of their fund-raising project for the theatre: http://www.musicfundforcuba.org.uk/pages/1/teatro-miramar-theatre-appeal UPDATE March 2012: I am pleased to be able to announce that thanks to the success of this fund-raising project, the newly-renovated [...]
Festival Gnaoua – Essaouira, Morocco, 2008
© Alice Mutasa 2008 For images from the Gnaoua festival, go to the ‘Music’ gallery…. Day one: 26/06/08 The 11th edition of the ‘Festival Gnaoua’ in Essaouira, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast has exploded into life; every street and square in the Medina reverberates with the infectious beats and rhythms of Gnaoua music, punctuated by the [...]
Saving Paradise (Marine conservation, Belize 2006)
This article appeared in ‘Global Travel Adventure Culture’ magazine in January 2006 Alice Mutasa discovers an unspoilt world among the coral cayes and jungles of southern Belize….. The tiny Cessna plane tilts up off the grassy track that passes for a runway in Belize City airport & heads down the coast, packed with a noisy [...]
