Thursday, August 31, 2006
Music in the desert
Today Lenny and I met with Louis Fourie, a South African Namibian who found us through the African Music Collective, and wanted to chat and to see where we can collaborate. His call was one of several in the last week that have caught our attention, and so we met up with a very likeable man, with an infectious laugh, for breakfast at the Mug & Bean.He'’s from the Canyon Nature Park, a 600km farm along a 120 km stretch of the Fish River Canyon in Namibia, where he has some exclusive guest cottages.
He's musician, so he and I got stuck in front of our TV afterwards; me showing him as many inspirational artists' DVD's as time would allow, and him getting goosebumps in all the right places. Little bits of Madala Kunene, Pops Mohamed, Amampondo, Greg Georgiades, and then he took a drive three roads up from us, to the house where he lived some 30 years ago. Small world.
We'’re planning to take a trip up to the park some time in September to talk some more, as we found that there are many ways in which we will be able to work together on some exciting projects. He says it'’s a most magical place, and part of the huge Transfrontier Park that will hopefully eventually span some 19 million hectares, between neighbouring countries - making it the third largest protected area in the world. This area is filled with rock engravings left by the ancestors of the Khoi, from the past 2000 years, and Louis tells me he finds quite a few ancient rock tools the area.
It sounds like a great place to make music.
Peak is moving further into Africa, learning more about the musical delights north of us; meeting fascinating new characters and like minded people who just drop into one's world and open up lots of new ideas in a true spirit of ubuntu.
So here's to meeting, and mixing, and making music! And of course getting to experience a little more Africa's beauty!
