Frome played host to a group of African Master Drummers from Ghana last month.
The Kakatsitsi Master Drummers have been touring since 1996, and have emerged as one of Africa’s leading traditional drumming groups, with high profile performances at Womad, Shambala, and Glastonbury. They play a wide variety of drums from the Ga, Ewe and Ashanti tribes in Ghana and are renowned for the funky, accessible vibe of their rhythms and the quality of their singing in 3-5 part harmony.
The event was organised by Tanya Sherriff owner of Drum It Up Somerset. “It was such an amazing experience and also a challenge at times,” she said. “Three of the band didn’t get their visas, including David Mbilou, and drums and microphones didn’t get through customs in time. Luckily Frome folk came up trumps and after driving around borrowing mics, we just managed the sound check on time.
”Rook Lane Chapel was alive with around 130 people who were treated to an opening Libation ceremony in which the group called on the spirits of the ancestors, people present and the environment, to summon spiritual strength to the gathering. The group came on playing and singing and moved within the audience until they took their places on the stage. The whole room was dancing; it was like something had touched and moved everyone.
“Frome resident Josh Ponte who went to Gabon for 20 years ago to live with a group of gorillas and knows the forest and land like the back of his hand, came to the event and was invited to talk to the audience. Josh is a specialist in 19th-century central African history, a musical explorer (recording ingenious songs and rhythms) and filmmaker. He was instrumental in starting Gabon’s National Parks, and has also helped the BBC and others produce natural history films like Planet Earth.”
Josh said “I have spent much of the last 20 years working in the rainforest-covered central African nation of Gabon. I’ve known Mbilou for at least half that time. Excited he was coming to Frome for the opening gig with wonder drummers, Kakatsitsi, from Ghana, I bought a ticket for a surprise reunion on my turf. Kakatsitsi delivered an electric set with peaks of spellbinding rhythms set amongst the plateaus of pulses that are the engine of west and central African life. We all started in the well-lit, reserved setting on perfectly aligned chairs, ready to be entertained. By the end, barely a soul was left sitting. The African spirits grabbed our most primal molecules and shook them until they popped and fizzed.
“It was a real Frome community effort putting this gig on, people put up the drummers overnight, made curries, lent mics, helped on the door, and you could feel the community sprit.”
The Kakatsitsi Drummers are on a six-month tour taking in the UK, France and the USA until November.
Steve their manager said “We were so pleased to start our international tour in Frome, such a great community and energy.” Check out their tour dates on www.indigenouspeople.org.uk
If you want to try drumming, Tanya runs a weekly class for adults in Frome on Thursdays 1.30, and has a family friendly Drum Circle – for the Frome Festival on Sunday 7th July 2.30 at Christchurch Hall Park road. Contact her on 07941 248621, info@drumitupsomerset.co.uk, or on fb Drum It Up Somerset.
