This was going to be our last day with Simon and so it was important to capture as much visually interesting content as possible, we certainty were not let down.
It must have been around 9 O’clock in the evening when we pulled up to Paulion’s house. Meeting anyone with Ras Korby is like being with old comrades that have not seen each other for years. As we approached the house we saw a few figures sitting out on the street. Paulino is playing the guitar and his friends and family are sitting around him. Paulino is blind and greets us warmly. There is another musician with Paulino, Kazito. They are both singers and guitarists, and straight away we start to talk about why we have come to meet with them.
When all was agreed we started to record, these musicians have around 60 years combined experience between them and they have experienced plenty of changes in there careers. Paulino tells us that he has recorded 7 albums and is still very poor. This is a resounding truth that we have come to experience in our stay in Juba. There is no copyright structure in South Sudan and although the ministries are working hard to bring one in, its hard to think how this will make much difference as piracy is as much a part of life as any of the other established industries here, no real difference back in the UK then.
Both Paulino play and sing beautifully, and again with the backdrop of cricket and generators we have a lovely recording to finish off the main leg of our trip.
Day 4 got off to a slower start in comparison. We tried to get some money from an ATM, you know that straight forward process that happens in the majority of the world. We just presumed that we could do this, but we were horribly wrong. After spending an hour or so trying to get our cards back after the machine swallowed them we headed back to Ras Korby’s. That morning before the ATM saga, Simon and I went to look for suitable filming locations and found this great backdrop for our next artist.
Laul is an American born South Sudanese rapper. We interviewed him first because of his passion and love for his country. This guy has a fantastic flow, we recorded him free styling and the contrast to the previous sessions was enjoyed by all.
We are woken in the morning with the sound of drums and passionate singing and after a coffee Ras Korby takes us just around the corner from his house to meet Martin Ogok who leads the Ategulwak cultural group. This group contains a wide range of ages where the majority play the Calabash, an instrument that is played using a metal brush and produces a very loud sound. The perfect complement for the plethora of drums and vocals.
After this we head to Da Vinci to meet with a singer called Ras Jimmy and Ras Doka along with a few others for some ‘by the Nile’ filming. We recorded a singer called Peter Garrang and after he was done we told us about the significant part music played in the freedom battle for South Sudan and why music will still be as important to solidify its new national identity.
Day two, we hit the ground running by traveling to rural Juba. On our way to the location we picked up a guitar from a friends of Ras Korby’s house. A young chap gets into the car with us who goes by the name Mayen, after an interview out side him house we set off up to the hills of the Juba suburb.
Mayen can really play, and after a few disagreements about the tuning of the guitar he reels off two of his own songs. We recorded him on a hillside, which provided a wonderful backdrop for our filmmaker Simon Dempsey.
Our next recording takes place back in the centre of Juba, close to the ministry of culture. The group is called Ourpaap and they consist of zilaphone, drums, vocals and traditional dancing. They perform with memorising synchronisation and with their traditional dress this proves to be powerful experience, one that will not be easily forgotten.
To finish the day off we travel to Ras Korby’s, One Love Studio where we meet Sister Cilana who plays the Adungu, a one-string instrument whose pitch is altered only by the players chin. Ras Korby and Cilana begin to reminisce about the struggle of artistic freedom throughout the war and dream about the future of cultural development. Cilina sings and plays with inspiring perfection, you warm to her from the outset and you find yourself caught up in her performance and it’s the perfect end to a moving day.
After finally gaining entrance to the country we were met at the airport by our friend Original Ras Korby, he’s our artist friend, fixer and president of the Musicians Union. It’s apparent from the moment we set off into the town that Korby holds respect from both his peers and government friends.
It seems like at every corner another bystander shouts his name. We are then let into Logali House, where all the media types and government officials, UN affiliate etc. hang out.
We are then taken to Da Vinci, an up market hang out on the Nile where it seems like the other half of the government officials are, again Korby is welcomed with open arms.
The day progresses with more meetings of which the most important was a meeting with the minister of cultures office, where we talk over the project and devise a plan to move forward.
Before we even get into the country, our journey into South Sudan is met with difficulties. It seems that departments and officials are not interested in making it easy for foreigners to get into the country. The whole visa saga is managed by unhelpful jobsworths and cold difficult clerks who are more interested in shrouding the whole process in uncertainty and unpredictability than helping to encourage foreigners into the country. Phoning to get answers before you fork out for an uncertain trip to the county is a big no no. If you do get through the phones are put down on the (wanting to get stuff sorted first) foreigner. And then on arrival important info unobtainable from websites or incomplete phone calls becomes all too apparent. After completing the visa application process you’re told in no uncertain terms to come back in 3 days. Then those of us who come back the next day on the off chance, are presented with a completed Visa! O well, so here we go…
So tomorrow we fly to Nairobi to pick up Visas for our entry to South Sudan. Fingers crossed this should only take a day, but apparently it can take anything up to 3 days.
But for now it’s time for coffee on our last day in Rwanda, cheers!
I’m writing this first post whilst in Rwanda on the first leg of a trip across East Africa on our musical project. I’m here in Rwanda for 10 days and then fly to Kenya to pick up a visa in preparation for our big project in Juba capital of South Sudan.
When I think about the trip and the project we’re about to embark on, I’m filled with excitement and the anticipation of the unknown.
Only just this morning the film maker who’s partnered with SoundThread for this trip, Simon Dempseey emailed me a link to reports from the BBC website warning British travelers about an “imminent terrorist attack in Kenya”, we need to go to Kenya to pick up our Visas to enter into South Sudan.
What also makes this news all the more poignant is that we were contemplating driving up a significant amount of studio equipment from Nairobi to Juba in South Sudan. This road trip would take us over a border that is reputed to be very difficult to cross.
This equipment is from the recent decommissioning of the BBC Oxford road building. I have been pursing several contacts at the Beeb for some time now. This endeavour massively paid off just before Christmas when we managed to walk away with enough equipment to start 4 or 5 studios in the developing world. So here we are with this equipment, itemised and waiting for shipment over to South Sudan and Cape Town. See the video below….
The equipment is currently being held in my small house in Old Trafford, Manchester. We have been put in contact with a company who is trying to sort the logistics of shipping it to where it needs to go in Africa.
