Music of Sub-Saharan Africa

 My friend introduced me to Pygmy flute music called Hindewhu. While there are several Pygmy groups in sub-saharan Africa, Hindewhu is specific to the BaBenzélé and is performed after a hunt. Their flutes are made from papaya stems. When looking online, I found a lot of tutorials like this one that teach you how to imitate their sound using a bottle. In Hindewhu music, they sing a note which varies in pitch, alternating with blowing into the single note flute. Below, I have shared a video of what that music traditionally sounds like. Modern musicians have incorporated Hindewhu into their music, which is demonstrated here in the song “Watermelon man”. The song starts with the distinct Hindewhu sound and slowly evolves, adding more to the music. 

While I was looking up Hindewhu, I came across music from another pygmy group; Liquindi, practiced by the Baka forest people of Central Africa. Liquindi is water drumming, and it is only performed by women. It is performed by standing in a body of water and striking the water with your hand. It sounds simple but it’s easier said than done. In this video, she describes it as just slapping and clapping(and making a big mess), but if you listen to the video below of Baka women water drumming, you can hear the sound is more complex than just slapping the water. To successfully drum, the person must hit the water in a way that air is trapped in the hands and produces a percussive effect that comes from the sudden change in air pressure of the trapped air. 

I mentioned Jonathan Roxmouth in my initial blog introduction but I used this assignment to dig into his history a little more, particularly in the music he’s made in South Africa.He has won nine awards during his career(so far). Of those awards, four of them are Naledi awards and three are Fleur du Cap awards which are specific to South Africa. He’s written and performed several one man shows in South Africa, but he also co-wrote a musical that, so far, has only ever been produced in South Africa. The show is “Great Balls of Fire”, a musical about Jerry Lee Lewis. Here is a clip from that musical. While Jonathan has performed all over the world, most of his work has been done in South Africa. He also appeared in a hallmark movie that actually took place in South Africa. Funnily enough, he played an American and did his very best American accent or.. Well… he tried. The movie actually incorporates traditional african music in a few spots but, sadly, I can’t link it because you need to pay to view the movie. Jonathan’s recent albums, Phantasm and Swingle Bells also feature South African talent in the orchestra; the Johannesburg Big Band. Unfortunately, the music from these albums is not available on youtube and I’m afraid to upload it for fear of getting a copyright strike so I’m instead sharing a behind the scenes video. The Christine actresses who sang with him on Phantasm came from all over the world but the studio, the band, the chorus, the arrangers; all of that came from South Africa and it’s a truly stunning album. Currently, Jonathan is doing a concert series in South Africa and they’ve done really well despite the pandemic. (It’s a little funny to see photos of him with patrons because he social distances and it looks like he’s just sort of standing awkwardly to the side.) Jonathan has been very influential on South African musical theatre and I’m excited to see what he does in the future.

I have to share this video of a conversation between me and Jonathan last year. There was quite a time difference because he was in South Africa at the time. I am very, very awkward in the video but meeting your idol is hard. This was still one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in my life so I have to share it.