Festival brings funky, eclectic Afro-Latino music to Nairobi

In an increasingly globalised world, it is hardly surprising to find a meeting of diverse musical cultures.

The annual Sawa Sawa Festival in Nairobi this weekend (June 10, 2012) will provide an opportunity for music enthusiasts to sample the sounds of a group that brings together an eclectic range of influences.

Napalma comprises two percussionists from Brazil, a vocalist from Mozambique and a multi-instrumentalist from South Africa.

Their music is a blend of Brazilian, Latin and African beats with electronic dance grooves to create what they describe as a “multicultural crossover funky Electro Percussive.”

The heritage of Brazilian music has developed unique styles like the lambada, which grew out from salsa and merengue in the 1960s, bossa nova and perhaps the best known of all, the samba.

These genres have gradually been enriched through the incorporation of contemporary rock, reggae and in this case, traditional African beats.

Napalma was founded in February 2004 in Vitoria, the capital of the state of Espirito Santo in Brazil by two percussionists, Cid Travaglia and Rafael Jabah.

Lead singer, Ivo Maia, was born in Mozambique and moved to Brazil to attend university in 1998 where he got immersed into the country’s music through playing in different bands.

In 2004, he met the two Brazilians during the famous Carnival and discovered that despite living thousands of miles away in a different culture, they shared a common love for the fusion of African music with contemporary sounds.

The Portuguese language was also another factor that helped the musicians develop a bond that eventually led to the birth of Napalma.

Initially conceived as a percussion band playing specifically at the Carnival, the group has since evolved to experiment with computers and electronic programming as an addition to the drums, horns and trumpets.

The musicians toured the world for seven years, playing more than 600 shows in concerts and festivals in South Africa, Seychelles, Egypt, the U.K, The Netherlands, before recording their first album. One member of the group famously described them as ‘traveling hippies who shower’.

Their stated aim is traveling to different countries and traversing cross-cultures by making music that people all over the world can dance to.

The group has crossed Africa by car, bus, train and airplane in an attempt to spread their music and to discover new sounds and collaborations.

Having built up anticipation towards their debut album with over 600 gigs in the last seven years, Napalma has only just recently released “Obrigado Crazy Road”.

The title of the album is reference to their hectic touring schedule since 2005 and is a thank you to the crowds that have seen them perform at various concerts: “It is our journey down those crazy roads that we took that is shared, heard and felt on the album,” says Travalgia.

The album was recorded in 13 studios in 3 different countries with 19 producers and the songs are in Portuguese, English, Arabic and the Shangaan language of South Africa.

Along the way, Napalma has worked with different artistes, from the Durban Philharmonic Orchestra, trumpet players in Brazil to the Egyptian band Ressala.

The band has also invited DJs and producers from Spain, USA, Brazil and South Africa, to work on remixes of their songs in a bid to reach a more mainstream audience.

The first of these is a dance club remix of “Vuta Vuta” by a DJ called The Prezident from Togo, which you can hear on the group’s website.

Since 2008, Napalma has also been involved in a Trans Project, creating an Egyptian-Afro-Brazilian fusion through concerts in Cairo, Durban and Mbabane.

A few weeks ago, the band performed at the Bushfire Festival in Swaziland, one of the biggest events in Southern Africa.

The songs that you should listen out for during their performance this weekend (June 10) include “Macumba” the acoustic groove on “Sinha” which was the product of a collaboration with Egyptian band Resala and of course, the infectious “Vuta Vuta”

The Sawa Sawa Festival, organised by Sarakasi Trust, has in the past brought an array of world music stars to Nairobi, including Jamaica’s Burning Spear, Baaba Maal of Senegal, and South Africa’s Hugh Masekela.

Last year, the two-day event was headlined by DRC sensation Fally Ipupa. Compared to these previous acts, Napalma is an unknown entity, but one that comes with a very innovative music style.

If you love the feel of the music this weekend then you may not have to wait as long as seven years for the next album; Napalma now intend to release songs every year.