Abuja – Lovers of music converged in Abuja on
Saturday/Sunday to join in the celebration of the
annual World Music Day.
The annual World Music Day is celebrated in over
460 cities in 110 countries in the world and was
marked in Abuja with funfair at the French Institute.
The idea of the World Music Day was born in
France, where the first all-night music celebration
marked the beginning of the summer solstice,
which
took place in 1982 in Paris.
Miss Alice O'Reilly, a Cultural Programme Officer
at
the Institute français du Nigeria, said that this
festival has become an international phenomenon
celebrated on the same day World-wide.
"This year's theme is: "Live Music Together' which
aims at a large audience, working to popularise
musical practice for young and old people from all
social backgrounds.
"It gives an opportunity to communicate and share
a very special moment through music "Electronic
Sounds capes Workshop'.
"In 2015, the Alliance française Lagos, the Institut
français du Nigeria and the Goethe-Institut Nigeria
organised a workshop in electronic music aimed at
expanding the artistic range of Nigeria's already
booming music scene.
"The traditional music forms and percussion-
based
style found in its diverse cultural regions.
"The Nigerian music scene has, over time, been
shaped by Western influences from the 50s and
60s
(Highlife and Afrobeats) through the 80s and 90s
(Hip hop and R & B).
"At the turn of the millennium, electronic elements
increasingly came into the various music styles,
which nonetheless retained the traditional rhythmic
structures in the society.
"La Fete de la Musique" is above all a free popular
music celebration that allows the expression of the
styles of music in a cheerful atmosphere,'' she
said.
Mr Adedolapo Aina-Marshall alias Dj sketch, who
performed at the event, said that the event allows
Africans to enjoy dance with a fusion of our African
music and the European electronic music.
"Dance as you know it, came out of Africa, our
ancestors started dancing and this brought about
the dance culture which has evolved to what we
have today.
"Honestly I love the turnout of guests in Abuja, we
didn't expect this much turn up and they made this
World Music Day more fun and beautiful,'' he said.
Disc Jockeys (Dj) Sketch also said that the
popularity of DJs in Nigeria was getting better by
each day.
"We are getting more recognition in Nigeria now
than in the past years, right now everybody wants
to be a DJ.
"We hope that this programme would help boost
the
value of DJ in Nigeria,'' he added.
Oluwakemi Famugbode (Irawo Drumline) also said
that the programme was a success, which started
at printing press Lagos, and the grand finale in
Abuja was a huge success.
Famugbode said the programme was not a walk in
the park, as we encountered numerous problems
such as financial restrictions and lack of electricity
amongst others.
She said they started the preparation for the
programme during the period of the fuel scarcity,
saying that so much money had gone into the
purchase of fuel at the black market rate.
AIso speaking, Bobai Balat alias DJ bally said the
programme turned out better than they expected,
saying, "am really surprised that the audience
turnout was more in Abuja than it was in Lagos.
"I appreciate France who has always been a major
supporter of the African social life and has given
many of us the opportunity to show case our
talents
in music,'' he said.
The electronic music workshop, labelled "Electronic
Soundscapes" was facilitated by three
internationally-renowned producers.
These producers are: Adegboyega Oyedele, (DJ
Afrologic; Nigeria), Marko Fürstenberg (Germany)
and DJ R-Ash (France).
The "Electronic soundscapes" was inspired by the
10 cities Project, which presented an intersection
of
club and electronic music between different
European and African cities.
The workshop was set up within this context and
aimed at fostering artistic interaction among
German, French and Nigerian musicians in the
area
of non-mainstream, independent electronic music.
(Nans) Source: http://www.gidimasters.com/2015/06/world-music-day-celebration-in-abuja.html?m=1

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