Kontaani Karan troupe - Macclesfield Fair Trade Fortnight gig 10th March 2012
Kontaani means 'HAPPY' in the West African language of Mandinka
We are an eclectic bunch of lovely folk from all walks of life with one common bond - African Drumming!
We don't profess to be authentic 'Djembefola's' but we have a great deal of fun drumming together for pleasure and relaxation. Most of the rhythms we play are based on the traditional music of West Africa which at times we may 'tweak' to fit our ability. That's not to say we don't take our music very seriously!
I started Kontaani in 2010 due to a distinct lack of djembe drumming tuition in the Macclesfield area. Kontaani was born from 4 Langley friends who drummed together on a Sunday afternoon, practising what we had learned during our Thursday sessions with a community group in Leek tutored by David Woolley of Joliba Drum School. We took it in turns to host the Sunday gatherings in our own homes.
We moved to the local village hall after an elderly neighbour said he thought bombs were dropping on Langley!
I have now opened up our drumming group to any like minded person in the area, or beyond, interested in joining us to just simply DRUM.
No experience is necessary. We welcome beginners to advanced players.
If you have your own djembe please bring it along, otherwise let me know in advance to ensure we bring the correct number of drums along on the day.
We charge a small fee for weekly practises to cover the cost of hiring the hall - £5.00 (£3.00 for concessions) which includes refreshments. Bring your own wine and beer if you wish! It's a very laid back evening.
Every few weeks we have a tutored workshop when we invite specialist teachers to come along to train us in new rhythms and techniques.
We currently have 3 levels of training:-
The Kontaani Kumaasi (Kontaani = Happy, Kumaasi = Start) group and the Kontaani Tawuntee (Tawuntee = middle) rehearse together on Wednesday evenings. This class is aimed from complete beginners, people who have a small amount of experience and up to intermediate level.
Please call or email to register your interest to ensure we have enough drums.
Our Kontaani Karan Group (Karan = Study) are our performance troupe. This group train every Thursday evening. The members are already experienced in performing in public and are striving to become a semi-pro troupe. They have been chosen not only for ability and talent, but for complete commitment to Kontaani. This group is now closed to applications.
Kontaani is a non-profit making group and any excess monies are put into an account to pay for new drums, group outings to see other bands or paying for guest tutors.
We played our first public 'gig' as Kontaani on the 11th December 2010 which went down a storm and we recently played the Kings Head in Gurnett (supporting Xbvrs), the Church House Beer Festival, Gawsworth Rotary Club Garden Party, Kings Head Music Festival, Langley Fête, Sutton On Stage, the opening of Cloud 9 Holistic Center, Macclesfield Fair Trade Fortnight and the Jolly Sailor!
We play our own versions of traditional West African Rhythms (amongst others) on traditional West African Drums - mainly djembe, dun dun, sangban, kenkeni and krin.
As Kontaani has become more and more popular we plan to hold regular performances for family and friends to showcase our talents. This ensures all members have the experience of performing to strive towards.
Drumming is emotive, infectious, healing, meditive, good exercise, socially bonding, great fun, uplifting and damn right wonderful! Try it - You might like it, but then again you might just LOVE it!
Find us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KONTAANI
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