wait for me, attends-moi,

sababou (working title)

Stef Kamil Carlens:One evening, me and Mamadou Diabaté are sitting in front of the Royal Hotel in Bobo-Dioulasso. He tells me that he was born on the 35th day of January. From a very young age, he accompanied his grandfather on the balafon. He is wearing a red cap and has a cigarette between his lips. He has soft, sad eyes and talks in a diffident voice. Earlier today, I was at his house and we played together.
We played a travelling song.

When I come, will you teach me?
Will I learn, will you reach me?

Later that afternoon, we were joined by singer Awa Demé. She’s an impressive lady with bright eyes. Her husky voice resonated loudly through the small dark room. She was wearing a colourful Dutch Wax dress and a red scarf around her head. With outspread arms, she treated us to her own travelling song.

Ani baara faso deh ani baara (So much work, so much effort, children of the motherland!) Ani baara ban kafisa ni djanfaye (Never forget our values, refusal is more honourable than betrayal) Tounkan ka galin maman (The exodus is strenuous, mother) Tounkan ka galin papa (The exodus is strenuous, father) Tounka mandy deh baira (The exodus often has a bitter taste) Tounka ti dia deh baira (Few of us successfully complete the exodus) Tounka gailen de tounka ti dia deh baira

Tounka ti dembe low fo deh youma (Only those worthy will pick the fruits of the exodus) Tounka mandi baira fo kele kele (Only few of us will be chosen for the glory of the exodus) Am be barika bila tounkaranke ye (God bless the children of the exodus)

Her poetry went straight to my heart. My world suddenly became a lot bigger. I became part of a universe of which I only ever suspected the existence. Around us, a group of adults and children was listening. It was a peaceful scene, with one of the men serving tea that he had prepared carefully. What an honour to be here! What an intense, amazing experience!

Zita Swoon is quickly transforming into a collective that is eager to explore new artistic paths. Stef Kamil Carlens and a few other members of Zita Swoon will be traveling to Burkina Faso to work on a new project. They will write songs with griots, West African praise singers and wandering musicians who are considered repositories of oral tradition. Put this together with Stef Kamil Carlens’s roots in American and European blues and you will get a vibrant collaboration! Burkinabé musicians Mamadou Diabaté (balafon) and Awa Démé (vocals) are active in the mandingo genre, traditional West African music that is popular in Gambia, Mali and Burkina Faso. The basis of this new project is improvisation and intuition. By making music together and playing by ear, music and lyrics are naturally created. These are subsequently discussed and reinterpreted so everybody is on the same wavelength. Driven by their shared energy, the musicians then give in to the music once again. 'Wait for me, attends-moi, sababou' is different every day. Musicians from different cultures come together, celebrate the joy of playing together and pay tribute to each other’s work.

Stef Kamil Carlens (guitar, vocals), Kapinga Gysel (vocals), Simon Pleysier (guitar), Amel Serra Garcia (percussion), Karen Willems (drums), Mamadou Diabaté (balafon), Awa Démé (vocals)

Co-produced by WCC Zuiderpershuis vzw and vzw Wolvin, with the support of the Flemish Community

16 October 2010: Some notes about 'Wait for me, attends-moi, sababou'. The journey and the collaboration; an interview with Stef Kamil Carlens by Kurt Van Eeghem.

12 to 15 May 2011: 'Wait for me, attends-moi, sababou' European premiere

collaborations