The evening opens with Shilpa Anath who blends South Indian tunes with soul, jazz, and electronic influences followed by Balimaya Project who uses the repertoire and instrumentation of the Mandé peoples of Senegal and Mali as the bridge to bring the folkloric West African music together with jazz and the sounds of Black London.
Balimaya Project was formed in 2019 by percussionist Yahael Camara Onono, a second-generation Londoner whose rich West African musical heritage, coupled with his musical experiences in the UK, inspired him to bridge the gap between the diaspora and West Africa.
This group is built on the foundation of forging musical and cultural ties, from a place of integrity, authenticity, and inspiration. Yahael and the majority of the band’s unique position as young UK-born men of African origin gives them a unique insight into what it truly takes to make an ensemble like this work. Their debut album Wolo So was released in July of 2021 and has had a huge impact on the UK music scene and beyond.
Commenting on the concert, The Arts Center Executive Artistic Director Bill Bragin said: “The Arts Center has a deep interest in artists working across musical styles and cultural traditions, which especially reflects the diverse nature of the UAE as well as NYUAD’s diverse community. Both Balimaya Project’s and Shilpa Ananth’s music fits that description – they share an interest in jazz, while mixing it with other styles that reflect their cultural heritage and transnational upbringing.”
Both artists are creating projects which aren’t really fusions, but more a reflection of their own transnational lives. Their music is compelling, original and personal, and feels like a perfect expression of the way we live in the UAE”, Bragin added.
NYUAD’s Director of the Office of Inclusion and Equity Fatiah Touray, will host a talk on March 1 at 6:30pm with Camara Onono, composer, djembe player and bandleader, as well as griot and kora player Jali Bakary Konteh, both part of Balimaya Project, centered on the significance of music, the role of the storyteller (griot) and its social power, and how artists living in diaspora adapt traditional approaches to new contexts.
On March 2 at 6:30pm UAE musicians will also have the opportunity to participate in a workshop titled “Making Music as an Ensemble”. This masterclass will be led by Balimaya Project’s composer, musician, and bandleader Camara Onono and will focus on listening, collective music making, rhythm, and arranging. Local musicians will receive insights on how different musical components work harmoniously within the context of West African jazz.
Balimaya Project
Balimaya Project was formed in 2019 by percussionist Yahael Camara Onono, a second-generation Londoner whose rich West African musical heritage, coupled with his musical experiences in the UK, inspired him to bridge the gap between the diaspora and West Africa.
This group is built on the foundation of forging musical and cultural ties, from a place of integrity, authenticity and inspiration. Yahael and the majority of the band’s unique position as young UK-born men of African origin gives them a unique insight into what it truly takes to make an ensemble like this work, and the results have spoken for themselves! Their debut album Wolo So was released in July of 2021 and has had a huge impact on the UK music scene and beyond.
Balimaya Project has featured on prominent radio shows, playlists and editorials from London and Toronto to Tokyo and Brazil. ‘One of the most important releases this year’ said renowned tastemaker Giles Peterson whilst playing one of the band’s tracks on his BBC 6 show. The band has played on the mainstage at festivals and headlined shows across the UK and Europe, including We Out Here!, Cully Jazz, Nue Jazz,_ Brainchild Fest_, Supersonic Jazz, Cross the Tracks, Thé Barbican, and End Of the Road to name a few.
Since Wolo So’s release, Balimaya Project has been included in other high-profile reviews and has recently been nominated as one of the Albums of the Year in the Africa and Middle East category by the prestigious Songlines Magazine and also won the best newcomer category. Wolo So was cited as one of the top ten global music albums of the year by the Guardian and many other publications.
The bands new project to be released in collaborative partnership between Marathons New Soil and Jazz re:freshed, ‘When the Dust Settles’ is set to raise the bar. The first single released in August 2022 has already got publications like Clash buzzing with anticipation yet, the core values remain the same, the upliftment of Mandé heritage and culture, a safe space for young black men to explore their culture and to create music that will inspire others to delve deeper into what it means to be who you are.
Shilpa Ananth
Shilpa Ananth is an Indian vocalist, songwriter, and performing artist based between the US, and the UAE. With a unique sound that fuses the dreamy landscapes of South India with Soul, Jazz, and Electronic influences, Ananth brings together three of the oldest Indian languages – Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi – with English, creating art that transcends borders and cultures. After graduating with honors from Berklee College of Music, and releasing a successful debut EP ‘Indian Soul’, Ananth has recorded and performed with Grammy award-winning composers, A.R.Rahman, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Whalen, Chandrika Tandon, and Javier Limon’s ‘Original Quartet’. She has also toured extensively with Serbian female vocal group ‘ROSA’, The Berklee Indian Ensemble, Women of the World, and the ‘Bollywood Boulevard’ musical production, performing at several prestigious venues around the US such as Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theatre, NJPAC, Wolf Trap, and The John F. Kennedy Center, to name a few. Shilpa Anath is a featured vocalist on the recently Grammy-nominated album ‘ONA’ by Thana Alexa, as well as an awardee of the title ’Best Independent Artist’ at the Blue Rhymez Entertainment Honorary Awards 2020. She is also a recipient of both the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theatre 2020, as well as the Music Grantee 2020, for the Café Royal Cultural Foundation, New York. Ananth is currently finishing up her second EP of original music titled ‘Reproduction’, set to release in Summer 2023.
For more information visit https://www.nyuad-artscenter.org/.
