KARIBUNI WINDHUND

OTTO LECHNER & WINDHUND ON EAST AFRICA TOUR

Zanzibar – Bagamoyo – Dar es Salaam – Nairobi

29^th June – 19^th July 2010

The exponents of Windhund-Kultur Anne Bennent, Melissa Coleman, Otto Lechner and Karl Ritter are often embarking on cross-border projects – not only in the geographical, but also in the artistic-musical sense. It is especially the inter-linkage of music and poetry that thereby creates a new dimension of artistic expression.

For 2010 the four artists will undertake the exploration of a region that is marked by a particular mix of cultural and musical influences. Over centuries manifold cultures have met and traded along the East coast of Africa, merging into an interesting and colourful mosaic: the Dhow Countries Region expands as far as the monsoon winds have carried the traditional dhow sailing boats across the Indian Ocean.

The spice island Zanzibar with its urban centre Stone Town does not only since Alfred Andersch’s book Zanzibar or the Last Reason stand for the vague desire of Europeans for the island per se. The island was starting point and logistical centre, for the slave traders as well as for European explorations of the Dark Continent – as for the Austrian traveller and diplomat Oscar Baumann. Today the island is not only a tourist attraction, but also an international meeting point of the music and film world.

In Stone Town the Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) is promoting the diversity of music produced on the isles through education and international exchange. DCMA has been inviting the Windhund musicians – Karibuni / welcome – for a start-up  workshop and encounter with local musicians. The result will subsequently be presented in Stone Town and on the mainland, in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. In July 2010 the Zanzibar International Film Festival ZIFF is showcasing a broad spectrum of African and International creative works and offering another platform for encounters and cultural exchange.

Bagamoyo bears a heavy historical legacy, having been the starting and final point of the slave caravans to the East African coast. Bagamoyo literally means “Lay down your heart”- that is: if one hasn’t succeeded to free oneself from the chains of slavery until here then one’s fate is sealed. Today the caravansary is a museum not far from the ruins of German colonial rule. The nearby TaSUBa – Institute for Arts and Culture Bagamoyo - is a vibrant institution where students from Tanzania and neighbouring countries study drama, music, dance, fine arts and multimedia. It also offers a platform for travelling musicians from abroad.

In Arabic Dar es Salaam means promising “house of peace” and as major economic centre of Tanzania and university town it can actually look back on a long period of peaceful development and non-violent changes in government. Here the Alliance Française is not only a gateway to the French language and culture but also offering an urban hot spot for broader cultural exchange.

In Dar es Salaam, the visit of Otto Lechner & Windhund musicians will focus on Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania / CCBRT,  a Tanzanian NGO responding to the needs of people with disabilities in and around town and in the countryside. CCBRT runs a rehabilitation programme including a disability hospital with support by the Austrian NGO Licht für die Welt and Austrian Development Cooperation. For a blind person and committed artist like Otto Lechner it is a matter of special concern to entertain and encourage the clients, caregivers and staff of this institution by a concert in the surrounding residential neighbourhood.

Not without reason the musicians of Windhundkultur expose themselves to the monsoon winds and the so-called Monsoon Culture. Anne Bennent and Karl Ritter are interpreting intriguingly “The Drunken Boat” from Arthur Rimbaud, who once restlessly made it as far as East Africa. The group Windhund have repeatedly engaged with the music world of Africa: in May last year they played together with Siga & Sekembuke, the Zumari Duo from Zanzibar in several places in Austria from Melk to Vienna – and will do so again in May/June from Linzfest 2010 to Graz and Vienna. Together with the Moroccan singer Kadero, Otto Lechner has founded the Vienna Rai Orchestra, which has made the Arabic influenced music of North Africa establish itself in Vienna. Thus also the interest of Windhund in Taarab music, originally the court music of the Sultan of Zanzibar, which meanwhile has become very popular beyond the isles. So the sails are set for an immersion of these exciting encounters.

The Tour will be accompanied by an Austrian journalist who will provide for an audio-visual documentation as well as an online travel diary / blog, which should make the tour accessible to the Austrian and international audience.

Info / Contact:

Peter Kuthan, Linz, Austria peter.kuthan@silverserver.at

Anna Kuthan, Stone Town, Zanzibar, anna.kuthan@gmail.com

www.windhundrecords.com