This year I have been based in beautiful Paris working with the French Slam Artist Abd Al Malik. It has been a great experience so far playing to wonderful crowds, incredible venues, fun out door festivals. And not to mention being completely lost in translation. One does not complain with such a delicious language to the ear. I've started to pick some up and hoping that by the 2nd part of this year with still more dates to come I'll will have a better understanding of the language.
We managed to do one Aronas gig this year. At Ile de La Reunion. Now I have been introduced to some incredible music originating from La Reunion Island, Mauritious & Madagascar. Its a sound solely created from the coming together of various cultures to share inhabitance of islands of paradise in the Indian Ocean. I didn't know much about Creole Culture before this trip. And now I'm completely in love. In recent weeks I've been composing music with the idea to incorporate some of these rhythms. Not far till the first production will be complete.
Listen to the show here!!
ARONAS (Live In The Reunion) by aronottignon
One of the highlights with Malik was Fes Sacred world music festival. It was cool to wake to chanting in the city at 4am, it seems one guys starts up some Arabic, then kilometres away you hear another start, then another. I let these spiritual chants take my mind away and put it at ease with all the troubles happening about in the world. Just to sidetrack a little, with a constant feed via the internet there seems no way avoiding the constant news of disasters both natural and stupid shit caused by man. Its non stop isn't it!
So, right now I'm in Westbourne park rehearsing everynight with Ebony Steel Pan Orchestra. It will my 2nd year performing and competing for the Panorama national Steel pan award thing. The concept is just soooo cool. The rehearsals, the lead up, the competition. An event called Blockorama is where Ebony selects another steel pan group to perform along side, one could call it a battle of some sort. They set up under the westway (motorway) in a basketball type court. Pans smashing out classic hits with a sound system doing the same. Great fun!
The concept with the competition, is each steel pan group (sometimes containing up to 50 musicians per group) will select a new song released by a Soca artist that year. An arranger is selected to turn the Soca track into 10 minute master piece performed just once. Thoughts come to mind of the comparison to Arts or Jazz music. These long pieces are performed by up to 10 bands (roughly) just once! An arrangers composition, built, created in the month of august off the top of his head. There is no manuscript, no real recordings, just our memories of how each piece unfolded for us to keep and reminisce on. Truly a special occasion in the world musically. So moving on, the pan groups packed onto trucks, floats, trailers etc, block the streets of west london in cue for there 10mins in front of the small crowd and judges. Its such an unforgettable atmosphere. You can't beat it! Well I can't, inspiring in so many forms. I feel very lucky to be involved. Musically all the rules and training I had growing are some what left at home. Learn your pan, day by day, learn little by little more of the arrangement, help the others in your section. And give your all.
Album news: Digging tunnels. I'm pleased to say I've given the first version of the album to my Publishers for their summer holidays. It 80% finished. I'm very proud of it and itching to get it out. Just waiting on the news from the company and lets keep our fingers crossed I don't have to sit on it any longer. I've got too much music inside trying to find ways out ; ) they sounds kinda funny...ok, jokes aside. Please show your support and like the Aronas page on facebook. The numbers are important I guess. (not the city or boxer)
So, thats all for now.
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