Organic Groove at FNCC

Another Acoustic Friday awaits Franco Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) supporters, with Organic Groove this time being the feature stars.

Organic Groove wowed audiences at the 2010 Old Mutual Jazz Encounters, at the Concert in the Courtyard in May this year, and between the dunes next to a fl owing Kuiseb River at Gobabeb’s Open Day in April, to name but a few. Meet Namibia’s sub-culture band, consisting of an eclectic mix of didgeridoo, guitar, bass and percussion. Their original repertoire includes songs of the desert, of love and the long road that lies between.

When an idea, fuelled by passion and pursued with dedication, evolves by its own volition into a free- spirited, creative process, the result is more than the sum total of its parts. For example, Organic Groove: a 5-piece cross-cultural, musical interaction fusing the Australian didgeridoo, the African drum and the European guitar into a harmonic, tangible whole, creating new possibilities for cultural explorations.

From the onset the group, consisting of Gerhard Beyleveld (didgeridoo), Richard Redecker (lead guitar & vocals), Noddy Alfred (African percussion), Jean-Pierre Ntsika (bass) and Guichont Bikoumou (drums) decided not to overconceptualise their material, but rather allow each individual musician and instrument to harmonise and express creativity without dominating the whole. In a word: organic.

The repertoire of the group includes tunes reminiscent of a more aesthetic philosophy, celebrating life for life’s sake, without excluding the realities of everyday challenges. Musical genres easily identifi ed in the spontaneous melodies are African Kwela tunes, American folk-rock and Western Jazz improvisations.

Mark in your diary for Friday 4 November at the FNCC Terrace at 20:00 for 30 bucks.