MESSE10: African Music Showcased

US The roots of it all finally get some exposure at Messe 01/04/10

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7:45 mins

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Tucked away amidst the glitzy guitar showcases in Hall 4 was an intriguing stand with the headline banner African Music Trade Fair.

I got chatting with Jan Nintemann who had organised the stand - he runs a company involved with large exhibitions and through his dealings with various aspects of African trade over the past 10 years, has come to the realisation that although African music is arguably the predecessor of most Western popular music, it is woefully under-represented in the current music industry scene.

It's a view shared by several others, notably German Ambassador Walter Lindner, himself a musician, studio owner and Berkeley graduate, who visited the MusikMesse for the first time on Friday morning to lend his support to the cause.

On hand were several musicians from Senegal, showing and performing on instruments manufactured there from local materials, along with European based traders and artisans, keen to promote new links between Africa, Europe, and the music industry in general.

I filmed a short piece with Jan Nintemann, Khalifa Drame, Ibou Badiane and Ambassador Lindner, talking about the reasons behind the African Music Trade Fair, and their hopes for the future.

And by the way, you are all invited to a festival in Senegal this December 8-12 - more details from Khalife Drame in the video; you can find the co-operative mentioned here, and a website from last year's festival:-