HOBA HOBA SPIRIT PRACTICE

The other week, I was able to attend a practice of Adil's band, Hoba Hoba Spirit. One of the greatest frustrations of playing drums and being in a band is finding suitable practice space. In urban environments, no doubt, there are few apartments that are capable of hosting jam sessions, as the noise would disturb the neighbors.

Adil told me that a local, wealthy businessman offered to let the band use a building (that was old mattress showroom) free of charge. The support the band gets from the community is fantastic: it is so great to see that Hoba Hoba Spirit’s music is embraced by the locals. As a drummer, that sort of philanthropy makes me smile!

The band was preparing for a show that upcoming weekend in Paris. Although they hadn’t played together for about a month, they still sounded very good. They rehearsed their twenty-four song set list: it was really neat to witness this performance in such an intimate setting. The rhythms of Hoba’s songs are really outstanding: because of the West African influence on their music, many of the beats are in six, rather than four.

Throughout May and June, I will have several opportunities to see Hoba perform live. I am really excited to witness the energy of their live performances.