CORDOVA THE CRAFTSMAN

One muggy afternoon, I found myself on Calle Obispo, a rather busy street in Central Havana. As I was walking leisurely, ice-cream cone in hand, I stumbled upon a music shop, Longina Música, that sold both records and instruments.

As I entered the store, I immediately saw a series of ornately crafted drums. These drums could easily be mistaken for sculptures: one drum depicted a little man whose head was the top of the drum, another drum was of a screaming face, and another had complex lattice of woodwork around the body of the drum. It is too difficult to describe phenomenal details of these drums; I would recommend scrolling down to the bottom of this entry to see the photographs.

The master behind these ingenious creations is Eduardo Cordova Reyes, a native of Havana. From an early age, Mr. Cordova studied music, most specifically drums and percussion. At some point in his late teens, he became interested in wood crafting; and eventually, he fused his two passions, and began crafting drums and percussion instruments.

Most interestingly, Mr. Cordova uses his dreams as inspirations for the visual blueprints of his instruments. Through an academic lens, this concept is pretty fascinating to think about; nonetheless, after viewing some of Mr. Cordova’s drums, it all makes perfect sense. His most famous drum is entitled, “El Tambor de las Siete Bocas” (“The Drum With Seven Mouths”) – not the most creative of titles, but the fact that his drums even have names underscores the notion that his drums actually are more artistic than practical. As the name indicates, the drum has seven different faces; and actually, there are seven different (drum) heads on the instrument, so the player can play on any of the seven heads.

Over the course of this past year, I have encountered some amazing drums; and with that in mind, I can firmly assert that Mr. Cordova’s creations have the most intricate craftsmanship I have seen. The drums are more akin to artistic sculptures than musical instruments: he truly has crafted some very special instruments. According to the music shop owner, Mr. Cordova has won several international awards for his craftsmanship.

Much to my dismay, Mr. Cordova was out of town – at a workshop in Italy. I was able to chat with the music shop owners about Mr. Cordova's work, so I was able to learn a bunch about him. A couple years back, a Cuban magazine called Tropicana Internacional, published a pretty extensive interview with him; and somewhat ironically, the article was entitled, “Cordova: el arte del tambor” (or, in English, “Cordoba: The Art of the Drum”).

If you would like to learn more about Mr. Cordova’s drums, definitely check out his MySpace account, http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=102788605, or you can read this article about his life, http://www.archivocubano.org/ravelo.html. Just a heads up, the latter is only in Spanish…

Sadly, I was unable to purchase a drum, as I was weary of bringing back anything from Cuba to the States. That said, I was blown away by what I saw, and those memories are enough for me…

Longina Música is located on Calle Obispo No. 360, between Calle Habana and Calle Compostela.

¡CUBA, SÍ!

After my brief stay in London, I flew to Havana, Cuba, for the final leg of my Bristol Fellowship. On the plane ride back to my usual hemisphere, it was hard to believe that my year of research was almost complete.

Like my transition from Japan to India, at first, I had a bit of difficulty adjusting to life in Cuba. Simply put, I had had such a positive experience in Morocco – both in terms of my research and my social life – that I actually did not want to leave Morocco at all! Either way, after a restless flight, I found myself in downtown Havana.

Truth be told, I am not in love with Havana. While the city is aesthetically pleasing, there is so much hustle in Havana that it can be quiet a hassle to walk the streets alone. Needless to say, it is a fascinating city in itself; it truly is like stepping into a time capsule, as the majority of the cars are from before 1959 (not to mention most of the buildings look like they have not been restored for five or six decades).

Access to the internet in Cuba is limited, at best, making it impossible to update my website while I was in the country. Furthermore, as a citizen of the United States, my visit to Cuba was, technically, illegal; so I did not want to attract any unwanted attention.

Over the forthcoming days, I will post more on my musical experiences on the island. Without a doubt, I attended some incredible shows; I can boldly assert that Cuban rhythms are the most enjoyable in the world. Videos and (more) photographs to come…

RADIOHEAD IN LONDON

Just hours after the post-party for L’Boulevard Festival ended, I flew from Casablanca to London – in a not-so-direct manner, as I had a layover in Rome. I spent three days in London, in order to gather the proper documentation to enter Cuba. (Actually, the gap between the flights turned out to be essential, as my bag was lost by the airline!)

Coincidentally, Radiohead, one of my all time favorite bands, was in town, playing two shows in Victoria Park; and naturally, I attended both concerts. I actually got a free ticket to the second show; perhaps I just have very good music-karma.

While these experiences had nothing to do with the fellowship per se, Radiohead’s drummer, Phil Selway, has always been at the forefront of pushing the creative envelope for drums and percussion. Phil is best known for his integration of acoustic and electronic drums. Furthermore, unlike many popular rock drums, Phil often employs odd time signatures to his beats.

Both shows were outstanding – I have no doubts that Radiohead are one of the best live bands out there, if not the best. The highlight of both shows came during “Bangers & Mash,” as Thom Yorke, the lead singer, played drums on an auxiliary kit and sang. Most definitely, the prospect of two drummers on one song makes me smile.

And, might I add, Thom has some serious chops! Enjoy the photographs.

L'BOULEVARD FESTIVAL: CASABLANCA

Over the past few years, L’Boulevard Festival in Casablanca has emerged as one of the premier festivals to showcase popular Moroccan rock, reggae and hip hop acts. Like so many other festivals throughout Morocco, the festival was extremely well organized and the promoters demonstrated a profound level of professionalism.

The festival ran from Wednesday, June 18th through Sunday, the 22nd: I was only able to attend two nights, Thursday and Sunday, as I wanted to attend the Maroc Hit Parade in Rabat on the 21st. (This just goes to show how many festivals there are in Morocco; many festivals overlap one another).

On Thursday, I attended a performance by H-Kayne, probably the most popular hip-hop act in Morocco. It was definitely a fun show, although, as a drummer, I always am a little jaded while watching a concert that does not have a live drummer. As they say, “Drum machines don’t have souls.”

Sunday was the biggest day of the festival, anyway, with performances by Darga, Barry, Band of Gnawa, and of course, Hoba Hoba Spirit. The whole afternoon and evening was a blast. Hoba’s performance was incredible: it was the hometown show for the band, so there was an even higher level of energy than normal. Because I was leaving Morocco the next morning, it also was the last Hoba Hoba Spirit concert I attended, making it a very special experience for me.

Throughout the course of this year, I have been exposed to many new wonderful musicians. Without a doubt, I have seen more talent in Morocco than any of the other countries I have conducted the research in.

When friends ask me, “What is Moroccan music like?” I cannot help but roll my eyes. Moroccan music is absurdly diverse: because North Africa is teeming with so many different cultural influences, the music of Morocco cannot be easily categorized. But, to answer that nagging question, Moroccan music can sound like traditional Arabian music or classical Berber music or classical Andalusian (Spanish) music or typical French music or tribal West African music…or, it can sound like a hybrid of all, or some, of those influences!

Because contemporary artists have such a deep musical pool to draw from, bands like Hoba Hoba Spirit and Darga emerge with a very unique, but very grounded, sound. I think it is so neat how modern bands employ traditional elements.

To think of the evolution of Moroccan music, it is so incredible to remember that a genre of music, like gnaoua, originated as the music of West African slaves brought to Morocco. The rhythms of gnaoua can be heard in the music of Hoba Hoba Spirit. These same rhythms even constitute the backbone of blues music. Very, very cool, indeed…

In terms of my personal experience in Morocco, I have only the fondest memories of country. I would highly recommend anyone and everyone to travel to Morocco; it is one of the most fascinating, and beautiful, corners of the world. If you are a music aficionado, definitely visit Morocco anytime from the middle of May to early July, as there are a plethora of festivals. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the “music season” in Morocco is that almost all of the performances are free: it is so commendable that the King and other private institutions have financed so many great festivals.

Lastly, I must say a big, BIG thank you to Amine Chabi and Adil Hanine for all their help. I could write a list of a hundred names of individuals that assisted me throughout my field research, a testament to the tremendous level of hospitality throughout the country…

Apologies for the delays on the website; more to come on my adventures in Cuba. Stay tuned…