a story of Sahel Sounds (former: not just phones)
Our project „a story of Sahel Sounds“ is a documentary film about Christopher Kirkley who is running Sahel Sounds - a blog and record label which focuses on music out of the Sahel region in West Africa.
We are Tobias Adam, Florian Kläger and Markus Milcke, 3 young filmmakers from Stuttgart, Germany.
We want to follow Chris as a ethno-musicologist and gentlemen explorer - discovering the sounds of the desert, archiving music and making it accesible to everyone.
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Christopher Kirkley is owner and founder of Sahel Sounds and our protagonist.
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The "Saharan Cellphones Compilations" - contemporary pop music from the Sahara desert, where songs are stored on cellphones.
Vol. 2 was collected in Northern Mali in 2010 (since taken over by extremists who’ve banned music on cellphones)
About the Film
Sahel Sounds is the project of Christopher Kirkley, gentleman explorer, music archivist, artist, curator and occasional dj. His work examines contemporary popular music in an evolving technological landscape from the interplay of localized traditions with transglobal influences to new media models of cultural transmission.
Sahel Sounds began as a blog in 2009 to share field recordings of traditional & modern music, and has evolved into a record label.
The blog continues as a documentation of recordings, as well as a platform to explore art, music and adventures out of the Sahel region through nontraditional ethnographic fieldwork.
http://sahelsounds.com
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Mdou Moctar - famous for his autotuned studio sessions, very popular on West African cellphones, released several singles and his first lp on Sahel Sounds.
„Sahel Sounds mastermind Chris Kirkley has maintained a consistent aesthetic throughout the work that he has curated/presented on record, download, blog, installation, gif, etc, and “I Sing the Desert Electric,” the short film Chris released through his Sahel Sounds blog, is no exception. Kirkley describes it as a “window into contemporary performance in Western Sahel,” and the resulting views are both engrossing and thought provoking.“ -Afropop.org
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Amanar - Tuareg guitar from Northern Mali by Kidal’s hometown band.
What we want to show
As we are following the work of Sahel Sounds since the first release „Ishilan N-Tenere - Guitar Music of the Western Sahel“ we are very curious about every record Chris releases.
Listening to all the music he brings us digitally or on vinyl, we thought a documentary film is the missing piece, espacially for western people, who ,only‘ can listen to the music of the artists, without knowing who these artists are, how and where they live, do they have families etc...
A thrilling fact about all the people Christopher is meeting in the Sahel, is their political situation. For example in Northern Mali, where extremists banned all music on cellphones in 2012. Many Malian musicians have to live in exile, without their families and homes, their work is very transitory, and you can't tell how long it is gonna be on air. Christopher's work therefor is truly important as he is archiving and publishing it before it's lost in the dust.
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Here you see smugglers from Agadez, Niger - so called " frauders" - deal in people, anyone wanting to travel to Libya. They make the three day journey from Agadez to Libya directly through the desert, circumventing police checkpoints and borders. Transporting people, smuggled goods, alcohol (illegal in Libya), or drugs. The other, and very interesting thing they bring is - mp3s.
One of these frauders, described by Chris Kirkley in his blog, has a usb key plugged into his stereo.“You have to have music with you, three days, nothing out there…” he says.
Conclusion
Why is a white American middle class guy so addicted to foreign music?
Why does he spend all his money travelling through the desert, getting different diseases, struggling with language problems and cope with politics?
And what is it all about the ,cellphone music‘ scene?
These questions will lead us through our project. Therefore we want to show Christopher, how he travels through the Sahel, meeting his artists and also listen to their stories. The many different ways to discover new music, from the deep dusty archives to field recordings.
We want to travel to the Sahel, follow Chris on a European tour, he has planned with one of his artists - Mdou Moctar, and visit him at home in Portland, Oregon.
What we need is your financial support to make this film possible!
What happens with the money you donate?
The 18k are calculated to cover our travel and accommodation costs, an equipment insurance and to pay a guide in Niger for the shooting. Furthermore to publish the Film on DVD, release the soundtrack on vinyl and print the artwork.
So every little amount of money helps! 1800 people pay 10 euros and we`re up and ready.
You can also help us with contacts, equipment or whatever you have in mind. For everything that could bring us closer to our aim, just write to: sahelmovie@gmail.com.
"not just phones" will be finished and published in spring/summer 2015.
The 3 golden paths to help:
#1 Donate - We have many levels of perks for each euro donated and every euro helps.
#2 Spread the word! - Tell your friends, family, colleagues, everyone about this film.
#3 Social Media - Share our campaign video on Facebook, tweet it, put it on Instagram, share it on your YouTube channels or where you are connected.
Thank you very much!
neopan kollektiv
Florian, Markus & Tobi
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