Blick Bassy – Ngwa

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New Album 1958: https://lnk.to/Blickbassy-1958
Watch the 1958 series: https://bit.ly/2FrHonm
1958 TOUR: https://blickbassy.com/

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1955. People all over Africa are rising up and proclaiming freedom. When a new independence movement blossoms in Cameroon, the reaction of the French colonial administration is swift and brutal. France’s main adversary is a man called Ruben Um Nyobè, a trade union leader, orator, humanist and visionary. A man of his aura, intelligence and courage seems destined to join Nelson Mandela in the hall of African heroes. Instead, he’s hunted down by the colonial army and butchered in 1958, his body buried in concrete to better erase his memory.
For years, the horror of this ‘hidden war’ and the fate of its heroic leader are smothered under a pall of enforced amnesia. Blick Bassy has dedicated his latest album, ‘1958’, to Ruben Um Nyobè and the heroes of the Cameroonian Independence, in the hope of breaking that silence forever and reconnecting the people with their true history.

Tebogo Malope (South African music Awards best music video 2018 with « Spirit ») says « The narrative of this heroic leader Ruben Um Nyobe is one that resonates throughout the continent. A continent still grappling with the legacy of colonialism and the attempts to redress the consequences thereof. The visual approach of the video seeks to be a meditation on our leadership as a continent, what could have been if some hadn’t been massacred, what is? Because of the might of imperial Europe, What should be? And what hope do we have moving forward? This is echoed in the first couple of scenes which resemble the first chapter of Kenya’s renowned Author Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s book Matigari where a freedom fighter is spotted laying down his arms for a supposed prosperous future where bloodshed shall be no more, will he regret the decision? Another visual representation at the end spawns from the images of a lifeless freedom fighter turning into a tree reminiscent of South African political icon Solomon Mahlangu who was killed by the Apartheid government, who’s last words before his death were “My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom.” The song seeks to reconnect the Cameroonian people with their history, the visuals attempt to draw parallels between Cameroonian history and the history of Africa as a whole.»

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À propos du clip, le réalisateur Tebogo Malope explique :
« L’histoire de Ruben Um Nyobé a une résonance sur tout le continent Africain, toujours aux prises avec son héritage post colonial. Que serait-il arrivé si certains leaders de sa trempe n’avaient pas été massacrés ? Quel espoir pour nous d’aller de l’avant ? Je me suis inspiré dans les premières scènes du clip du livre Matigari du célèbre auteur Kenyan Ngugi Wa Thiongo, dans lequel un combattant de la liberté dépose les armes dans l’espoir d’un avenir prospère, sans effusion de sang. Regrettera-t-il sa décision ? A la fin, les images d’un combattant de la liberté sans vie se transformant en arbre rappellent celles de l’icône politique Sud Africaine Solomon Mahlangu, tué par le gouvernement de l’Apartheid et dont les dernières paroles furent : « mon sang nourrira l’arbre qui portera les fruits de la liberté » La chanson de Blick cherche à rétablir le lien entre le peuple camerounais et son histoire. Les images de cette video tentent de faire le parallèle entre l’histoire camerounaise et l’histoire de l’Afrique dans son ensemble.»

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Production Company: The Star Film Co
Director: Tebza
Executive Producer: Ksenija Strydom-Micic
Co-Producers: Nomtha Dano and Mbuyi Makanda
Art Direction and Costume Designer: Tamzyn Botha
DP: Justus de Jager
Post Production: Left Post Production
Editor: Saki “Fokken” Bergh
Colourist: Keno
Post Production: Geppetto’s Workshop
VFX: Gui Felix
Animation: Yolandi Meiring
Final Mix: Louis Enslin

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2019 TOUR

17.05.2019 DORTMUND (DE) KLANGVOKAL Musikfestival Dortmund
01.06.2019 ANGOULEME (FR) Festival Musiques Métisses 2019
09.06.2019 NIJMEGEN (NL) Music Meeting
11.06.2019 LISBOA (PT) Teatro da Trindade
28.06.2019 MONTREAL (CA) Festival Intl de Jazz de Montréal
29.06.2019 VANCOUVER (CA) Vancouver International Jazz Festival
30.06.2019 NYC (US) Summer Stage NYC
03.07.2019 GHENT (BE) Gent Jazz Festival
09.07.2019 LAUSANNE (CH) Festival de la Cité Lausanne
19.07.2019 SALISBURY (UK) Larmer Tree Festival
20.07.2019 LYON (FR) Festival Les Nuits de Fourvière
28.07.2019 AULNOYE AYMERIES (FR) Les Nuits Secrètes
03.08.2019 FLOREFFE (BE) ESPERANZAH!

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