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MillimeterDream Job: Call of the Drum
Jul 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Kristinha M. Anding
Rootsy Records promotes West African culture at home and abroad through video.
Filmmaker and Rootsy Records Founder Jeremy Chevrier captures video in West Africa using a Sony DCR-TRV103 camcorder.
Jeremy Chevrier says the djembe of Western Africa is called the “unity drum” because the sound of the drum, played at weddings and other ceremonies, brings people together. Through his organization, Rootsy Records, he hopes to make that call of the djembe heard throughout the world.
Chevrier, himself a drummer, founded Rootsy in 1998 as an independent record label offering CDs of traditional djembe music. Eventually, he moved from San Francisco to Bamako, Mali, to pursue djembe study. Falling in love with the people and lifestyle of his adopted country, he decided to promote and preserve not only the sounds of the traditional djembe masters, but also the general culture and tradition of this Western African music. Video, he says, was the perfect medium.
“I post videos online with the intention of making people aware of the music and excited about it because many don't have exposure to traditional djembe drumming,” he says. “If I can generate interest in the music, we'll have more people who want to learn, come to Africa, and pay the teachers. That preserves the music and keeps the culture alive over here also.”
His videos, captured with a Sony DCR-TRV103 and shown on the Rootsy Records website and YouTube, give viewers a glimpse of ceremonies that feature djembe drumming, dancing, and singing. Women take turns performing complex dance moves that perfectly sync to the changing rhythms. Singers call out, and drummers respond. It's all part of a tradition that Chevrier says is in danger of being forgotten as the younger generation turns its attention to the hip-hop videos and ideals of the Western world.
“I hope Africans will see that their culture has value,” Chevrier says. “Many people think Africa's valuable because it has gold or diamonds or petrol. But, actually, the culture itself has a value. I want to try to show that value in some small way by putting these videos out on the Internet and into the public sphere.”
For more information, visit www.rootsyrecords.com.
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