I met them at their home ground at the Kuisebmond Secondary School where they were in the process of reconstructing their instruments after transporting them home from Germany. The group had just returned last weekend from an international tour with where they had teamedup with a few of the local choirs. But their willingness to meet me and answer my questions was admirable after such a return, and very helpful as well! They played some of their songs for me, we jammed a bit, and they were more than willing to answer the strangest questions that I threw at them.
In general, the marimba culture here can be described as similar to that of Cape Town. This actually makes a lot of sense as it was initially church-sponsorship that brought the keyboards to these communities, as opposed to the groups in Botswana and Swaziland (I think) who obtained their marimba traditions through Zimbabwean immigrants. The "Namibian style" is a very powerful, upbeat method of playing the marimba with much syncopation and a strong influence from caribbean and jazz music. However, this is second-hand knowledge that you are receiving from me, because the Namib Marimbas are advocates of a more laid-back calypso/blues style. In many ways they are echoing the priorities of other groups from around Cape Town with emphasis on flexibility and player development. In some ways I feel that they misunderstood my question when I asked about student compositions, but the players do improvise variations around the parts they are shown and can even improvise acceptable melodies and chordal rhythms. For the most part, the music is loosely structured around a bass rhythm and a chord base, with at least one player playing a simple melody with improv included. The wonderful part about this is its flexibility for each player to reach his or her potential without being either held back or pushed too fast.
The students that I met were all male, although they assure me that the group is at least half female. It was interesting to talk with them about their experiences playing marimba because they came to it independently and in different ways. Some had connections through family, others through friends, but all were required to keep up good marks in their school subjects and all had a good sense of rhythm. Some would improvise freely, while others stuck to the part they were shown most of the time. Most of the music that they play is composed by their group leader and it is quite strongly influenced by jazz and blues. The music doesn't exactly swing, but it has a sort of laid back jazz quartet style to it that is undeniable. The rest of their music seems to be somewhat traditional or popular songs from South Africa and Namibia. But the music was also indicative of the personalities in the group--they seemed very laid back in general. This is a very different style of marimba player than you'll find in many other places!
Kuisebmond is a stunning example of a school that has taken a lesser-used activity, in this case music in the form of marimba, and used the limited resources available to create a dynamic community that is helping themselves. The marimba players play for all sorts of performances that bring in money--which goes to their books, school fees, tour costs, etc. I was surprised at the extent of Namib Marimbas' travel history and performance record given the limited resources available to them. That's another reason that I find them admirable... they're really using what they have to their best advantage.Anyhow, a big thanks to the group for allowing me the chance to see what they do!
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