Band biography - Members biography - How it all began

THE BIRTH OF BAKA BEYOND AND BAKA GBINE

Click here for the Baka Beyond 2006 Press Release

Baka Beyond was founded 14 years ago when British musicians Martin Cradick and Su Hart visited the Baka tribal people of the Cameroon forests after seeing a TV documentary.

So inspired were they by the magical rhythms and melodies of the Baka people, that they recorded an album “Spirit of the Forest” under the name Baka Beyond which pushed them into worldwide recognition.  Since then, the band has evolved into a multicultural, dynamic live stage show with album sales of over a quarter of a million copies and their sixth album, “Rhythm Tree” released in March last year.

They have played at WOMAD in the UK, USA and Czech Republic and on the Jazz Stage at Glastonbury; Musica Mondial in Sao Paulo, Brazil and many more festivals in the UK, USA, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal as well as headlining the Vancouver Folk-Roots Festival.  Their tracks are often heard on TV soundtracks, particularly in nature programmes on BBC and Channel 4 and have been nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music listeners awards.

“It was the amazing bird-like singing or ‘yelli’ that first attracted me,” says Su Hart, Baka Beyond’s lead singer.  “The women get together before the dawn to sing, enchant the animals of the forest and ensure that the men’s hunting will be successful.  Song and dance are used by the Baka for healing, for rituals, for keeping the community together and also for pure fun! We try to do the same in Baka Beyond.”

Baka Gbine was formed as a result of the ongoing relationship with Martin and Su. On each visit to the Baka’s forest home, they took another guitar and on each visit more people had learned to play really well.  “I was astounded at how proficient so many people had become,” said Martin, Baka Beyond’s guitarist, “I think it’s because to survive in the rainforest you have to learn to listen, whereas almost everywhere else our brains learn to filter out sound.  Being a musician is 90% about listening which is why the Baka are so phenomenally musical and can pick up new instruments so quickly.”

By 2000 they had formed their own band and were being invited to play at local feasts, weddings and funerals in the Cameroon.  After recording their album “Gati Bongo” they decided upon the name “Baka Gbiné” (Gbine translated means ‘help’).

The band includes guitarists Pelembir, Mbeh and Zow, percussionist Masekou, two women – Ybunga and Lekeweh – who will bring the phenomenal ‘yelli’ singing to the concerts, and traditional musician and ieta master, Metouli, who can have all his Baka audience rolling around in hysterics as he sings the traditional “likano” stories.

GIVING BACK TO THE BAKA

Baka Beyond is one of the few groups who ensure that they put as much back into the culture that inspires their music as they take out.  Royalties earned by the sale of the albums are channelled back to the Baka Pygmies through the UK based charity Global Music Exchange – or as the Baka call it, One Heart.  This ongoing relationship with the Baka community has helped them to win land rights and recognition as Cameroonian citizens as well as the funding of their own medical centre and a beautiful Music House.  These steps all help to protect the Baka’s culture, forest environment and unique hunter-gatherer way of life.

“We now feel very much part of the family,” says Martin.  “Since we keep returning, they have seen positive changes to their lives as a result of the money they have earned with their own music.  A great sense of trust has built up, and they are very keen for us to spread their music and rhythms as far as possible.”

Martin has also used these journeys to experiment with different recording systems to capture the true spirit of their music against the natural backdrop of the rainforest.

“The original idea of ‘Spirit of the Forest’ was to recreate the mood of the music sessions that take place many afternoons and most evenings in the forest,” says Martin.  “However none of the recordings really touches the raw energy that is present in the forest where everyone, young and old, would be taking part.  It just isn’t possible in Britain to find the same atmosphere, especially in a studio.”
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The building of the Music House has created a more permanent base in the rainforest, which has opened up many more possibilities for recording.  In Jan 2004, Martin took a solar panel, battery and a multi track system out with him so that the Baka’s music could be captured live – and the result is the stunning ‘Gati Bongo’ album.

WHO ARE THE BAKA PYGMIES?

For the Baka, the forest is mother, father and guardian and music is an intrinsic part of their lives. They have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the forest and its products, including the healing power of the plants and as such have become guardians of this huge natural pharmacy.

For others, including the international logging companies, it is a resource to be exploited and the Baka are being unceremoniously pushed out as part of this conflict of interests.  Baka culture is totally dependent on their continued unrestricted access to the rainforest and it seems a travesty that the Baka, one of the few remaining peoples living a truly ancient life, in touch with nature and their planet which they revere, are being squeezed out of their ancient forests and denied their lifestyle.