ADVENTURES IN NIAMEY (DAY 5 AND BACK IN BRUSSELS)

Armand The Tailor, Bruno Dj Cool Coulibaly (Burkina Faso), Big Ismael The Fixer, Dj Rim K (Senegal)

So, there it is. Everything has to come to an end. This trip obviously had to come to an end. So I'm back in Brussels after a messy journey where my bag got lost between Casablanca, Niamey and Brussels. And I got stuck in Paris for a night due to the curfew in Ouagadougou (but that's another story). Alister G and Jean-Luc, the guys from Togo, had to leave on monday morning. And hit a 24h bustrip to Lome. In total, they were something like 50 hours on the bus. All this for a show that lasted approximately 14 minutes and 47 seconds. Frustrating !
Monday, we had a very nice day of shopping, the crate digging session didn't happen because I forgot my portable turntable. I planned to go back to the spot the next day then realized there would not be a next day because I had to come back home. So, Nicole organised a big meal. Karim brought his decks and we gave a worshop for 5 very enthusiastic kids. To see them with stars in their eyes was the reward for the rest.

Jean-Luc, Rim K, Philippe, Jean-Marc, Nicole, Alister G, Bruno Dj Cool

So, there you go ... Good times ! Hope we all see each other again next year. Until then, whatever you do, do it good !

Les Roniers by night



Shout out and massive thanks for the wonderful times in general to : Nicole, Jean-Marc, Philippe, Ismael The Fixer, Bruno, Karim, Alister, Jean-Luc, Hotel Les Roniers, Docteur Plume, Jacques Le Rebelle, Cyriac, les kids (Lucas, Tayane, Lanna, Mathilde, Kylian, Nazim, Kali, Kezia), the mangos, the Flag beer, the marvelous sun, the laterite, the Niger River. Hope to find you all in shape, laughs and smiles somewhere next year.

ADVENTURES IN NIAMEY (DAYS 3 & 4 )

So ... Where to start ? First, of all, let me introduce to you my excellent friend the mango tree ... Spent this afternoon in his company and under his shadow. Here, you might, like me, redefine the term "heat". So, the mango tree was more than welcome. Nicole and her friends (festival crew, families, kids) invited us to their refuge on weekends. We had a barbecue along the Niger River (20km away from Niamey), we swam less then 100 meters from Hippos (kinda scary actually).

The festival was a mess. So, no spins, no workshops. But very nice encounters. That's the most important ! We got to play approximately 20 minutes per head, thanks to DJ Rim K from Dakar who brought turnatbles. Not cd ! Turntables ! In Africa. Where, except for Dakar (where people still play and by wax). So, as the guys had cd's, they couldn't compete. And anyway, there were not enough conpetitors. 5 out of eight never showed up. Bummer ! Dj Cool from Burkina Faso did his thing after a 5 minutes explanation about Serato. And smashed it.

Boubey on the mangotree.

Yesterday night, after the mess, we went out in a club right along the River. Beautiful place. Like Waow ! Horrible soundsystem. We heard lots of coupé-decallé, international hits like Stromae or Black Eyed Peas, and even Gabber Techno. Some girls were stunningly gorgeous. But a gorgeous bounty hunter is still is a bounty hunter. So, take some distance ! As I said, "Flag" is an old friend of mine. We had to celebrate our second meeting.

Tomorrow, I'm playing my "Voodoo Kwak" in the dustbins in Niamey. Crate digging !

Shout out to Big Ismael, the perfect fixer.

ADVENTURES IN NIAMEY (DAY 1)

So, here am I. At Casablanca Airport, waiting for my correspondance to Niamey, drinking mint tea and watching the Clasico Barça - Real Madrid.

It all started the sunday before last when I got that phonecall from Niamey : "We're happy to invite you to come here and give workshops to 12 West African Dj's". I laughed at first. And I'm pretty sure that, out of 12, at least 8 are technically better than I am. But anyway, I never refused such an experience. I love sharing my knowledge. I love meeting new faces. I love discovering music I don't know. And most of all, I love West Africa. Here is an offer I couldn't refuse !

After all the hustle related to travelling (Visa, Vaccines, etc), I'm now hitting the road leading to one of the hottest places in Africa, at the crossroads of the Sahara Desert and the entrance to Central Africa. I was told the temperatures are above the 50° Celsius. Which is verified. 47 degrees yesterday and in the shadow. The body needs liquid. May it be beer or water. The local beer is quite good. There are 2 brands that I tried. Niger Beer and Flag (an old friend of mine from my days in Burkina Faso).

What never fail to amaze me in these countries in the colour of the soil. A plain beautiful "ocre" colour. The streets are very crowded. Niamey has 1.2 million inhabitants. More than 90% of them are muslim, the rest shares between animists and christians.

I met one of the dj's yesterday, called Bruno Coulibaly and hailing from Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso. Seems like a nice guy. This morning, we were on national television, promoting the Festival accompagnied by Nicole, our hostess. The rest of the guys should be arriving today. Coming from all over the region : Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Mali. the aim of my presence here is to be jury for a DMC style competition in between those cats.

We sleep in a beautiful hotel called Les Roniers (named after the huge trees shown in the next picture).

My room is a bungalow, not far from the River Niger; the pool is surrounded by magnificent trees and a beautiful garden.

Allow me to go and try it out.

More to come.

Peace.