After a two years hiatus, during which they traveled around Europe and far beyond, our favorite travellers at heart and music lovers at Hit The Road Music Studio are back!
In 2018, they hit the road from Poland to Morocco in their “magic bus,” a fully equipped caravan with professional studio recording equipment and cameras, to film and record live sessions with local musicians. Since then, they have never stopped hitting the road, recording, producing, and spreading good vibes.
Check out the latest episode of their adventure and let the good music roll…
Today, we delve into the world of West African music with the band Moribaya. Over the past five years of traveling and recording in a van, my life partner Kasia and I took a break from van life and moved to Poland, settling into an apartment to devote time to our personal creativity.
Time to appreciate the adventures, the wonderful endeavours, friendships, and all the good that happened to us. Gratitude is the highest form of prayer and rest is a foundation to work and make projects like Hit The Road Music Studio work.
But fear not as our adventures will continue and new plans are made: I started to write a book on location recording and our Morocco adventures, dedicated to producers and aspiring engineers while Kasia Kreatologia got a place at the University of Olsztyn to study art and painting. On top of that we are working closely with Taman Art Space together to build a Music Production School in Morocco.
s I settled down, I once again felt the urge to connect with musicians beyond mere ‘file sharing’ and remote collaborations. I yearned for the approach to making music that I grew up with in 1999: creating together in one room, united through the power of rhythm and melody. This longing, paired with my engagement with books about West African music and the travel accounts of Dave Kobrenski, drew me closer to the Djembe.
I had an internal barrier to learning percussion and rhythm instruments that I was determined to overcome.
After my 10 Kg Djembe from Mali arrived, I enrolled in a 7-Day West African Percussion workshop in the forest. This workshop was organised by Djembe Masters Paul Grocott and Anika Kaminska, who are some of the best Djembe players in Europe and also teach at the Klick&Drum School in Warsaw, situated within the renowned Culture Palace.
In the middle of the forest at the magnificent and peaceful Wytwornia Cziszy, we played up to 10 hours daily and learned traditional African rhythms on djembe as well as diverse instruments like congas, percussive instruments, dununbas and krins. On top of that, we had African dance and singing workshops together to truly understand the music played in context.
The team dynamic was magical and we had an incredible time – At the beginning, I didn’t even know how to hit that thing and ended up in the last days in the advanced group thanks to the fantastic teaching style and program.
Anika and Paul also toured the world with their band Moribaya and recently released their 3rd studio album called Saba containing traditional African music and their very own compositions and interpretations – the album is running on repeat in our home.
“The rhythm we create with our drums is mesmerising and will take you to another world where you can dance and release your primal energy!” says Anika, inviting you all to experience their Band live.
Moribaya is a multicultural collective with an international composition of artists, enthusiasts, and travellers from Poland, Burkina Faso, Australia, and Ukraine. They were united by their passion for traditional West African music
Bring Africa straight to your living room and check out their music:
Moribaya – Faso Denu live session
Moribaya – Zaouli at Around The Rhythm Festival featuring Thomas Guei
Meet the Band
Paul Grocott is originally from Perth and has traveled the world in search of adventure. He returned as a master and teacher of the djembe, balafon, and dunduns.
Anika Kaminska s the founder and manager of the band, responsible for dance and djembe performances. She specialises in underwater archaeology and holds a deep fascination for diverse cultures worldwide.
The band also contains Noumassa Dembele aka Noums from Burkina Faso. Noums plays the balafon, n’goni, and contributes vocals. He fell in love with Poland and currently resides there.
Karol Kot is a multi-percussionist from Poland who plays the dundun, krin, and bara. She possesses a strong fascination for rhythms from around the world.
On vocals, you have the experienced vocalist Margarita Udovichenko from Ukraine, who also plays the sangban, kenkeni, djabara, and carignan. Margarita is captivated by traditional singing techniques from various cultures globally. Besides Moribaya, she performs with several other bands and leads the Korinia Choir.
I invite you to check them out on social media and consider hiring the band for your next festival – not only for their music but also for the additional value with African Dance and Percussion Workshops they provide to make your festival an unforgettable experience.
This beautiful team is guarantee sunshine, good energy, movement, and high-quality West African music.
(Adrian “Ady” Parzentny – Hit The Road Music Studio)
Moribaya’s Links & Booking Enquiries:
Anika Kamińska
Spotify
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Soundcloud
Photos ©: Ingrid Szajer
– Check out all of Hit The Road Music Studio‘s previous episodes HERE –