The Blindnote project is a co-operation between Muziekpublique, the NGO Light for the world, and some of the leading musicians of the Belgian world music scene.
The Blindnote musicians:
Karim Baggili (Belgium): guitar, oud, violin, bass, vocals
Malick Pathe Sow (Senegal/Be): hoddu, guitar, calabash, vocals
Talike (Madagscar/Be): percussion, vocals
Vardan Hovanissian (Armenia/Be): duduk, shvi
Emre Gültekin (Turkey/Be): baglama, cöğür, şelpe, kopuz , cura, tanbur, vocals
Osvaldo Hernandez (Mexico/Be): cuatro, pandeiro, bombo, flutes, shakers, maracas, riq, darbouka, bongo, vocals
About the musicians:
Belgian, of Jordanian – Yugoslavian origin, Karim Baggili, is a young self-taught guitarist, ud player and composer. Starting with the electric guitar, his performance continued to develop while working with different techniques of flamenco guitar and the Arabian Oud which he acquired from Jordan. After his two recent albums, Douar and Cuatro con Cuatro issued by homerecords.be, Karim is releasing his fourth album “Lea & Kash”, which blends together worldly compositions in novel techniques.
Malick Pathé Sow is an extremely talented Senegalese artist. Following loyal service as one of Baaba Maal’s main musicians (on hoddu, guitare and sometimes as composer), he embarked on a solo career after he arrived in Europe. “Maayo Men”,which he presented on Womex 2011, is his fourth CD and it marks a return to his acoustic roots.
Osvaldo Hernandez ( Mexico) has been a professional percussionist for 20 years. He began with Latin American rhythms and then moved on with the afro-Cuban. He mastered various techniques of Indian, African and Latin American percussions. Living in Brussels, he plays and recorded with numerous music groups (National Ballet of Mexico, Deep Forest, Carlos Dias).
Vardan Hovanissian comes from Armenia and plays on the instrument that’s called the soul of Armenia, the duduk. In Armenia he was part of the National Folkmusic ensemble and played with Gandzar, Marathouk and Ervand Saharouny. As solist, in duo, in the quartet Arax, with Algerian Abdelli or Israeli singer Yasmin Levy, Vardan played all around the world.
Emre Gültekin plays different kinds of saz,: the baglama, cura, divan, …. Emre played with important artists as Goran Bregovic and Talip özkan. At this moment he is working with different groups and singers: his own trio Osuna, Ertan Tekin, Véronique Gillet and he is still playing with his father, an important poet and musician in Turkey..
Talike Gelle was born in the south of Madagascar in a very musical family. She is the lead singer of Tiharea, a trio specialized in polyphonic singing in Antandroy, the language from the south of Madagascar. She also participated in Woman Care, an international group of 8 singers, supporting the battle against aids in Africa..
Light for the world:
Light for the World is a Belgian NGO, member of the European confederation of national development NGOs with the same name, committed to saving eyesight, improving the quality of life and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities in the underprivileged regions of our world: http://www.light-for-the-world.org/
Light for the World supports opthalmological hospitals in Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burkina Faso. Through the Blindnote concerts, Light for the World hopes to show that it is possible to give these children back the gift of sight.
