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Malagasy Musical Project in Germany for the Month of July

The Malagasy “Loharano” project will take place in Germany in July 2016

June 10th, 2016
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In Madagascar’s language, the word “loharano” means “source” and “river”. That concept gave birth to a project created by the German artist, native of Leipzig, Ingeborg Freytag. The concept draws on the gathering of musicians from different cultures who find their inspiration in sources in order to create a river of cultural exchange.

One of the key actor of the project is Ricky Olombelo, a famous malagasy percussion player, singer and song writer, that Ingeborg Freytag, met in 2010 when she was invited by him and the Goethe Centre in Antananarivo spent a few weeks in the capital of Madagscar, Antananarivo, to perform in several gigs with malagasy musicians including one during the Jazz Festival “Madajazzcar”.

Both musicians have ever since kept a close artistic collaboration performing together regularly. This bond resulted in the creation of the “loharano” project. This Malagasy-German project connects musicians from both countries to perform Malagasy and German folk-based songs from two musical cultures with rich musical expression leading to a cheerful, colorful mix of Mediterranean sounds, African percussion, jazz elements and German folk.

The project will be materialized by a musical tour in Germany during July of 2016. Indeed, Ingeborg Freytag, Ricky Olombelo and other artists such as Manne Wagenbreth and Johannes Uhlman will do five concerts during this month.

First, the band will perform three gigs in Leipzig on the 9th, on the 10th during a training for social workers hosted by Ingeborg Freytag and on the 14th, this one during the city’s Women Culture Festival. Then, they will perform in Naumburg during the night of Naumburg Festival on the 16th before concluding their tour in Berlin on the 22nd of July during the culture’s workshops Festival.

References:

News from Berlin
Pierre Even, Berlin Global