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All Music Guide:
Baka Beyond reflects the multicultural vision of ex-Outback guitar, mandolin and bouzouki player Martin Cradick and his wife, Su Hart. A fusion of Celtic and West African musical traditions, the band represents a collaboration of musicians from northern Europe and West Africa.
Cradick and Hart conceived Baka Beyond shortly after the breakup of Outback in 1992. Traveling to the rain forest of Cameroon, the couple lived with Baka pygmies and recorded their music. A field recording, Heart of the Forest: The Music of the Baka Forest People of Southeast Cameroon, was released the following year. Joined by Breton fiddler Paddy LeMercier, Cradick and Hart recorded two albums with musicians from the Baka tribe: Spirit of the Forest, released in 1994; and The Meeting Pool, released in October 1995. The group continued to evolve into a touring ensemble with the addition of Senegalese percussionist Sagar N'Gom, an ex-member of Outback; keyboardist Tom Green, formerly of the Orb; drummer Sam Pope; bassist Marcus Pinto; and vocalist Kate (Budd) Hardy. Baka Beyond's 1998 album, Journey Beyond, was a heavier produced project featuring guests including percussionists from the Ghanaian band Kakasitsi. Although most of the album was recorded in England, African vocals for two songs -- "Migrations" and "Konti" -- were recorded while Cradick, Hart and their son traveled through Senegal.
Wikipedia:
Baka Beyond is a world music group formed in 1992 with members from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures, fusing Celtic and other western music styles with traditional Baka music from Cameroon.
Biography
Baka Beyond began in 1992, when musicians Su Hart and Martin Cradick (formerly of the group Outback) travelled to south-east Cameroon to live with the Baka tribe in their natural rainforest environment. During their time there they recorded music with the Baka people, and some was later released on their return to the UK on Baka Beyond's first album, Spirit of the Forest.
In the early days of the band, Baka Beyond consisted of English musicians trying to re-create the sound recorded with the Baka people and integrate it into their music, but it eventually grew to include musicians from Senegal, Brittany, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
Martin Cradick and other members of the band travelled back to the rainforest to record music with the Baka people. They have recorded many albums containing a mix of music and sounds directly recorded from the rainforest, and music recorded by the band, which always shows a strong influence from Baka music.
Much of the profit from Baka Beyond's albums has been spent improving things in the rainforest, and a new music house - a large barn with recording equipment - had been built on the request of the tribe. Through the charity Global Music Exchange they continue to work with the Baka with healthcare, education and in obtaining national ID cards that give the Baka basic rights as citizens, normally denied them due to their extreme poverty and "unconventional" lifestyle.
Sound
Baka Beyond's sound is a combination of music influenced by the Baka people, African rhythms and traditional Celtic tunes. Each musician has contributed their own style to the band. Generally, their songs contain strong rhythms, traditional Baka singing style and exotic instruments including marimba, djembe, ning nong, soga, kongoma, kpanlogo, tama, kalabash and kora (African Harp). They often perform with the Rinky Dink.
