Last night I made it out to the Kalimba Summit at the Tranzac. It was presented by Wavelength from whom I've shamelessly stolen the picture at left. Before I get into the evening overall I want to plug, yet again, Laura Barrett. Actually I'd like to explain why it is I keep plugging Laura. First and most obviously I like what she does. But beyond liking what she does, Laura is rapidly becoming Toronto's anti-pop star. She has none of the qualities that the mass media tends to look for in it's pop stars yet keeps adding to her loyal following.
Her music is very much her own - it is derivative of nothing else. When you hear one of Laura's songs you know right away who it is - without any fear whatsoever that it might be someone else who just sounds like her.
She doesn't look like a pop star, she doesn't act like a pop star and there is no 'attitude' at all. I wouldn't describe her as shy and she's certainly confident but she is friendly, and humble and unassuming. When she talks about her music there is no pretense, no complex descriptions of what she was trying to achieve. If you ask her why she chose the kalimba as an instrument she will tell you that she 'fell in love with it', when she introduces her songs she starts with 'this is a song about ____': Everything she says about her work is simple and honest - not dressed up in elaborate language to try to make it sound like more than it is.
So, I want to see Laura succeed because she is talented and deserves it. But I also want to see her succeed because she is the antithesis of what the mainstream media sees as a pop star and because of what her success would say about Toronto and about Canada. She seems well on her way. I'm constantly pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of new fans and advocates she is finding.
Beyond Laura, the Kalimba summit was educational, in a good way. It turns out that the Kalimba - which I hadn't really heard of a few years ago has some deep roots even in North America and each of the other performers - Nifty , Njacko Backo, and Kahil El'Zabar brought their own approach and stylings to the instrument. Had I picked up a Kalimba a few years ago, and looked at it I never would have believed what a diverse instrument it is.
It is an interesting time in music. For most of the 80s and 90s it seemed every new band was some combination of vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards and percussion. For several years now, especially in Canada, performers have been experimenting with different combinations - mixing it up and adding a variety of instruments to the mix. It is exciting to think of some of the sounds we may hear if artists begin reaching beyond the European/North American tradition and looking in other parts of the world for new sounds to add to the mix.
The Kalimba summit was billed as a one time only event. If you missed it and would like to see them hold a second one, or perhaps something similar with other non-European instruments included you should get in touch with Wavelength by emailing howdy (at) wavelengthtoronto.com and letting them know.
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