Oriazul

"elle es trop belle cette chanson je l'ai entendu cette été au centre
culturel francais de dakar et j'en suis resté dingue
je vous souhaite beaucoup de succes bisous a la famille" - Fans comments on Facebook

When a message circulated regarding the 7 selections of Oriazul in the past few weeks, several comments receive including the above headline. What a pleasure! - Producer in East Africa - Comment in Public

The Senegal-based group, Oriazul, is a band composed of many talented African musicians. Oriazul performed to an Ethiopian audience at Juventus club, on Saturday November 24, 2007. The group came back to Addis by popular demand which is making band's performance an annual event. Capital's Kirubel Tadesse talked to members of the band introducing to Daniel Gomez band leader and key boardist, Florent Loso, bass guitar player among other band members.
Capital: Tell us about your pervious experiences in Ethiopia?
Daniel : I have been in Ethiopia a few times before. For me this year's performance is the fourth. My first performance was back in 2003 and I used the opportunity to establish contacts and to know places in Addis. After that I brought the band in 2005 and we played in a charity concert. Last year we performed at the Great Run. We were here for two weeks and that gave us an opportunity to reach many Ethiopian audiences, we did eleven concerts in different places like National Theatre, it was a fund raising concert for flood victims.

Capital: How has been public acceptance of your performances?
Daniel : When the organizer told me that I am to go and play in Ethiopia, I wasn't sure it was a smart thing to do. I was in doubt whether the people accepted our music or not; that was back in 2003. I was really surprised by the huge acceptance of the Ethiopian audience. What is nice about music is, it doesn't require audiences to speak the same language, the music itself is the language. After that acceptance, I said that I have to come with the band. In my first concert, when I was playing Jcaba at Sheraton Addis people were singing it 'Beca' and when we finally talked, I understood that both words meant 'it is over' and I realized that there is much similarity in our music and language than we realize.
Capital: Introduce yourself and tell us about your role in the band?
Florent: My name is Florent Loso and I am from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am Bass Guitarist and this is my second time to come to Ethiopia.
Capital: How did you join Oriazul?
Florent: When I came to Oriazul I tried to listen Cape Verdian music and contribute mine to it. There is a type of music in Cape Verde called 'Funana'. It very speedy and when you compare it with Congolese music; the rhythm is the same so I easily found my way into the band. I like the collaborations, we usually play Cape Verdian music but in concerts we play other African music too which isn't difficult since there is much similarity. For example last time we did a collaboration performance with Tesdenia Gebre Markos and it wasn't at all difficult to sing with her. She was there at the organizer's house and she listened when we were practicing and when she played with us, it turned out nice and we performed together in concert.
Evelyne: My name is Evelyne Dacruz. I am a lead vocalist in Oriazul, and I am from Cape Verde. The concert was wonderful. It was nice to see Ethiopian people accepting and enjoying our music.
Capital: How did you perceive Ethiopia prior to your visit and what do you think now?
Evelyne: I used to think that Ethiopia is small, like Senegal but now when I see it it is a very big and beautiful country. I like the traditional food. You have your own space, streets or some other places aren't much as crowd in Senegal or other African places. It is nice here, I like it very much.
Johnny: I am Johnny King from Congo and I play guitar. Ethiopia is a beautiful country, it is my first time to see this country and I like it very much. Addis Ababa is a very modern city, most roads and recreation centers I see are modern and nice. What I heard about Ethiopia is different from what I see. What I saw on TV were bad things only, all the drought and conflicts are put on air to define Ethiopia but here I see otherwise. I am surprised in a very good way. I know that Ethiopia is the only country that was not colonized and we feel proud of that. The only difficult thing I faced in Ethiopia is communication. Every body speaks English and I am not good at it, nobody speaks French so I find it hard to communicate with people.
Claire: My name is Claire Mbeng and I am from Gabon. I am Lead Vocalist in Oriazul. I have been in Ethiopia on other occasions and this one is my fourth concert. The concerts have been very entertaining. The people have enjoyed our music.
Capital: How is Ethiopia known in Gabon?
Claire: In TV everything looks bad and the beautiful country I got a chance to see isn't known by most Gabonese. The girls and boys ….all of the people are beautiful. If cultural contact like this continues, every thing becomes clear and we can know one another in a better and genuine way.
Sanou: My name is Sanou Diouf, from Senegal and I play saxophone. I know about the history of Ethiopia, the only African country who stayed independent but next to that what we hear is all the bad things as others have stated it. But I like it here and Ethiopia is a country everybody should see and enjoy I enjoyed the concerts and I am sure I am coming back.
Capital: Any final messages?
Tape Laye: Music has an amazing power and all of the world's artists should use it to unite humankind.
Moustapha Drame: I think when we talk about unity of Africa; we are talking about the way we can communicate as Africans. Since music is a language spoken by everybody, it has a key role to play. The Melody and the rhythm communicates with you so if we Strength cultural relations of this kind as seen in Europe, and elsewhere, the unity of Africa is possible. Music holds the key to realizing that dream of African unity.
- Capital (sunday,dec 2, 2007)

When you bring musicians like this to Addis Please let us know. High level Manager at Sheraton Hotel, Addis - UN/WFP Galla Diner Nov 2003. This deeply touched us and was a great power for us to come back to Addis as a band for the folllowing 5 years. - Public

Cape Verdian [and African] melodies from oriazul have enchanted more than 800 spectators at the Ethiopian national Theatre - European Union Delegation to the African Union - Addis Ababa

This young student who plays several instruments, was delighted with the the rhythms of Oriazul and asked us to play back at her home town and in the US. - Young International School student Diana J.

la Paix selon ORIAZUL:
Les mélodies capverdiennes du groupe musical ORIAZUL ont l'indéniable vertu d'insuffler joieet gaieté. Mardi 21 septembre 2010, 800spectateurs en ont apporté la preuve, si besoin était, lors d'un concert pour la paix organisé conjointement
par l'Union européenne et l'Union africaine.
"Sans joie et gaieté, il n'y pas de paix", lance d'emblée Daniel Gomes, leader de ce groupe créé en 1996, dont les huit membres, basés à Dakar, sont issus de plusieurs régions d'Afrique.
Une fois passées les premières minutes forcément réservées, le groupe panafricain a convaincu et fait danser son public. Si quelques tubes congolais et sud africains n'y sont certes pas pour rien, Oriazul a pourtant su rester fidèle à sa vocation première:rechercher l'essence même de la culture musicale capverdienne, un temps délaissée par la jeune génération, tout en restant ouvert sur les
musiques du monde, particulièrement africaines.
Ce n'était pas la première fois qu'Oriazul se produisait à Addis. Gageons, au vu du succès recueilli, que ce ne sera pas la dernière. - Delegation of the European Union to the African union

Dec 1, 2006 - Taking a third trip to Ethiopia the band was in Addis last week. Presenting numerous shows in town, they performed for the Great Ethiopian Run and the National Theatre [2006 Floods Victims Concert] for hundreds of people. Performing with Oriazul this week were famous Ethiopian musicians like Kora Best East African single title winner Tsedenya G/Markos. The people love to dance to the music. Ethiopian Airlines has sponsored the band's travel. - By Alemayehu Selassie - Informer the Sub-Saharan

Oriazul to entertain Great Ethiopian runners
The 6th Great Ethiopian Run scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday November 25/26 [2005] is expected to be more entertaining than usual with a prominent Senegalese band - Oriazul visiting Addis Ababa especially for the occasion. Oriazul are to provide the pleasure of their extensive repertoire, mainly Cape verdian music but also Zouk, Salsa, Merengue, South African, Belgian and French, it was learnt from the great Ethiopian run organizers ......................................
Mr. Joao Jorge, an organizer of the band said, "Oriazul have been known for playing at concerts on HIV/AIDS and Malaria and they have composed a great number on 'Peace in the World' (Jacaba)."

Their audiences in Addis are expected to be business men, members of the international community; especially those that lived in the west coast before and know the music, Mr. Jorge commented.




- www.capitalethiopia.com/archive/2006/November/week1/Art_and_culture.htm

..........................................................Si le Jazzpel s’est évertué à cajoler les oreilles de son public, le souci de ses prédécesseurs sur scène, le sémillant Oriazul, était de faire trémousser. La musique des îles avec sa rythmique chaloupée et ses mélodies chaudes, servie par la bande à Daniel Gomes, était chargée de faire danser les festivaliers et a apporté une touche d’exotisme. Plus connu sous nos latitudes, la formation sénégalo-capverdienne a débuté la deuxième soirée de cette quatorzième édition du Festival de Jazz de Saint-Louis qui se veut ouverte à d’autres sonorités. La fièvre de la Coladeira a distillé sa cadence faite exprès pour danser à la plage et sous les cocotiers si possible. A la fois romantique et ludique et construits sur des mélodies de la batuca, de l’afro zouk, de l’afro cubain, les lyrics du groupe charrient les couleurs or et azur du Cap vert natal. Et pour soulager la sodade, la légendaire nostalgie des ressortissants de l’Ile, rien de tel qu’une bonne dose de morna. Gomes et ses deux choristes chantent cette solitude qui accompagne ceux qui partent pour un monde meilleur. Y compris ceux qui y vont à pirogue.

- www.saintlouisdusenegal.com/art-jazz200601.php

At the end of the 07 Juventus concert, a young Ethiopian Model, came to stage and wished the group and said: When I get married I want you to pay for my wedding cerimony. - Ethiopian Modl after 07 Juventus Concert in Add