Camel Thorn Trees, Namibia. Best photo of May 2011 from National Geographic.
(can hardly believe this is a real photo and not a watercolour painting)
Erna Chimu treasures her music roots:
Born of parents of different ethnic groups and having grown up with her grandmother, Erna Chimu has always been traditional in her music which says it all once you cultivate an ear for it. Erna says music could be in her genes because her father played an accordion and her late mother was a very good vocalist.
***
Erna said a lot of people are not proud of their traditions but she deliberately chose to fuse traditional music with other types of music and the result is what is today dubbed ‘Damara Jazz’, a genre that has become her identifying mark. Erna sings it with such passion that it draws any listener despite obvious language limitations.
“Any Namibian would be able to relate to my music. You can be overseas but when you hear it, you’d know it’s from Namibia,” she said.
***
Erna says she does jazz and traditional music to express certain social issues such as women and child and alcohol abuse because she believes educating at least one woman can save a nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment