About The Archive
Are you tired of sifting through thousands of useless djembe videos on YouTube?
Yeah.. Us too.
At the end of June, we were proud to launch our Roots Djembe Reference Archive: a long-awaited and long-overdue resource in the djembe study community.
First..
We hand-select reference videos to be included based on 3 main criteria:
ls it Legit? (Integrity),
Is it Tasteful? (Musicality),
Is it Useful? (Study Value)
Then..
We tag and sort all the videos by:
Context & Setting
Rhythm Name
Country & Region
Artists
Instruments
Ensemble Size
Many Other Details…
..so you can easily cross-reference!
Here’s an example of what you’ll find in there:
Damba : Dialla Diawara
Dialla Diawara plays Damba at this party for an organization of young women that took place in Kankan, Upper Guinea. Dialla’s phrasing here is powerful and tasteful. He’s got the spirit! He’s able to play serious, and have a ton of fun joking around at the same time.
Mendiani : Madou Sako
This is a clean, solid rendition of Mendiani by Madou Sako and one dundun player on ballet style dunduns. Madou’s playing is really tasty. In this video, he plays pure, no-frills Mendiani without making it dry and boring. It’s very interesting to watch his basses in this video. Some cool stuff going on there. He really plays them, not just pitter-pattering.
Djembe Soloing : Bolokada Conde
Sunu : Jeremy Chevrier, Sega Cisse
Here we see Jeremy and Sega Cisse trading solos for Sunu in a session at the Djembe Hotel in Bamako. Jeremy Chevrier doesn’t often solo on camera, so this is a rare treat indeed! Jeremy’s playing is sweet and juicy, and it’s obvious that Sega is having a good time playing with him.
Mendiani : Adama Coulibaly
Adama Coulibaly has some fun with Mendiani in Kangaba. His student plays accompaniment. In this video, Bala plays an interesting dundun variation that is unique. Has anyone heard it anywhere before? Key Moments: 2:05 – The dancing guy gets so inspired, that he reaches for a nearby kid, who he then starts tossing around.