Cameroon stars thrill at Music In Africa concert in Yaoundé

The concert featured performances by two legends of Cameroonian music, ‘Bantu Groove’ band Macase and hip-hop pioneer Krotal, as well as rising star Danielle Eog Makedah.

The event was free to the public and took place from at the Goethe-Institut in Yaoundé, site of the most recent Music In Africa AGM in October 2015.

Particularly interesting is that the concert offered three acts from very different musical backgrounds, but who nevertheless able to offer a very coherent spectacle. The artists were clearly well-prepared (or simply extremely talented), since everything ran smoothly on stage. Both Danielle Eog and Krotal were backed by the Macase musicians, showing a good example of solidarity among musicians.

The audience was very enthusiastic, with nearly 500 guests of all ages clearly enjoying the concert, many of them singing along with the musicians. Also in attendance was Dr. Norbert Spitz, the Goethe-Institut's Regional Director for sub-Saharan Africa.

Raphaël Mouchangou, head of cultural programmes at the Goethe-Institut in Cameroon, said: “The Goethe-Institut is happy and proud to have hosted such an event, for at least four reasons: the pleasure to collaborate with professional and talented musicians; the satisfaction to propose to our public an event of great quality; the satisfaction to contribute to a better visibility of Cameroonian artists; and the quality and fame of the headliners that brought us a huge amount of guests some of whom came for the first time at the Goethe-Institut."

In line with Music In Africa's mission to serve the African music sector with various 'offline' programmes and opportunities beyond the website itself, the event came shortly after Music In Africa co-hosted a concert in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday 26 February, as well as an exchange and concert for Senegalese hip-hop artists to Munich, Germany in March 2015.

“We really hope to renew this kind of experience with Music in Africa. Cameroon is a country with very talented musicians, despite the lack of training, production and distribution structures,” continued Mouchangou. “This situation sometimes pushes musicians to expect more from the Goethe-Institut than what it can actually offer. The Music In Africa online platform, and such ‘off-line’ events, are an important support to the many Cameroonian musicians who wish to have better visibility out of Cameroon. We really wish to thank the whole Music in Africa Team as well as the Siemens Stiftung for initiating this operation involving Cameroonian artists.”

German exchange

The concert was a preview for the same artists’ upcoming concert in Frankfurt, Germany, which is organized by Music In Africa and various partners, at the Musikmesse international music fair from 7 to 10 April. Themed Future Forum: Focus on Africa, the initiative is designed to place key focus on the African music sector for the first time in the event’s history. Music In Africa will be a key focus as one of the organisations playing a pivotal role in connecting the African music sector. There will be a number of activities in Germany as part of this programme, including a showcase concert headlined by Macase, Danielle and Krotal, who will also be collaborating with German musicians after an exchange workshop at the Pop Academy in Mannheim, Germany.