Sandblast blog

Pass it on!

10/3/2016

Sandblast recently received a wonderful donation of a stunning Gibson electric guitar from a stranger, a man from Yorkshire, who prefers to remain anonymous. He wanted to share this guitar with others and give back some of the joy music has given him throughout his life. He chose to give the guitar to Sandblast after reading our statement of how his donation would benefit Saharawis in the refugee camps.

This generous gesture has truly touched and inspired us. In fact it inspired us so much that we decided to launch a campaign to get more guitar donations for the Saharawi refugee camps. The campaign is called PASS IT ON and operates on the belief that there are many other strangers out there and friends, of course, who would like to share with us something that can make a difference.

SO if you have a spare guitar you can share with the Saharawi refugees, please PASS IT ON. But we don't want to limit what you can give to only material things. If you have music skills that can benefit some of the musicians and music teachers we work with, PASS IT ON! Or if you are a music producer, a band manager, a music promoter with a yearning for adventure and want to share your experience, PASS IT ON! And if you want to get involved but don’t have anything to donate, at the moment, you can always make a monetary contribution however small or big to help us with running costs.

You can click on the link below to donate and win your own copy of the Studio-Live-recorded song Standing Man, by singer-songwriter Pia de Keyser. Life is enhanced when you share; PASS IT ON!

40 years since the death of Polisario founder

6/9/2016

TODAY it is 40 years since the death of El Uali Mustapha Sayed, the founder of the Polisario Front and its Secretary General just before the recently deceased Mohamed Abdelaziz.

At Sandblast we'd like to commemorate El Uali's life, deeds and death in the battlefield by sharing the article 'Shaheed El Uali Band and Beyond: 40 Years of Resistance Music in Western Sahara', written by our Project Leader Violeta Ruano about Shaheed El Uali, the first Saharawi national band, which was created in the Saharawi refugee camps and named after him shortly after his death!

Mid-summer Western Sahara Festival, Jul 2

5/30/2016

This summer, in collaboration with Stave House music academy, we invite you to a heart-warming and eye-opening evening of film premiers, photography, talks, music & poetry for the Saharawis of Western Sahara. Come and join us in our mid-summer festival to learn more about the situation in Africa's Last Colony and the awareness-raising and educational projects we're currently developing in the Saharawi refugee camps.

Tickets are just a £5 suggested donation to help us cover the expenses of the event.

Events coming up in London, Oct-Nov 2015

9/11/2015

Hello everyone!

We are excited to announce a series of events we're organising this autumn to commemorate the 40 years of the Saharawi struggle for self-determination in collaboration with various collectives and two vibrant London venues, Bolivar Hall (Venezuelan embassy) and Hundred Years Gallery.

Through photography, film, music and much more, Africa's Last Colony - 40 Years Not Forgotten aims to remember the most important events that have shaped the history of the conflict inWestern Sahara, as well as to showcase the valuable role of UK-based artists in raising awareness about this underreported issue.

Studio-Live: Training and expansion

5/8/2013

At Sandblast we've been busy throughout the first half of the year developing the different strands of our music empowerment project Studio-Live. Here's a summary of activities:

January 2013 – The Sandblast Team travelled to Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) to help coordinate a Historical Encounter of Saharawi Musicians living in Spain at the Music Conservatory of Music ‘Jesús Guridi’. The meeting, organised in collaboration with legendary revolutionary singer Oum Reghia, gathered more than 40 musicians and cultural figures, including singer Oum Dleila, musician Bachir Sidi, composer and guitarist Ali Mohamed, poet Ali Salem Iselmu, and young musicians Yslem and Lehsen, among many others. Studio-Live was presented for the first time in Spain. Throughout the day, interesting conversations sparkled around Saharawi music, its role in the struggle and its current state. The day-long event concluded with a concert in the evening, given by a number of the attending musicians, who delighted the audience with legendary songs such as ‘Sahara is not for sale’, by Oum Reghia, and ‘A song to the martyrs’, by Oum Dleila, who had not sung in more than 8 years.

Young Saharawi rapper Yslem during the conference

Saharawi musicians during the concert

For the Fighters & Lovers

9/7/2012

A poem by Inua Ellams – ‘Fighters and Lovers’ calls to mind the plight of the Saharawi, and urges that we must hope. That there will be a future which doesn’t conform to the present situation in the Western Sahara. That this future is destiny.

When dawn breakslike a stretched sonata silence brown handling
the fantastic blue, when dust litters this new quite
like the substance of prophecies before its period
of bloom, when life lulls the living back to its true paths

Our change will come.

It will come after a tumultus multitude of fighters
have expired for a reason not worth the breath
it is uttered with. It will come after the structures
of global lies fall, sparking the Exodus, movement
of the people with their minds in tow, it will come.

Mosi Conde in Sahara Nights

6/3/2012

One more of our great artists from Sahara Nights.

Mosi Conde is a West African artist now living in London. He specialises in voice, percussion and West African string including Kora (21 string African harp), Ngoni (4-6 string wooden lute), Balafon (wooden xylaphone) Guitar, Bolong (african bass), Western bass, kit drum, djembe, dun dun, you name it!! Mosi is a young griot from Guinea Conakry’s leading family: Sekouba ‘Diamond fingers’ Diabate is his uncle and his family are the inspiration for extended family and friends from Mory Kante to Salif Keita.

Not yet 30, Mosi already has a long professional career to his name having started playing the many instruments he is master of at 4 and touring from 15. Much in demand to play with every leading African band, Mosi now introduces his own matchless crew drawing in superb fellow musicians. As a soloist Mosi Conde has played at WOMAD, for Nelson Mandela and at numerous festivals and gatherings and brings all this experience to leading Kaira Kora Africa. (Info from MySpace).

More about Mosi:
MySpace: www.myspace.com/mosiconde
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mosi.conde

Luzmira Zerpa and Family Atlantica in Sahara Nights

6/2/2012

Sahara Nights is around the corner! Today we introduce…

Luzmira Zerpa is one of the most celebrated Venezuelan artists working in the UK. She comes from the immensely rich lineage of Venezuelan folk music and plays traditional instruments such as the cuatro (Venezuelan four string guitar) and maracas. Her powerful voice and stage presence have enchanted audiences across Europe, in venues such as Chesky Krumlov Castle, London’s Barbican, the Royal Academy of Music, Purcell Room among others. She has collaborated with some of the worlds finest musicians such as Alirio Diaz and Pavel Steidl. She is the founder of music and dance group Family Atlantica.

More info:
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/luzmirazerpa

Inua Ellams in Sahara Nights

6/1/2012

More wonderful artists performing at Sahara Nights!

Born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria ‘1984, Inua Ellamsis a Word and Graphic Artist, a writer with a style as influenced by Classic literature as it is by hip hop, by Keats as it is by MosDef. Rooted in a love for rhythm and language, he crosses 18th century romanticism & traditional story telling with contemporary diction, loose rhythm and rhyme. However, his first love was visual art; the first time he toyed with a pencil, he fell for the magic of line and form.

He works extensively as a graphic designer / visual artist and also tries to mix the old with the new juxtaposing texture and pigment with flat shades of color and digitally created designs. He works in online and print. (Info from MySpace)

Inua will be reading amazing stories by Saharawi ex-political prisoner Mustafa Abdel Dayem.

More info about Inua:
MySpace: www.myspace.com/phaze05
Phaze 05: www.phaze05.com
Inua Ellams: inuaellams.com
Twitter: @InuaEllams

Lizzie Oggle at Sahara Nights

5/31/2012

We’re featuring today our great Scottish violinist performing at Sahara Nights

Lizzie Oggle is a violinist, singer and percussionist who first visited the Saharawi refugee camps in 2007. She plays celtic-influenced alt-folk music in a band called Blue Rose Code, who has just been on a UK tour and are about to release a debut album, and she plays (and learns) a style of roots music from the north-east of Brazil called maracatu.

Collaborating with Saharawi musicians in the camps remains a seminal experience for her as a musician. She also currently works as a Peaceworker for Quaker Peace and Social Witness.

This is a video of Blue Rose Code with Lizzy as violinist.

More info:
Blue Rose Code: www.bluerosecode.com