I joined Sankofa for the same reason anyone joins any sort of student group. As a nervous, anxious, and excited freshmen, I was looking for two primary things: a network of friends and an arena where my talents were appreciated and used toward some end. Over the years, these motives changed. At times my involvement with Sankofa was solely motivated by obligation; I neither enjoyed [some of] the company, nor did I feel my/our talents were fully used or appreciated. Other times my involvement was motivated simply by the enormous and untapped potential of the group.
There are many little things that held Sankofa back, the most obvious being the lack of focus during practices. But two more fundamental things that I feel held Sankofa back relate directly to the two reasons people join student groups to begin with. (1) Sankofa needs to be unified. We need to become friends again. Rarely do members get together outside of practices. I know the idea of a Sankofa "drinking" and/or "listening" party was thrown around (and may have eventually happened at some point, I'm not sure) but such events are vital to the overall health of the group. (2) Sankofa must find a way to successfully utilize its members' abilities toward an end. One of the reasons Sankofa's contribution to Rangeela 07 was a success is that the band first formed a vision of what it wanted to achieve and then used a variety of means to achieve it (including the unprecedented use of piano and video editing). The brainstorming stage of Rangeela 07 allowed us to create something with purpose, and it freed us from prior, self-imposed limitations in medium. In other words, once we decided upon an end, each of us was empowered to use our unique talents and abilities to contribute towards it.
Sankofa has occasionally provided these two fundamental functions in the past (like during Rangeela 07), and when it did things worked well. However, this has never happened consistently. At various points I've felt disconnected from others in the group, that our individual gifts were not being used to their potential, and like we had no conception of an end toward which to work. The following is a proposal for the sort of "end" Sankofa ought to have.
My thinking of Sankofa's identity and direction has recently been influenced by conversations I've been having with friend. I've been working very closely with an architect the past three weeks and he's been rubbing off on me. My friend, Jared, often talks about the dangers of "historicism" in architecture. Historicism (in architecture) is when a new building hearkens back to a particular time period or style. It's rampant in contemporary American architecture and it's dangerous because it blurs the line between new and old. One might think that because it "pays homage" to a time period or style it therefore does it a service. In reality, it inhibits our ability to distinguish what is truly old or pure. Architecture is a product of (as well as produces) culture and thus attempting to reproduce it later is, in a sense, impure.
This very much relates to the predicament Sankofa finds itself in. We have the tendency to want to play "traditional" music because we have "traditional" instruments. But there's a sense in which we can never truly play traditional music because, like architecture, music is also a product of (and produces) culture. In this light, we must learn to "own" the music that we play by moving forward.
That said, no architecture would venture to "move forward" and design contemporary buildings without first gaining an understanding architectural history. Thus, I find it difficult to say that it is always inappropriate to play traditional music. But if we do so, we must do it well by knowing what we are playing and why. Standing on the shoulders of giants, we primarily learn from our past in order to inform our direction in the future. All of this is very closely tied to the meaning of the word, Sankofa: There is wisdom in learning from our past in order to move forward. Sankofa's primary identity must be this above all else.
In practical terms, this summer is our opportunity to learn from our past. I think Asher should prompt this venture, but it should be a joint venture. Anna and I ought to contribute and perhaps dig into our own past to discuss why we each play music at all. I think as we begin to gain a knowledge of our "past," the future of Sankofa and it's identity and purpose will begin to take form. So let's get to it!
There are many little things that held Sankofa back, the most obvious being the lack of focus during practices. But two more fundamental things that I feel held Sankofa back relate directly to the two reasons people join student groups to begin with. (1) Sankofa needs to be unified. We need to become friends again. Rarely do members get together outside of practices. I know the idea of a Sankofa "drinking" and/or "listening" party was thrown around (and may have eventually happened at some point, I'm not sure) but such events are vital to the overall health of the group. (2) Sankofa must find a way to successfully utilize its members' abilities toward an end. One of the reasons Sankofa's contribution to Rangeela 07 was a success is that the band first formed a vision of what it wanted to achieve and then used a variety of means to achieve it (including the unprecedented use of piano and video editing). The brainstorming stage of Rangeela 07 allowed us to create something with purpose, and it freed us from prior, self-imposed limitations in medium. In other words, once we decided upon an end, each of us was empowered to use our unique talents and abilities to contribute towards it.
Sankofa has occasionally provided these two fundamental functions in the past (like during Rangeela 07), and when it did things worked well. However, this has never happened consistently. At various points I've felt disconnected from others in the group, that our individual gifts were not being used to their potential, and like we had no conception of an end toward which to work. The following is a proposal for the sort of "end" Sankofa ought to have.
My thinking of Sankofa's identity and direction has recently been influenced by conversations I've been having with friend. I've been working very closely with an architect the past three weeks and he's been rubbing off on me. My friend, Jared, often talks about the dangers of "historicism" in architecture. Historicism (in architecture) is when a new building hearkens back to a particular time period or style. It's rampant in contemporary American architecture and it's dangerous because it blurs the line between new and old. One might think that because it "pays homage" to a time period or style it therefore does it a service. In reality, it inhibits our ability to distinguish what is truly old or pure. Architecture is a product of (as well as produces) culture and thus attempting to reproduce it later is, in a sense, impure.
This very much relates to the predicament Sankofa finds itself in. We have the tendency to want to play "traditional" music because we have "traditional" instruments. But there's a sense in which we can never truly play traditional music because, like architecture, music is also a product of (and produces) culture. In this light, we must learn to "own" the music that we play by moving forward.
That said, no architecture would venture to "move forward" and design contemporary buildings without first gaining an understanding architectural history. Thus, I find it difficult to say that it is always inappropriate to play traditional music. But if we do so, we must do it well by knowing what we are playing and why. Standing on the shoulders of giants, we primarily learn from our past in order to inform our direction in the future. All of this is very closely tied to the meaning of the word, Sankofa: There is wisdom in learning from our past in order to move forward. Sankofa's primary identity must be this above all else.
In practical terms, this summer is our opportunity to learn from our past. I think Asher should prompt this venture, but it should be a joint venture. Anna and I ought to contribute and perhaps dig into our own past to discuss why we each play music at all. I think as we begin to gain a knowledge of our "past," the future of Sankofa and it's identity and purpose will begin to take form. So let's get to it!
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