The Rhythm Monsters
Who
we are
We Rhythm Monsters started as an adult class in traditional West African
drumming in 1995. Randy Crafton introduced Robert Levin to us when we
were looking for a new teacher. Robert began studying traditional Ghanaian
music with Abraham Adzenyah and Freeman Donkor at Wesleyan University
in 1977, and by ‘95 had traveled to Ghana 4 times to study with
Godwin Agbeli. Robert and the class clicked, and in 1999, we all traveled
to Ghana together, seemingly as a last hurrah.
The group stayed in Kopeyia (ko-pay-EE-a), the rural village where Godwin
Agbeli lived. Robert and Godwin had been building and supporting a public
school from scratch in Kopeyia since 1988. We were inspired by the honor
of participating in the 3-day celebration of the school’s 10th
anniversary, performing traditional local music for - and with - the
Kopeyia community.
We grew close as a unit during the
intense travel experience, and we were deeply moved by the positive
impact we could see the school was having on the village. Some of us
approached Robert with the idea that the class become a performing group
that would play concerts back home to raise money to help support the
Kopeyia school. Since then the Rhythm Monsters have put on 3 or 4 fundraising
concerts every year. For each, we invited special guests to perform
with us and to do a set of their own music as well.
How
we play
This CD, the Rhythm Monsters’ first, comes as a response to requests
from our audiences for a recording to remember the concerts at home.
We have invited many of the great musicians who have performed with
us over the past 6 years to join us in the studio (full circle to Randy
Crafton’s Kaleidoscope Sound) to help us record our own original
versions of the traditional West African music we’ve been studying
all along. West African music is passed down in the oral tradition,
and in each village, people perform their own versions and variations
of pieces, while maintaining the integrity, identity, and intention
of the music.
Our village, part of a large and vibrant community of people who play
and celebrate Ghanaian music in the USA, is quite a ways down the road
and across the ocean from the birthplace of the rhythms, songs and movements
we perform. On this recording we endeavor to create versions of traditional
West African pieces that clearly reflect our lives and influences, while
remaining traditional in a way that is easily recognizable to West Africans.
The aim of our music is to make people on both continents smile and
dance! And all of the proceeds from the sale of this recording will
be used to support and maintain the school that Robert and Godwin built
and support in Kopeyia.
Our
school project in Ghana
The seeds of education have been planted in Kopeyia, and the Kopeyia
Ghana School Fund (www.KGSF.org) tends them. They take root in the Kopeyia
public school, the village’s first, with 800 students from pre-K
through 9th grade, and a curriculum run by the Ghana government. The
branches extend to private high schools around Ghana’s Volta Region
where Kopeyia graduates continue their education thanks to KGSF scholarships.
Kopeyia graduates are also found ripening in vocational schools, polytechnics,
teacher training schools, and computer schools throughout Ghana, and
at the University of Ghana. One student from Kopeyia’s pioneer
graduating class of 1996, Kofie Agbeli, will graduate from University
of Northern Iowa in December 2004. Kofie will be moving back to Kopeyia
in 2005 to live and work, and to help support and maintain the school
for future generations. Roots to fruits!
The education that KGSF has made available in Kopeyia enables that community
to digest and understand new information and ideas, especially in farming,
health and nutrition, helping to improve lives. Robert founded KGSF
in 1989 to raise money to support education in Kopeyia. We Rhythm Monsters,
whose lives are enriched by the study of West African music and culture,
are happy to join that effort. We work to communicate, learn and share
in both worlds, as we all gain strength and happiness from unifying
our international community.
Thanks to our teachers and friends who have helped us with this wonderful
project. And thank you for helping us complete the circle of giving
and receiving, of call and response!
– The Rhythm Monsters, December 11, 2004
