Raggabund in South Asia
Music Tour 2017Raggabund in South Asia
There
are good vibes abound whenever Raggabund performs. The two pairs of
brothers, Don Caramelo and Paco Mendoza from Germany, and
Italo-Swiss, De Luca and Mikey Board, know how to get students out of
their seats with reggae, Latin and dancehall.
The Tour – A Fantastic Experience
At
the invitation of the Goethe-Institut, Raggabund toured Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and India in October/November, 2017, giving 11 concerts and
various workshops and inspiring a total of 6,000 German students.
Paco Mendoza recalls this once-in-a-lifetime tour. All of the audio commentary is from him.
Photo from left to right: De Luca, Mikey Board, Thomas Nier (Videos), Don Caramelo, Paco Mendoza
Audio Translation:
“Asia was an unbelievable story for us. We’ve played a few times in Asia before and it was always amazing, but in India it was our first time playing in schools. There was such a special energy in the schools – with the kids and in the workshops, and especially at the concerts. They have such a special energy. It’s really outstanding when you play a concert at 10am and the audience is already ready to party.”
Paco Mendoza recalls this once-in-a-lifetime tour. All of the audio commentary is from him.
Photo from left to right: De Luca, Mikey Board, Thomas Nier (Videos), Don Caramelo, Paco Mendoza
Audio Translation:
“Asia was an unbelievable story for us. We’ve played a few times in Asia before and it was always amazing, but in India it was our first time playing in schools. There was such a special energy in the schools – with the kids and in the workshops, and especially at the concerts. They have such a special energy. It’s really outstanding when you play a concert at 10am and the audience is already ready to party.”
The Music
“Our music is positive, life-affirming, rhythmic and not so heady. We”re actually just reflecting – sometimes more sometimes less – the facets of our lives. It’s really important to us that our music is positive in every respect.”
Audio Translation:
“The way the music was received was great for us over the whole tour. For the most part, they only knew a few songs but they liked everything. It’s amazing in any case the way Caribbean music works worldwide. This music grew out of a mix and so a kind of world beat came together out of such different rhythms and musical influences, which really works everywhere, like with reggae, cumbia, dancehall and raggaeton.”
The Party
The Band
The Band Mikey Board
Audio Translation:
“Mikey Board is an Italo-Swiss guy and we met ten years ago. He’s an amazing organizer and a super producer with whom we’ve taken many musical journeys, either in the studio or geographically. He’s kind of the mastermind that holds everything together. Mikey Board plays the keyboard and deejays by the way.”
The BandDe Luca
Audio Translation:
“De Luca is Raggabund’s guitarist and singer. He also has a solo project that’s doing really well in Switzerland and he’s played a lot of shows and gotten a lot of airtime with it. Oh yeah, he’s also the chick magnet of the group.”
The BandDon Caramelo
Audio Translation:
“Then you have Don Caramelo, my brother. He has a deep love of ragga, he founded Raggabund and he has a kind soul.”
Die BandPaco Mendoza
Audio Translation:
“Then there’s me. I play guitar and sing. I love being on stage and being on the road with the others.”
The Tour
The Workshops
German
is fun and puts you in a good mood
–
Raggabund conveys this message
authentically and convincingly.
They motivate students to engage intensively with the German language with their captivating music and even get them to write song lyrics themselves.
Audio Translation:
“We always did two different workshops. There’s the beatboxing workshop, where my brother showed the students the basics of rhythmics and how to make simple beats with your mouth, which the students really loved. When we had students with different levels of German capabilities, it was super for the ones that weren’t so good at German yet to go to my brother’s workshop. Luca and I did the second workshop. We worked in the German language. We love writing lyrics and we wrote different songs for each city. We just got the kids to give us all kinds of information about the city or region and then we wrote a song with the kids using them. It worked out great. Then we always performed a beatbox song and these lyrics after the workshop to the other group or to the whole school.”
They motivate students to engage intensively with the German language with their captivating music and even get them to write song lyrics themselves.
Audio Translation:
“We always did two different workshops. There’s the beatboxing workshop, where my brother showed the students the basics of rhythmics and how to make simple beats with your mouth, which the students really loved. When we had students with different levels of German capabilities, it was super for the ones that weren’t so good at German yet to go to my brother’s workshop. Luca and I did the second workshop. We worked in the German language. We love writing lyrics and we wrote different songs for each city. We just got the kids to give us all kinds of information about the city or region and then we wrote a song with the kids using them. It worked out great. Then we always performed a beatbox song and these lyrics after the workshop to the other group or to the whole school.”
Selfie Time with Raggabund
The students were so captivated with Raggabund in all the cities, that they took a ton of selfies with the band.
Audio Translation:
“That’s amazing in Asia, since the kids aren’t so afraid of contact and we aren’t either. So we would go down after the gigs and take hundreds of selfies with them in 10-20 minutes. It was always really, really nice.”
The Stops On The Tour
The Tour Begins...
Karachi, Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan
A
brilliant start to a fantastic tour. They were only in Pakistan for
30 hours, but Raggabund was impressed...
Audio Translation:
“Karachi: The first concert on our tour was our first time in Pakistan. We we’re in a great mood, total euphoria. And there we got an impression of everything still to come on this tour, cause the kids totally flipped out. In the beginning they were all sitting on the floor, but after the third or fourth song, they all stood up and were jumping around. The people were all really nice. After the concert we had a meal. It was some of the best food of the entire tour.”
Audio Translation:
“Karachi: The first concert on our tour was our first time in Pakistan. We we’re in a great mood, total euphoria. And there we got an impression of everything still to come on this tour, cause the kids totally flipped out. In the beginning they were all sitting on the floor, but after the third or fourth song, they all stood up and were jumping around. The people were all really nice. After the concert we had a meal. It was some of the best food of the entire tour.”
Karachi, Pakistan
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Colombo, Sri Lanka
The only concert that didn’t take place in a school and where the music kept getting louder…
Audio Translation:
“Sri Lanka, Colombo: We had a great concert there too. We played in the Goethe-Institut in Colombo. It’s a beautiful, old, colonial building with an amazing garden out front. They built a stage in the garden and there were hundreds of students standing in front of it from the outset. And they totally got into it. The soundsystem kept getting louder. They actually told us that we had to keep it down because there was a temple nearby. But the technicians were so enthusiastic that they kept turning it up and the crowd went with it. It was really nice.”
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Chennai, India
Chennai, India
Raggabund’s
first concert in India. It was the first seated concert they ever
gave, but that didn’t last long...
Audio Translation:
“Chennai, our first gig in India: We played in an old theater. It was one of the first times in our careers that we played for a seated audience, because the theater had seats of course. But we didn’t give up the chance for all the students to get into it and we were able to encourage them to stand up. The students then came up to the front, but then they started rushing the stage. At some point we were performing and it felt like 500 kids were with us on stage jumping around. It was amazing.”
Audio Translation:
“Chennai, our first gig in India: We played in an old theater. It was one of the first times in our careers that we played for a seated audience, because the theater had seats of course. But we didn’t give up the chance for all the students to get into it and we were able to encourage them to stand up. The students then came up to the front, but then they started rushing the stage. At some point we were performing and it felt like 500 kids were with us on stage jumping around. It was amazing.”
Chennai, India
Trivandrum, India
Trivandrum, India
In
the state of Kerela, a vacation vibe and reminders of home emerged...
Audio Translation:
“Thiruvananthapuram aka Trivandrum: One of the southern-most cities in India in the state of Kerala. It’s the land of palms. Just arriving there was magnificent, tropical. My parents are from Paraguay. Trivandrum reminded me Paraguay a little bit. But I always get reminded of home in places like that. We also had a concert, another one with a seated audience. But throughout the tour, we always got them to stand up and party with us.”
Audio Translation:
“Thiruvananthapuram aka Trivandrum: One of the southern-most cities in India in the state of Kerala. It’s the land of palms. Just arriving there was magnificent, tropical. My parents are from Paraguay. Trivandrum reminded me Paraguay a little bit. But I always get reminded of home in places like that. We also had a concert, another one with a seated audience. But throughout the tour, we always got them to stand up and party with us.”
Trivandrum, India
“We
spent our first day on Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam. There was
ayurvedic food served on banana leaves.”
Bangalore, India
Bangalore, India
The
biggest audience of the tour from several schools and a very special
birthday…
Audio Translation:
“We really went crazy in Bangalore, since it was Mikey Board’s birthday. Also on stage, we sang 'Alles Gute zum Geburtstag' (Happy Birthday) with 1000 kids. We all have a very fond memory of this concert. Yeah, it was just a wonderful day.”
Audio Translation:
“We really went crazy in Bangalore, since it was Mikey Board’s birthday. Also on stage, we sang 'Alles Gute zum Geburtstag' (Happy Birthday) with 1000 kids. We all have a very fond memory of this concert. Yeah, it was just a wonderful day.”
Bangalore, India
Pune, India
Pune, India
A
magnificent reception at the Sanskriti School with bells, flower
crowns and people playing conch shell horns. And
a boisterous crowd…
Audio Translation:
“In Pune we were working together with the Sanskriti School. The students were all incredibly well behaved and very, very friendly. They were also in a really good mood, totally happy. The school has a amphitheater and we gave a nice concert there. The kids came up to the front as usual. But it got a bit pushy, people were pushing from the back to the front, without security guards. I was afraid a few times that things could get serious. But it all was okay. We also shot a little music video there. A one-shot.”
Audio Translation:
“In Pune we were working together with the Sanskriti School. The students were all incredibly well behaved and very, very friendly. They were also in a really good mood, totally happy. The school has a amphitheater and we gave a nice concert there. The kids came up to the front as usual. But it got a bit pushy, people were pushing from the back to the front, without security guards. I was afraid a few times that things could get serious. But it all was okay. We also shot a little music video there. A one-shot.”
Pune, India
Mumbai, India
Mumbai, Indien
“Mumbai
rocked! We had an amazing fiesta in St. Andrews Auditorium.”
Audio Translation:
“Mumbai was very, very nice. Great city, great people, great food. We played a concert in an auditorium and it was one of the best sounds we’ve ever had in our entire career, by the way. We always work with good sound technicians, but this auditorium is run by a technician who has worked with stars in India for the last 50 years. Amazing people, amazing technical support and the sound was just ingenious. And the people all flipped out. It was a very, very nice concert.”
Audio Translation:
“Mumbai was very, very nice. Great city, great people, great food. We played a concert in an auditorium and it was one of the best sounds we’ve ever had in our entire career, by the way. We always work with good sound technicians, but this auditorium is run by a technician who has worked with stars in India for the last 50 years. Amazing people, amazing technical support and the sound was just ingenious. And the people all flipped out. It was a very, very nice concert.”
Kolkata, India
Kolkata, India
The
mixer was in the way and the audience didn’t want to go…
Audio Translation:
“Kolkata was also superb. It’s one of the most well-known cities in India and it’s one of the most beautiful, with great people too. Unfortunately the traffic is way too much, that’s the only bad thing. We played in a theater. The sound people made a little mistake and set up the sound board right in front of the stage, where people usually stand, but whatever. It didn’t spoil the mood. The party continued for a half hour after the concert ended, I think. People didn’t want to go. They were still flipping out.”
Audio Translation:
“Kolkata was also superb. It’s one of the most well-known cities in India and it’s one of the most beautiful, with great people too. Unfortunately the traffic is way too much, that’s the only bad thing. We played in a theater. The sound people made a little mistake and set up the sound board right in front of the stage, where people usually stand, but whatever. It didn’t spoil the mood. The party continued for a half hour after the concert ended, I think. People didn’t want to go. They were still flipping out.”
Delhi, India
Delhi, India
Lots
of smog and even more students, who were partying so hard, that they
needed to stop the concert for a moment…
Audio Translation:
“Delhi: We arrived in the smog Moloch. We were there during the most smoggy week, I think, in the last 20-30 years. We were given breathing masks immediately upon arriving at the airport and we all had headaches the first day. It was a super amazing experience nevertheless. We played several concerts. It got a little bit dicey at one of them, cause the kids were going so hard. It really kept increasing from concert to concert. But at that one they were going so hard, that I was afraid something may have happened to the kids and the concert would have to stop. We also said, 'Hey, sorry, this is really the first time that we’re on stage telling people to sit down rather than stand up, but if you don’t we’re gonna have to stop.' Then they got it and everyone was cooperative after that. Then they sat down and we finished the concert without any problems.”
Audio Translation:
“Delhi: We arrived in the smog Moloch. We were there during the most smoggy week, I think, in the last 20-30 years. We were given breathing masks immediately upon arriving at the airport and we all had headaches the first day. It was a super amazing experience nevertheless. We played several concerts. It got a little bit dicey at one of them, cause the kids were going so hard. It really kept increasing from concert to concert. But at that one they were going so hard, that I was afraid something may have happened to the kids and the concert would have to stop. We also said, 'Hey, sorry, this is really the first time that we’re on stage telling people to sit down rather than stand up, but if you don’t we’re gonna have to stop.' Then they got it and everyone was cooperative after that. Then they sat down and we finished the concert without any problems.”
Delhi, India
A Total Success
A Total SuccessSequel to come: South Asia 2018
The
band was received so well everywhere they went, that they were
invited for a little South Asia sequel tour in January/February,
2018.
Audio Translation:
“We were super happy that we all made it through the tour alright and that it meant to much to the kids. The Goethe-Institut was also impressed. It was a really good experience for everyone, I think.”
Audio Translation:
“We were super happy that we all made it through the tour alright and that it meant to much to the kids. The Goethe-Institut was also impressed. It was a really good experience for everyone, I think.”
Song Text To Sing AlongBeautiful Day
Ich geh' raus, alles ist im Groove.
Die Sonne scheint! Ja, es geht mir gut!
Was gestern war interessiert mich nicht mehr.
Gestern war ich noch richtig down,
alles hat ziemlich reingehauen,
denn dein Abgang war echt nicht fair!
Oh no.
Das gröbste denk ich ist verdaut.
Vielleicht nicht ganz, aber ich glaub,
dass es Zeit ist Wärme zu spüren.
Viel zu lange war ich so dumm,
zu warten und zu hoffen, um
am Ende nur gute Zeit zu verlieren.
Aber ich singe:
Die Regenzeit ist vorbei!
Du bist weg und es ist mir gleich,
wo du bist was du tust.
Ich genieße den Tag without you!
Beautiful day!
A beautiful day without you!
Du sagtest was von Freunde sein?
Süß von dir, na dann logg dich ein.
Facebook oder Myspace und so.
Whatever!
Für mehr ist leider nicht wirklich drin!
Ich geh' raus und hab' Spaß mein Kind
nach so einer Herzamputation.
Und ich singe:
Die Regenzeit ist vorbei!
Du bist weg und es ist mir gleich,
wo du bist was du tust.
Ich genieße den Tag without you!
Beautiful day!
A beautiful day without you!
Die Sonne scheint! Ja, es geht mir gut!
Was gestern war interessiert mich nicht mehr.
Gestern war ich noch richtig down,
alles hat ziemlich reingehauen,
denn dein Abgang war echt nicht fair!
Oh no.
Das gröbste denk ich ist verdaut.
Vielleicht nicht ganz, aber ich glaub,
dass es Zeit ist Wärme zu spüren.
Viel zu lange war ich so dumm,
zu warten und zu hoffen, um
am Ende nur gute Zeit zu verlieren.
Aber ich singe:
Die Regenzeit ist vorbei!
Du bist weg und es ist mir gleich,
wo du bist was du tust.
Ich genieße den Tag without you!
Beautiful day!
A beautiful day without you!
Du sagtest was von Freunde sein?
Süß von dir, na dann logg dich ein.
Facebook oder Myspace und so.
Whatever!
Für mehr ist leider nicht wirklich drin!
Ich geh' raus und hab' Spaß mein Kind
nach so einer Herzamputation.
Und ich singe:
Die Regenzeit ist vorbei!
Du bist weg und es ist mir gleich,
wo du bist was du tust.
Ich genieße den Tag without you!
Beautiful day!
A beautiful day without you!
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Idea, editing, text and audio: Andrea Gehwolf
Photos: Gothe-Institut, Raggabund, Jochen Weber, Winmark Solutions
Videos: Thomas Nier (eyelense)
There are more videos on Raggabund’s YouTube page.
© 2018 Goethe-Institut
Photos: Gothe-Institut, Raggabund, Jochen Weber, Winmark Solutions
Videos: Thomas Nier (eyelense)
There are more videos on Raggabund’s YouTube page.
© 2018 Goethe-Institut
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Raggabund in South Asia
The Tour – A Fantastic Experience
The Music
The Party
Mikey Board
De Luca
Don Caramelo
Paco Mendoza
The Workshops
Selfie Time with Raggabund
The Stops On The Tour
The Tour Begins...
Karachi, Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Chennai, India
Chennai, India
Trivandrum, India
Trivandrum, India
Bangalore, India
Bangalore, India
Pune, India
Pune, India
Mumbai, Indien
Kolkata, India
Delhi, India
Delhi, India
A Total Success
Beautiful Day