Doudou Ndiaye Rose is widely hailed as the modern master of the Sabar, with an active period spanning from pre-independent Senegal until his death in 2015. Doudou was designated a ‘Living World Treasure’ by UNESCO in 2006 and has been described as a ‘mathematician of rhythm.’ During his lifetime, Doudou developed a system of 500 original drumming patterns which were largely transmitted within and cultivated by his large griot family. Typical to aural traditions, this system of musical knowledge remains largely unrecorded and un-notated.
This website presents sabar music in the spirit of the aural tradition, learning by listening.
Transcriptions is a project focused on the rhythmic tradition of sabar drumming culture and in particular the immaterial musical legacy of the recently deceased Doudou N’diaye Rose (1930 – 2015).
The project situates the notion of transcription across a spectrum of spatio-temporal understandings and mediums regarding the transmission of knowledge, specifically highlighting a living tradition of aural culture, and also musical exchange between electronic music happening in Europe with the advanced sabar tradition.
Transcriptions was initiated by studio LABOUR (Colin Hacklander & Farahnaz Hatam) with Senegalese producer Moe Sow (studio MOREHUMAN), Outer (the team behind Berlin Atonal) and the family of Doudou Ndiaye Rose led by Tapha, Thioune and Birame Ndiaye Rose.
The project was primarily funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes in Germany, with support from the Dakar Biennial and the Grand National Theater Doudou Ndiaye Coumba Rose. The events in August 2024 are funded by Musikfonds in Germany with support from Berlin Atonal and Callie’s.
Please contact us at info@studio-labour.com for any questions.
website design by studio LABOUR & Fredrik Olofsson.
Between 2020-2024, director Hiroo Tanaka made this short documentary to honor the legacy of Doudou Ndiaye Rose through his family in Dakar and promote Doudou’s idea of engaging sabar music with other serious music beyond the borders of Senegal.
The Transcriptions Project forms the second night of Berlin Atonal’s performance series OPENLESS. On August 24th, the concert night focuses on the rhythmic tradition of the sabar drumming culture and in particular the immaterial musical legacy of the recently deceased Doudou N’diaye Rose.
Unfolding operatically according to the logic of the Senegalese traditional Tannebier (the street-based celebration which has the sabar at its center), the concert involves family members of N’diaye Rose as well as luminaries of the electronic music world who take the percussive grammar of this tradition as a meaningful starting point for their own experimentations in sound.
Participating artists in the project are Birame Ndiaye Rose, Molamine Ndiaye Rose, Wadane Ndiaye Rose, Buoyo Ndiaye, Yoro Mbaye, Lamine Fofana, Holy Tongue & Shackleton, Nkisi, Hiroo Tanaka and LABOUR. Ticketing and more information available at www.berlin-atonal.com.
Following the large scale performance at Kraftwerk, will be some days of sabar workshops and a special intimate drum performance at Callie’s on August 26th with Birame Ndiaye Rose, Molamine Ndiaye Rose, Wadane Ndiaye Rose, Buoyo Ndiaye, Yoro Mbaye and LABOUR.
Information on registration for the sabar drum workshops to follow.
Transcriptions was initiated by studio LABOUR, Berlin Atonal, Moe Sow and the family Doudou N'diaye Rose. The initiation of the project was funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, and these events at Kraftwerk Berlin and Callie’s are funded by Musikfonds e.V. by means of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM).
In 2020 a group of electronic musicians traveled to Dakar to pay homage to the legacy of Doudou Ndiaye Rose through his griot family of master sabar players in Dakar, Senegal. This trip included musical and social exchange, recording, and more at the mystical Lac Rose and throughout the capital city. This trip provided the basis for many musical exchanges including the Honest Jon’s releases.
Present in Dakar were Thioune Ndiaye Rose, Moustapha Ndiaye Rose, Birame Ndiaye Rose, Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye, Tapha Ndiaye Mboup, Pape Badara Ndiaye, Ndoffene Thioune, Aas Mbaye, Ablaye Thiam, Abou Sow, Colin Hacklander, Jarrett Gregory, Moe Sow, Tijan Sow, Farahnaz Hatam, Laurens von Oswald, Harry Glass, Zakia Sewell, Nkisi, Shackleton, Raphael Meinert, Hiroo Tanaka, Mark Ernestus, Beatrice Dillon, Mark Ainley, Sandhya Ellis, Adriano Rosselli and Mo Stern.
Photos by Farahnaz Hatam, Laurens Von Oswald, Colin Hacklander and Adriano Rosselli
Zakia Sewell joined the project on the Dakar 2020 trip and produced this show.
LABOUR’s show on NTS features sabar music in the context of mbalax, praise music and more.