Gasper Nali

About

Unique Afro Beats musician performs at Norden Farm

This not-so-traditional babatoni player is from the small town of Nkhata Bay on the shore of Lake Malawi. Gasper Nali is at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts on Thursday 29 May at 8pm. Tickets are £17.50.

The babatoni is an African one string homemade three metre long bass guitar. With a stick and an empty beer bottle, together with a cow skin kick drum and catchy melodies, Gasper creates the most amazing and danceable original Afro Beats possible!

Gasper’s unique style of Kwela music received an extraordinary amount of online attention after a video of him playing by the lake shore went viral with over 20 million views. He has been featured by CNN and in the documentary Deep Roots Malawi. He has jammed with Joss Stone, appeared on Wired for Sound – Malawi, been remixed by Aroop Roy for Sol Power Sounds and been played by Iggy Pop on BBC 6!

Gasper has toured the UK and Europe several times since his breakthrough video. He’s played in all environments from seated arts centres spaces to major festival stages.

In his younger years, Gasper and his two brothers would travel as a band from village to village in order to make money. At first he would be the one collecting the coins and later he would join the group playing. When both brothers passed away in 2002, Gasper decided to continue on his own, designing his own babatoni instrument in a fashion that would suit a one-man-band.

This year, Gasper transforms his customary one man band show and performs with a three piece band for the very first time in the UK. Along for the ride is Malawi born songsmith and cultural proponent Luhangah on additional vocals and percussion, as well as Gasper’s long time producer and collaborator Mattias Stalnacke on guitars.