Groovy Colours, a band of the Ballanta Academy of Music and the Performing Arts, has recently won First Prize in an International Music Talent Video Competition. The competition is part of the Chinese Bridge Global Music Programme hosted by the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation and the Central Conservatory of Music of the People’s Republic of China which was held in October 2020.
Each group which competed in the contest submitted a song each which has some connection with Chinese elements lasting not more than five minutes.
The songs which were submitted by the different groups were judged by a committee of professional music schools in China.
The Ballanta Band submitted and won the competition with a song in Chinese titled: ‘The Moon Represents my Heart’ and in their rendition captured the hearts of the judges.
Groovy Colors played their own arrangement of the Chinese song “The Moon Represents my Heart” merging the Chinese with an African flavor.
David S. Koroma, aka, Double King, the leader of the group, who sings and plays the keyboard, said they won the competition because of their hard work and persistence. “It was not really easy to win the competition. The instrumental part of the song was not difficult for us, because we had been used to playing different kind of music, but the song was really challenging because it was in a foreign language. To sing the song from memory was not really easy, but due to our efforts, we have emerged as winners,” he said.
The band named Groovy Colours was first formed in 2009 by Mrs. Annick Langlotz, a volunteer from Switzerland, who worked in Ballanta to disseminate messages and entertain through music.
He said that, the group has 10 members most of whom are staff of the Ballanta Academy like: Leslie Cummings-Wray on bass, Musa Ganda on trombone (also the sound engineer for the band), Michael Kamara on drums, Christopher James and Jocelyn Kobba on keyboards.
He furthered that, the group got its name Groovy Colors because the band had an admixture of black and white persons who usually played groovy music.
He recalled that, they played a selection of Afro-pop, Reggae, Jazz and contemporary popular music, adding that the band also enjoys composing original Sierra Leone music.
“We have originally composed songs like: Wanshilin Rope, Falamakata, Finally, Sweet Bubu, Alafia and Baby.
He further explained that they serve in the community at private functions, national functions like beauty contests, government functions (like the opening of special facilities like the Sierra Leone Ports Authority New Extension), country celebrations (like that of the Spring Festival by the Chinese Embassy and the EU Day celebrations), performing on radio and television programmes, and on YouTube.
By Ibrahim S.Bangura
11/11/2020. ISSUE NO: 7949