Folkloric Musicians among the Bugakhwe

Increased access to global media by traditional culture in remote parts of Africa has, in many cases, seen indigenous music marginalized in favor of imported forms. In some places, a folkloric tradition thrives, though this music may face extinction if those who practice it do not document their art in a way which can be passed down to future generations. For this project, I recorded seven musician/composers of the Bugakhwe, a Khoisan people group living in the Okavango Delta region of Botswana. Two were given enough studio time to create a complete CD-length set, so as to show off the depth of their individual styles. The other five recorded signature songs--two or three songs for which they consider themselves best known--so as to illustrate the breadth of the musical style. Recording techniques used, brief biographies of some of the musicians, and summaries of song lyrical content have been included