...Made of Fire




...Lonely Chained Woman


Vestine Ryangoma, 11yrs old: keyboards, vocals
Victoria Ryangoma, 12yrs old: drums, vocals
Christopher Ryangoma, 14yrs old: bass, vocals
Christian Ryangoma, 16yrs old: guitar, vocals



From an article on the Berklee Today website about their father, Ignace Ryangoma..

By age 12, Christian practiced guitar consistently, learning on his own, and studying the music of Joe Satriani, Wes Montgomery, and George Benson. By the time he turned 14, he was itching to play with a band. Around the same time, 10-year-old Victoria convinced her father to buy a drum kit by promising that she would practice daily. "Victoria held up her end of the bargain," says Ignace. "She wanted to be a drummer for her brother."

That prompted Christopher, 12, to trade the keyboard for an electric bass. Nine-year-old Vestine started learning chord progressions on the keyboard and, a short time later, began singing lead. They called themselves the Magical Bunch.

By July 2007, through their father's tutelage and hours of daily practice, the kids were playing a blend of African-inspired jazz, soul, and pop. They felt the urge to transform the musical exercises they practiced into songs and started cowriting with their father.

Once again, Ignace began to hear music calling him. "I realized the kids had something special and it was now up to me to support them and keep teaching them. I felt very proud and had found a new sense of purpose."

While the children know few details of the war in Rwanda, their songs reach deep into Ignace 's well of experience, acknowledging past and present conflicts and offering messages of hope and empowerment.

"Some of the songs that I helped them write still carry traces of past experiences," Ignace says. "However, I am now more mindful of the need to make the message of hope the central focus."

In July, a year after their first gig, the Magical Bunch appeared at the Ottawa Jazz Festival. The group also has a tour planned to raise funds for African relief organizations like SOS Children's Villages, and the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based organization Mapendo. At 15, Christian, has already set his sights on Berklee.

As Ignace talks about the Magical Bunch, it's evident that working with his children has helped him feel whole again. "Music never dies," he says. "The whole time I thought I had lost it, it was developing in silence - perhaps to allow me to find the right channel for it. I have regained the ability to work on my own material. Now I can see some of my music spreading through my kids, becoming their own. I might not have fully been able to escape from my past, but the music in me has finally found a way out."

Full story here: http://www.berklee.edu/bt/201/coda.html
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

Okay, I'm going to sound like a total smart-ass here. But The Magical Bunch makes me think of The Brady Bunch TV show.

This makes me smile. Where is the record/album so I can' support them!

Thanks for posting this tA... I gotta write their name down right know T-h-e M-a-.....

psychodelicide said:

Consider yourself successful.
If I didn't know you, you'd have one of these headed your way...




Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

TD3 said:

You're welcome and thank you for the smile.
Regarding the recording, a friend of mine is working with them so as soon as I know, you'll know.


Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

theAudience said:

...Fresh Start



Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Tribal Records

wow!

i need to get their album. i absolutely love this. thanks for posting this.