“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 11:3
ONE OF THE IRONIES OF LIFE IS THAT YOU DON’T NOTICE HOW IMPORTANT SOMETHING IS UNTIL IT IS TAKEN AWAY.
I THINK WE ALL GOT A LESSON IN THAT WITH THE WHOLE DRACONIAN LOCKDOWN DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT REACTING TO COVID. WHERE DID OUR RIGHTS GO? WHERE DID OUR FREEDOMS GO?
THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING IN OTHER ASPECTS IN OUR LIVES? REMEMBER EASY AND ACCESSIBLE GAS? HOW ABOUD DIAPERS?
CUBAN BORN OMAR SOSA IS NO STRANGER TO LEARNING TO APPRECIATE WHAT HE HAS. HE HAS MADE A CAREER OUT OF MAKING MUSIC DEDICATED TO THE “BASICS” OF LIFE, LIKE FREEDOM, AND PARTICULARLY WATER, NOT TO MENTION PEACE IN ONE’S SOUL.
FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, HE HAS TOURED WITH SEIKOU KEITA, A KORA PLAYER FROM SENEGAL AND VENEZUELAN PERCUSSIONIST GUSTAVO OVALLES, PRESENTING MUSIC THAT FOCUSES NOT ON ROMANCE, BUT ON THE BASICS OF LIFE, LIKE WATER, AND THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE.
A CONCERT BY SOSA’S SUBA TRIO IS A TRUE EXPERIENCE, AS SEIKOU SINGS ABOUT THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF EXISTENCE WHILE THE ENTIRE TRIO WORKS ON PERFORMING MUSIC TO GET THE AUDIENCE ON THEIR FEET AND DANCE, CELEBRATING THIS THING CALLED “LIFE”
WE HAD A CHANCE TO CHAT WITH SOSA BEFORE HIS LATEST SHOW IN LA. AS WITH HIS MUSIC, SOSA HIMSELF WAS CHEERFUL, ENGAGING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING
IS THIS THE SAME BAND YOU PLAYED WITH FOR THE TRANPARENT AGUA ALBUM TOUR?
Yes, it’s the same band but with a new record
HOW IS THIS NEW ALBUM DIFFERENT?
The band is bit different. It is a new formation with different information. We have a violin player from Cuba. This project is what I call the “second baby” , as it still includes Seikou Keita, the kora player from Senegal. He was also on the Transparent Water album.
This recent album is called Suba, which is a word from Sekou’s native language of Mandinka, which means “rice”. What we are basically trying to say to the people after COVID, that we need to get back to the basics of rice, to make people more optimistic. For people like us, no matter what happens economically to people on the other side of the world, like the situation in Ukraine, no matter what happens to the people that lose their job, we’re going to need to have a faith, and a hope to look for the light.
We have only one life; if we don’t look for the light in this only life, there’s no reason to be alive.
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“We have only one life; if we don’t look for the light in this only life, there’s no reason to be alive”
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YOUR ALBUMS ARE UNIQUE IN THIS SENSE. MOST ALBUMS ARE ABOUR ROMANCE AND RELATIONSHIPS. YOU PUT OUT ALBUMS ABOUT WATER
We are basically made of water, our meat and bones. There is air, water and earth, but the main thing is that we’re facing a problem with drinking water over the entire planet, and we don’t put attention to this.
The point of my album was that if we don’t have water, we start to think about how much we need it; we don’t think about what we can do to prevent this problem. We never think about what we can do to make a better world for us to make more drinkable water for every person on the planet.
The world has big problems with water; California has problems with water, and we’re talking about one of the richest places in the world. They have a lot of money to create something, like new iphones, or ipad, but they don’t do anything about water.
WE DON’T APPRECIATE THE ESSENTIAL THINGS OF LIFE UNTIL WE LOSE IT
In 5-10 years, we could have some really big problems, and many people may starve for lack of water.
We’re talking today about war for the gasoline in Ukraine; God willing I hope we never have a war because of water.
We talk about computers with 5GB, or 10 G B. The need for drinkable water that we’re going to have for our grandchildren is not a joke
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“We’re talking today about war for the gasoline in Ukraine; God willing I hope we never have a war because of water”
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YOU DO MUSIC ABOUT WATER; YOU DO MUSIC ABOUT FREEDOM, AND ABOUT THE DIASPORA. DID YOU GROW UP WITH A CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT THESE BASICS OF LIFE, OR DID IT COME TO YOU AS AN ADULT?
First, I’ve always listened to my inner voice, the spirit of my ancestors.
When you’re able to connect with the force of the light and their energy and to touch them, they’re **always going to tell you what is the right hope. The problem is the level of pollution in front of our faces every day that don’t let ourselves be ourselves. We turn out to be another person. There’s a media ***pollution that says “You need to dress like this. You need to sing like this. You need to eat like this. You need to talk like this. You need to have this kind of friends.” You end up losing yourself.
You end up not listening to your inner voice and that of your ancestors.
The conversations today are silly conversations. They call themselves “pragmatic”, but I say that being pragmatic is to listen to your inner voice.
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“I’ve always listened to my inner voice”
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THE KEY QUESTION IS ALWAYS , “WHAT ACTUALLY IS PRAGMATIC?”. IS IT ‘SOLVING’ SOME TECHNICAL PROBLEM RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, OR IS IT DEALING WITH THE ETERNAL ISSUES OF LIFE?
If you ask that question, you’re giving yourself the right answer.
The real point is, what drives me to connect to this philosophy.
I travel quite a bit, and when I travel, I meet a lot of people and see what is their priority, and what they’re missing.
For example, I was in Budapest (Hungary) two weeks ago, and was watching the news; I usually don’t watch the news anymore. And was working with the producer of the show who was talking about the war. The war was 100 kilometers from here.
I started to realize how close reality is. When I see the cars come to the hotel I was staying at, and I learn the owner was Ukranian. He welcomed all of the refugees, and the first 20-30 refugees were African guys.
I started to think about all these African people in Ukraine, and how the system was radical right wing. I started to study it. Then I saw more cars, BMWs, really dirty, and I ask myself, “What do we need to do for this thing not to happen?”
IT’S THE SAME THING WITH ETERNITY. I TRAVEL AROUND AND ASK PEOPLE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WHETHER THEY ARE GOING TO HEAVEN, AND THEY GIVE ME DETAILED ANSWERS. HERE IN AMERICA, THE QUESTION GETS BLANK STARES. NO ONE CARES IN THE WEST ABOUT ETERNAL AND ESSENTIAL ISSUES
When you leave this kind of reality, you develop a consciousness about it.
I come from a country (Cuba) today, I don’t want to say that we have nothing, but we’re close. (laughs)
I was there in December after having been away for 20 years, spending more than one week there; I was there for a month. I tried to see the reality and try to smell and taste it. I see that we as human beings can change this, and create a more equilibrium
You’re a chiropractor. That point of view is to create an equilibrium in the human body. We as people have lost our equilibrium between nature, between us as human beings, and between the energy that we have as humans.
When I talk about energy, I go back to your previous question, about water.
Water can change everything. We don’t think about the fundamental elements of this planet.
Water can stop a fire; it can also destroy everything in a second.
I WAS IN THE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRY OF MALI BACK IN THE EARLY 1980S, AND I LEARNED QUICKLY THE VALUE OF WATER WHEN I COULDN’T FIND A SOURCE OF UNPOLLUTED WATER TO DRINK
It’s like this, we don’t realize how important these things are until they don’t have it.
We have available water in every First World country, but when you go to Burundi, Tanzania or Ethiopia, when the water is problematic…
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“we don’t realize how important these things are until they don’t have it”
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Even in Europe, you can go to some luxury place like Majorca, and you’re in a nice special room, and you can still have problem with the water
YOU MAKE ALBUMS ABOUT TOPICS THAT PEOPLE TAKE FOR GRANTED, BUT WHEN IT’S GONE, YOU KNOW AND FEEL THAT IT’S GONE
Yes; it’s better to prevent the problem. It’s better to say “Hey, family, we have some things that are fundamental; let’s put some attention on this”.
And we, through music and art, can say this.
THEREFORE, IS YOUR CHOICE OF MUSIC FROM CUBA AND SENEGAL USED AS A MUSICAL VEHICAL FOR THIS MESSAGE?
No, in every record that I do, there’s a philosophy behind it. I don’t make music just to entertain.
Why? Because this is my nature; I am like this.
Sometimes I come to teach; sometimes I make everything complicated, but it’s not really complicated. I basically try to translate what is inside of me.
Senegal and Cuba; we are family. You and I are family. No matter where we come from, we are family, We are all part of this earth, brother
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“in every record that I do, there’s a philosophy behind it. I don’t make music just to entertain”
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WE ALL COME FROM ADAM.
Yes! There is one common seed that we all have.
We all have a heart; we all have a soul. We are each born in a land that is part of this planet. We all have a same reality.
Some people say we’re different. We come from the same place, but
For me to work with Seiko Keita, and Gustavo Ovalles from Venezuela, it’s not because we are black. We have a common thing to say. We want to say “Peace, Love, Unity”.
It doesn’t matter that we practice different religions. We can eat at the same table,
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“We all have a heart; we all have a soul. We are each born in a land that is part of this planet. We all have a same reality”
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YOU ARE RIGHT. IT IS NOT A MATTER OF RACE, BECAUSE IN AFRICA YOU CAN HAVE DIFFERENT TRIBES OF THE SAME COLOR KILLING EACH OTHER, LIKE IN ZIMBABWE OR RWANDA. I ALWAYS SAY THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT SKIN, BUT SIN.
We need to put our senses in the right place to the person right in front of you that you don’t even know. Why? -if we want to live in even a little better world, for our children and grandchildren, we need to start thinking about being together in a positive way. Not in terms of who is the best, or who has the power.
SO, YOU SEE YOUR MUSIC AS A PLATFORM TO ACCOMPLISH THIS
Yes, I have been doing this from the beginning.
For me, to present my African tradition to the whole world in a way, not everything is drums and “oonga oonga”. There are a lot of ways to show our beautiful African tradition. There are a lot of ways to say “Africa is beautiful” and we all have a way to deliver a note from the African library.
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“diversity makes us bigger. It can make us come more together”
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RANDY WESTON ONCE TOLD ME “MUSIC COMES FROM AFRICA, AND AFRICA COMES FROM GOD”
Randy Weston is my daddy!
Australia was part of Africa
IS THERE ANY BOOK YOU’VE READ TO RECOMMEND TO PEOPLE TO CATCH THIS PHILOSOPHY?
More than a book, I recommend for people to try to read their own soul
If you read your own soul, you’re going to find a book that is good for you.
DO YOU READ VERY MUCH?
No, but I take advice
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“If we enjoy ourselves, we are going to make other people happy. You’re job is then complete”
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WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SAY AT YOUR MEMORIAL SERVICE AFTER YOU’RE DEAD AND GONE TO ETERNITY?
“Enjoy life and drink a good wine”
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE YOU GIVE TO YOUR AUDIENCES IN CONCERT?
Come with an open heart, let’s go to a party together and we’re going to end with dancing. Unite all of our spirits will dance; not only mine and Seiko and Gustavo. All of our spirits here and together need to party and celebrate.
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“It doesn’t matter that we practice different religions. We can eat at the same table”
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ART BLAKEY ONCE SAID THAT ALL MUSIC IS DANCE MUSIC. YOU MAKE PEOPLE WANT TO DANCE, WHICH IS RARE THESE DAYS
I’m dancing and so will the other people. Why? Because it is fundamental.
If you dance, your body is moving; you become flexible. Energy is moving. If you’re stuck, you’re not going to get any energy. If you’re moving, you cherish energy. The energy bounces with your body and other people will want to dance with you.
When you dance alone, you can be flexible in a cool way. But when people are close to you, there is a sharing of energy and flexibility that is fundamental to dance and life.
I respect people if they don’t want to move. But personally I recommend them to dance. To be a good dancer is not a problem because we are all trying to please people but we must remember that we also need to please ourselves
***If we enjoy ourselves, we are going to make other people happy. You’re job is then complete because you help the energy in other people. When you open people up, they move and dance inside of their bodies.
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“More than a book, I recommend for people to try to read their own soul. If you read your own soul, you’re going to find a book that is good for you”
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IN THIS DAY OF COMPUTERS, IPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA, IT IS EASY TO LOSE FOCUS ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. THINGS LIKE PEACE WITH GOD, PEACE WITH YOUR FELLOW MAN, AND APPRECIATION FOR THE BASIC ELEMENTS ARE LIFE ARE WHAT CAUSES MOST CONFLICTS IN LIFE. OMAR SOSA HAS DEDICATED HIS CAREER TO REMINDING PEOPLE WHAT THE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF LIFE ARE, TAKING US BACK TO OUR ORIGINS IN ORDER TO MAKE THE FUTURE LOOK BRIGHT. WITH PEOPLE LIKE OMAR SOSA, THE PAST CAN LEAD US INTO THE FUTURE, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN APPRECIATE WHAT WE’VE BEEN GIVEN IN ORDER TO PASS IT ON.