Duniya Dance and Drum Company & Stronghold Sound are pleased to announce our new monthly international dance party, Duniya Dancehall, taking place every 4th Friday of the month at The Blue Macaw (formerly 12 Galaxies), a new nightclub in the Mission district of San Francisco. The month of August will feature live West African drumming and dancing, bhangra and bollywood dance choreographies (with live dhol playing) later in the evening by DDDC, plus music by DJs Dub Snakr(Stronghold Sound, Selekta Series) and Juan Data(Nacional Records, Stronghold) throughout the night.

Duniya means “world” in languages as diverse as Punjabi, Arabic, Susu (from Guinea, West Africa) and Thai. Duniya Dancehall will cover many corners of the globe bringing music and performance from India, West Africa, Jamaica, Latin America and more. Each month will feature live performances from Duniya Dance and Drum Company and students, as well as special guests performing West African dance and music, Samba, African reggae, Dancehall MCs, guest DJs and more.

The next DD show is next Friday, August 27th.

See you there!

Below is a selection of original music either composed, performed (or both) by local Bay Area artists associated with Duniya Dance & Drum Co and Stronghold Sound to be featured at our new monthly, Duniya Dancehall, 4rth Fridays @ Blue Macaw in the Mission…

Lama Safarna (long journey)

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This original composition by Joti Singh is a beautiful, plaintive song describing the longing felt by early Punjabi immigrants to California. This piece (and the one below) will be part of a group of original songs performed at Duniya Dance & Drum Company’s Punjabi-Mexican project to be performed in November in San Francisco.

Theme 2

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Balandugu Kan (live @ Baobob Village)

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The name translates as, “The Sound of Balandugu,” where Balandugu is a village in Guinea Conakry. The village is the hometown of Bongo Sidibe, one of the founding members of Balandugu Kan (and DDDC) and the group is an international ensemble of traditional West African performers, most of whom have studied under master drummer, Mamadi Keita. Two live performances are posted here. You can hear members from Balandugu Kan perform at Duniya Dancehall as well as other West African dance events in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Balandugu Kan (live in Guinea)

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Why you play Cumbia? – Juan Data

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Argentine by birth but a cumbia fanatic by choice, dj Juan Data has become a standard part of most latin dance-party’s dj rotation in the Mission. Though he’s been djing and writing about music for a long time, Juan has recently been working with the Stronghold to produce original cumbias just like how he likes them. This track, unofficially named, “Why you play Cumbia?” gives us an ear full of the often unwanted banter a dj can get while playing out. Juan is one of the resident djs at Duniya Dancehall. Below is a remix project produced by him and dj dub Snakr.

Cucumelo – Juan Data & dub Snakr

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