kickstarter_newsletter_april_3.pdf

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REVIVING THE RADIO TANZANIA ARCHIVES ! APRIL 3, 2013

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NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Nearly three and a half years ago,I heard muziki wa dansi for the firsttime a tune by DDC Mlimani ParkOrchestra with an alchemy of hornsand electric guitar and vocal melodiesthat poured from the speakers likeliquid gold. A month later I learnedabout the Radio Tanzania Dar-es-Salaam archive at the TanzaniaBroadcasting Corporation, a treasuretrove of thousands of tapes with thatsame music-- and so much more--locked away, unheard for decades.Little did I know the journey thosetapes would inspire.

About twelve months, countlesshours of research, a successfulcrowdfunding campaign, and a longtransatlantic flight later, I was back inTanzania on a mission to save thosetapes, revive the archives and theinterest in their contents, and digitizeand preserve for posterity the soundsof Tanzanian history. I have beenjoined by a small group of inspiringand passionate people along the way.Our progress and accomplishmentsso far are outlined in this newsletter.

It hasnt been an easy quest, andwe are still behind schedule on be-ginning the digitization. I didnt fore-see all of the challenges of workingand living in Tanzania, but the patientsupport of our Kickstarter backers hasallowed us to get this far. We are stillas committed as ever to our originalmission of seeing the tapes digitizedand accessible, and we will work tire-lessly toward achieving that goal.Ralph Waldo Emerson said, the voy-age of the best ship is a zigzag line ofa hundred tacks. We continue on-wards, and thank you for being thewind in our sails.

- Rebecca Corey

THE PROJECT - A RECAP

NEWSLETTER

Radio Tanzania Dar-es-Salaam was Tanzaniassole radio station andprofessional recordingstudio for the firsttwenty-five years of in-dependence. The ar-chives which contain100,000 hours of

unique material includ-ing key political mile-stones and vital Africanmusic have neverbeen digitized fromtheir original reel-to-reel, vinyl, cassette,and DAT formats.

To lose the archives tofire, flood, or simply theelements of time, would

be a tragedy for schol-ars, musicians, histori-

ans, music-lovers, andultimately Tanzania it-self. The Tanzania Heri-tage Project was estab-lished in November2011 and officially reg-istered with the Ministryof Community Devel-opment of Tanzania in

March 2012 as a non-governmental organiza-tion with the mission ofpreserving and promot-ing the cultural heritageof Tanzania. The first


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major initiative of the Tanzania HeritageProject is the revitalization of the RadioTanzania Dar es Salaam archivesthrough digitalization, dissemination, andcommunity archiving.

Specific organizational goals of the pro-ject are:

! To contribute to the preservation,recognition, and development ofTanzanian music

! To facilitate sharing of musical,technical and cultural knowledgebetween Tanzania and other

countries

! To inspire musicians to discover,develop and interpret Tanzanianmusical traditions

! To contribute towards developinga unique Tanzanian musical iden-tity in contemporary music

Now a fully registeredNon-Governmental Or-ganization (NGO) in

Tanzania, the TanzaniaHeritage Project has

built valuable partner-ships with key stake-holders. THP hasworked to gain the trustof the Tanzanian Broad-

casting Corporation, be-coming a respected

partner in the develop-ment of a plan to digitizeand preserve the ar-chives reel-to-reeltapes. This is evidencedby THP being one of thesole organizations en-trusted to visit the ar-chive, and to share thestory of the archive with

global media outletssuch as NPR and theBBC. Working with chiefarchivist Bruno Nan-guka, THP staff haveascertained the extent ofthe archives material,gaining a valuable un-derstanding of the scopeof the task ahead.

Sharing this data with

other key organizationssuch as UNESCO has

WHERE WE ARE


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assisted in the preparation of a roadmap for achieving the vital work ahead.

To ensure this work complements the ef-

forts of other organizations and stake-holders, THP has also developed part-nerships with other key groups, includingNGOs, (Media for Development Interna-tional, Art in Tanzania), and Governmentministries (COSOTA the copyright soci-ety, BASTATA the performing arts coun-cil, among others.) THP has also formeda partnership with CHAMUDATA, themusicians union of muziki wa dansi (thestyle of music dominant in the archive),who have collaborated with the THP on a

number of projects, including a workshopon online marketing for artists, and a TVfeature for Minibuzz, a popular currentaffairs / entertainment show. Musiciansfrom CHAMUDTA, all of whom were mu-sicians who recorded at the Radio Tan-zania studio, shared their memories andreflections with us material that will beinvaluable in telling the true story of thisremarkable period in Tanzanias history.

THP has also built and maintained anumber of other partnerships that willmake achieving our ultimate goal possi-ble. Having established links with a

worldwide network of archivists and audiorestoration experts, including projects inMalawi, Afghanistan and Cameroon, theproject has a dependable pool of inter-

ested parties from which to call on adviceand skills. Whats more, interest andsupport from various academic institu-

tions, museums, online platforms, andmedia and music industry players havebolstered the projects progression.

Tanzania Heritage Project is now wellplaced to move forward and beginachieving our organizational goals.

Our plans include the provision of crucialequipment to the TBC, (funded by theKickstarter campaign) to begin the actualdigitization of the tapes in the archive. Afull analog to digital workstation, includingreel-to-reel player, audio interface, com-puter, software and monitoring equip-ment, is being sourced for shipment tothe Dar es Salaam.

THP will provide support to the TBCwhile they undertake this painstaking

process, also assisting in the surveying,

documentation, training, restoration pri-oritization and provision of human re-sources for the successful undertaking ofthe project.

We will also undertake numerous activi-ties designed to provide the maximumexposure to both the Radio Tanzania ar-chive ands the rich and varied musicaltreasures it contains. This will include thefollowing projects:

The production and worldwide commer-cial release of a series of CDs / vinyl al-bums of music from the Radio Tanzaniaarchives. THP is working to assist a

highly reputable independent world music

Juma Ubao, (CHAMUDATA Chairman)

makes a point in an interview with THP)

NEXT STEPS


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IN THE MEDIA

THP has received a lot of media coverage over the past few months. Check outour Press page on the website to view articles and hear radio slots from the likes ofNPR, Afropop, OkayAfrica, and many more. http://tanzaniaheritageproject.org/press

record label to license and release anumber of themed albums focused onthe Radio Tanzania archive. These re-leases will feature extensive sleeve notes

and images from the period, fully contex-tualizing the music for a new audience.Licensing and royalties will be handled tofully benefit the musicians and rightfulcopyright owners, providing a valuablerevenue stream to some of Tanzaniasstruggling artists. As a Kickstarter sup-porter, you will receive a free CD as asmall thank you for your patient andcontinued backing.

THP will also conduct numerous inter-views with artists, engineers, DJs andother people associated with the RadioTanzania years, creating an online re-source covering the many facets of thetopic. These interviews will also form thebasis of the production of a 30 min

documentary film based around the his-tory of Radio Tanzania, and the digitiza-tion project. This video will also bemade available to Kickstarter support-ers as soon as production is com-pleted.

Several workshops, to be facilitated byTHP, will be arranged for Tanzanian mu-sicians and artists to stimulate under-standing of online promotion, marketing,copyright, and other important topics.

These workshops will be available toboth older musicians and younger artists,fostering a space in which both genera-tions and interact and share experiencesand viewpoints. This will be furtherstrengthened through a project to initiatea musical collaboration between olderand younger musicians, ensuring knowl-edge, skills, and historical memory arepassed from one generation and thenext.

Join us on Facebook and stay informed of news, blog posts and more.
https://www.facebook.com/RadioTanzaniahttps://www.facebook.com/RadioTanzaniahttps://www.facebook.com/RadioTanzaniahttp://tanzaniaheritageproject.org/presshttp://tanzaniaheritageproject.org/press

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