SLC-S25/W5 | Community World Tour: Traditional Music and Dances

There’s a kind of music that doesn’t just live in speakers, it lives in bones. It travels through generations like a whisper passed from grandmother to grandchildren. Traditional music is that kind. It’s the kind of sound that can make even the quietest child dance or bring tears to a mother’s eyes, not because it’s trendy, but because it remembers.

This week, I did something different. I dared myself to remix tradition, not because I’m a sound engineer or a music genius, far from it. I’m just a woman with a soft spot for the past and a heart that beats to ancestral rhythm.

So I picked a song that means a lot to me: “Igbo Amaka.”
Not the version from centuries ago, but the modern gift from Nigerian artist Flavour, who wrapped our tradition in melody and offered it back to us like a jewel.

🎧 My First Ever Remix — Beautifully Imperfect, Wonderfully Brave

I’m not Igbo by birth, but something about the rhythm of their drums, the tilt of their chants, and the honesty in their music pulls at my spirit like a mother calling her child home.

So when I stumbled into BandLab, a beginner in every sense of the word, I wasn’t trying to be a sound engineer. I wasn’t even sure what I was doing, clicking here, dragging there, hoping I didn’t delete the entire project with one wrong touch.

I picked “Igbo Amaka” because it moves me. A song by Flavour, a modern Nigerian artist who has somehow become a bridge between dusty village squares and neon-lit city clubs. His music carries the scent of the ancestors and the flavour of the now.

With trembling fingers, I layered soft beats over the track. Something modern. Something fresh. But I was careful, like someone tiptoeing into sacred space.
I didn’t remix to distort. I remixed to remember.
To blend the old with the new.
To show that tradition can dance to the sound of today without losing its soul.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s mine.

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🎥 The Real Magic? The Dance of the Children

If my remix was an echo, the children were the drumbeats.
During my kids’ Cultural Day at school, a group of Igbo children took to the stage, beaded and beautiful.

They danced to “Igbo Amaka,” and I swear, time stopped.

There they were, tiny bodies wrapped in traditional wrappers, moving with the kind of confidence that only comes from knowing who you are.
They may not fully understand the weight of the song, but they carried it on their shoulders like a crown.
Their feet tapped stories into the ground, stories about belonging, about pride, about never letting the sound of home disappear.

I recorded them, not as a filmmaker, but as a mother, as a witness to something sacred.
And I knew in that moment: This is what tradition looks like when it lives and breathes inside the next generation.

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🌍 Where It All Began — The Heart of Igboland: Enugu, Nigeria

The rhythm of this story finds its roots in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, a place I’ve never lived in, but one I feel deeply connected to through music. It is the ancestral home of the Igbo people, a tribe known for their rich culture, bold colours, eloquent language, and unmistakable music.

With shoulders raised and backs arched, Igbo dance is a celebration of dignity and joy. And “Igbo Amaka”, meaning “Igbo is beautiful”, isn’t just a chorus. It’s a declaration. A reminder that some roots grow stronger even when you’re far from the tree.

💭 Why I Chose This Sound

I chose this sound because somewhere between the thump of the drums and the cry of the flutes, I found myself missing something I never actually lost.

Traditional music will always matter. It may hide for a while, covered in noise and trends, but give it space, and it will rise again and again.

I didn’t remix “Igbo Amaka” to chase trends. I remixed it because I wanted my daughters to know that beauty can be ancient and new. That culture isn’t something we only perform in school halls, it’s something we carry, hum, cook, wear, and sing.

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✍🏽 TYPE LESS SMILE MORE Phrase

“Our ancestors didn’t need auto-tune, they sang straight from the soul.”

I would like to invite @etoro, @kwinberry @blessedlife to join this challenge