Right from the beginning they were enthusiastically welcomed by their audiences who were fascinated by so much virtuosity. Their ability to expand their music without denying their traditional instruments has enabled them to experience new forms and record with musicians such as Jon Hassell, The Rolling Stones, Ryuichi Sakamato, Daniel Lanois, Billy Cobham, Joji Hirota, and others. They played several times at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and for 72 000 listeners at the famous Nelson Mandela’s birthday concert in the London Wembley Stadium.
Their music interweaves complex and forceful rhythms and is carried by the melodic lines of balafons, flute and koras. The songs are played on traditional instruments while their lyrics deal with present issues of African realities in a critical though hopeful way.
But they stayed faithful to their own track. So while integrating new orchestral forms and melodies, and adding contemporary sounds (guitar and keyboard), the balafons, koras, flute, djembes, tama, and baras still remain the core and hearth of their music. Last but not least, the arrival of a female voice introduces a new colour to this up till now male only ensemble.
During their odyssey of 30 years the group naturally faced some changes. Thus, its founder Mahama Konaté left the group in 1991. Others came and went and still others died. New and younger musicians have joined the group. All came in through the so called “Farafina School” which continues the African tradition of having the children, from their youngest ages on, attend the concerts of their elders and trying to repeat the music they hear all day long. In this way an astonishing and remarkable musical continuity is guaranteed.
Farafina creates a subtle music that is sensitive and ardent at the same time. It draws your body and mind into discovering not only the African life but a universal life nourished with rhythms leading all the way to the roots of jazz.
Reinvented by encounters with modernity, Manding influences, the music of Burkina Faso’s neighboring countries, the melodies of the people of Mali, Niger and the legends of Kong and the chants and drums of Ghana and Benin, all contribute to the richness of Farafina’s work.
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Mandela
Farafina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aşktan için yanıpta sönmüyorsa,
Yüzün eskisi gibi gülmüyorsa,
Azalıyor insan.Tükeniyor insan.
Artık içinde rüzgar esmiyorsa,
Gönül telinde kuşlar ötmüyorsa,
Aklının sözünden çıkmıyorsa,
Azalıyor insan.Tükeniyor insan.
Hesabı kesip dosttan saymıyorsa,.
Vicdanının sesini duymuyorsa,.
Yanılıyor insan.Ne biliyor insan.
Ağlıyor, azalıyor, tükeniyor insan.
Yanılıyor, azalıyor, ölüyor aşktan.
Yalnız olmaktan artık korkmuyorsa,
Gururunu dost sanıp, aldanıyorsa,
Ne bekliyorsa yoktan, olmuyorsa,
Azalıyor insan, Tükeniyor insan.
Geçmişin üstesinden gelmiyorsa,
Hesabı kesip dosttan saymıyorsa,
Vicdanının sesini duymuyorsa,
Yanılıyor insan, ne biliyor insan.
Aglıyor, azalıyor, tükeniyor insan.
Yanılıyor, azalıyor, ölüyor aşktan.
Ağlıyor, azalıyor, ölüyor insan.-"
These lyrics are from the song "Mandela" by the West African percussion group Farafina. The song is sung in Turkish and describes the human experience of emotional depletion and the self-deception that can lead to further detachment from love and connection. The lyrics describe the symptoms of this emotional state: feeling empty, depressed, unfulfilled, and disconnected from the world around us. The song suggests that the only way to overcome this state is to confront past traumas, listen to our inner voice of conscience, and reconnect with the world through acts of kindness and compassion.
The first verse describes the loss of passion and the gradual decline of a person's sense of self-worth. The second verse speaks to the self-destructive tendencies that come with this feeling of isolation, where a person's sense of right and wrong becomes muddled, and they start to ignore their conscience. The third verse touches on the theme of pride and the lies we tell ourselves to protect ourselves from feeling vulnerable. Finally, the chorus brings it all together, pointing out the inevitability of emotional pain and the need to confront it in order to overcome it.
Overall, "Mandela" is a deeply introspective song that speaks to the struggles of the human experience, and the courage it takes to face these challenges head-on.
Line by Line Meaning
Elinden bir şey gelmiyorsa,
When you are unable to achieve anything,
Aşktan için yanıp ta sönmüyorsa,
When your heart is not burning with love,
Yüzün eskisi gibi gülmüyorsa,
When you are no longer able to smile like you used to,
Azalıyor insan. Tükeniyor insan.
You are diminishing as a human. You are fading away as a human.
Artık içinde rüzgar esmiyorsa,
When there is no longer any wind blowing inside of you,
Gönül telinde kuşlar ötmüyorsa,
When the birds no longer sing on the strings of your heart,
Aklının sözünden çıkmıyorsa,
When you are unable to forget what your mind is telling you,
Azalıyor insan. Tükeniyor insan.
You are diminishing as a human. You are fading away as a human.
Geçmişin üstesinden gelmiyorsa,
When you are unable to overcome your past,
Hesabı kesip dosttan saymıyorsa,
When you cut ties and don't consider someone a friend,
Vicdanının sesini duymuyorsa,
When you fail to listen to the voice of your conscience,
Yanılıyor insan. Ne biliyor insan.
You are mistaken as a human. What does a person know.
Ağlıyor, azalıyor, tükeniyor insan.
You cry, you diminish, and you fade away as a human.
Yanılıyor, azalıyor, ölüyor aşktan.
You are mistaken, you diminish, and you die from love.
Yalnız olmaktan artık korkmuyorsa,
When you are no longer afraid of being alone,
Gururunu dost sanıp, aldanıyorsa,
When you mistakenly believe that your pride is your friend,
Ne bekliyorsa yoktan, olmuyorsa,
When you expect something out of nothing and it doesn't happen,
Azalıyor insan, Tükeniyor insan.
You are diminishing as a human. You are fading away as a human.
Geçmişin üstesinden gelmiyorsa,
When you are unable to overcome your past,
Hesabı kesip dosttan saymıyorsa,
When you cut ties and don't consider someone a friend,
Vicdanının sesini duymuyorsa,
When you fail to listen to the voice of your conscience,
Yanılıyor insan, ne biliyor insan.
You are mistaken as a human. What does a person know.
Aglıyor, azalıyor, tükeniyor insan.
You cry, you diminish, and you fade away as a human.
Yanılıyor, azalıyor, ölüyor aşktan.
You are mistaken, you diminish, and you die from love.
Ağlıyor, azalıyor, ölüyor insan.
You cry, you diminish, and you die as a human.
Contributed by Charlotte D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.