Fertile and Grown: SENA DAGADU’s Lots of Trees

SENA DAGADU on Mystic Geographies, Womanhood and a Decade of Good Vibes

As told to Sionne R. Neely  | Photos by Mantse Aryeequaye

[Double-click on photos to enlarge]

TREE WOMAN by Mantse Aryeequaye

Part Two Interview

ADA: When you think of Ghana what comes to mind?
SD: Home comes to mind. Earth and the smell of pepper. Seaside and energy – raw physical and spiritual energy. My husband, he laughs at me. One time I didn’t come to Ghana and we were in Hungary for the full winter. At the end of it, he said: “You know what? I’d rather pay a ticket for you to go to Ghana than spend another winter with you in Hungary!”

If I don’t come to Ghana for at least one month out of the year, I feel a little bit lost and malnourished. Ghana feeds the senses and the skin, the eyes and mind. In Europe it’s easy to become part of the little wheel that the squirrel runs in. It’s so important to go somewhere completely different that shocks you out of that European life, luxury and working to have money to live. Ghana reminds me of why I started writing and why I felt strange when I moved to Hungary and why I feel strange when I am here. It reminds me to feel. Ghana is key to life. Shw3!

ADA: What is Hungary like?
SD: Hungary has this kind of strange magic to it. Because of Hungary’s difficult past people are kind of still afraid to speak their mind. People are a little bit closed in themselves. But I love it. The architecture – the whole look of it gives Hungary a pulsating energy. Hungary must have been a place where there was lots of witchcraft and superstition, herbalism and natural water healing – things that you would find in Ghana as well. Hungary has a lot of water around it – it’s a healing energy.

IND!E FUSE 2012 Promo x SANKWAS BOIS

Get ready for all-out hilarity if you intend to watch the videos in this post. The Sankwas Bois (aka the Wack Rappers) are hosting the IND!E FUSE 2012 mainstage show at Alliance Francaise this Saturday, December 15th from 7:30 – 11:00pm. Their co-host is PY Annan of Viasat 1’s The One Show. Tickets are available for purchase for 10ghc at the front gate starting at 7pm.

Check out Mutombo da Poet and Simpol Tinz at work:

See the Sankwas Bois live at IND!E FUSE 2012 | @sankwasbois | @MutombodaPoet | @Simpol_Tinz

On FRIDAY<DEC14th, catch our mashup boutique at The Republic Bar + Grill in Osu (make the first right after Frankie’s, place is on your right). We’re starting the party @9:00pm with DJ sets from Jason Kleatsh, Kweku Ananse, SanSe and DJ Kev and collabos with Rumor [Skillions Records], HollaBlak, Looney the TKR, Oga Chuxx, Steloo + Yaw P, Eli and Fatul. 5ghc @ the door.

IND!E FUSE Returns December 2012

OH CHALE! We are backononono for a third time with IND!E FUSE, the illest live music show in Accra this December at Alliance Francaise. To get you in the spirit, we’re dropping the trailer from last December’s show. Relive the copious amounts of fun had by all with just a click of a button.

In case you missed out, here’s a recap:

Oodles + noodles of cool folk jam-pack the joint out – holiday visitors returning home from the U.S., U.K. + beyond bond tight with the hometown crowd – PY Annan + @MutomboDaPoet keep the crowd amped with their side-splitting, funnyman antics – Mawuli Fudoglo + Tacitus the Greek Ga God take over the stage to show everyone the proper way to azonto – Kobby Graham aka The Funky Professor keeps it smoove + ever-funky as our resident wax selecta – Ananse aka Old Dad bumrushes eager fans who get too close to the stage then suddenly transforms into a freeze! pop-n-lock mime dancer making you wonder what the flipmode squad hell is going on?!

 B.I.L.S. Rayoe surprises the audience with a kick-ass painted acrobatic troupe that eats fire – Azizaa performs her psycho-tropic myth music in the stands – Jojo Abot brings down the house with her natty Afro funk punk sound – The SANKWAS BOIS stir the pot with their tripped-up pidgen headbangas – Holla Blak casts spells with ther pan-African sticky icky lullabies (roll your blunt with that) – Lady Jay’s super-heroine sultry anthems hit you like an Accra heatwave – Steloo + Yaw P make you jump jump to their hypnotic house beats – Kofi BeatMenace and the Smol Smol Distins Band wreak havoc with their folk monster jams – Jayso, Shaker, Rumor and Sandra of Skillions Records kill it with their edgy yet charismatic bass bumpers – Yaa Pono and FaintMedal debut their now classic “I Dey Feel You Die” and create an infectious, all-out luvfest – and Wanlov the Kubolor spouts spoken word gems then unwraps his Christmas present for all to see.

WANLOV THE KUBOLOR IN ACTION @ IND!E FUSE

WELL, DAYUM. If you are digging all that, you won’t believe what we have in store for you this December.

So, get krunk. We’re live from the Ghana Space Station, baby, and beaming straight into your speakers. MO VIM coming your way real soon.

IND!E FUSE returns this December 2012.