Yerboli have this year found their way from Shenzhen, China to Manndalen, North Norway. The band got the name from the vocalist and guitarist, Yerboli. He was born in Xinjiang, in the very north west of China in the early 80`s. As a five year old he started to play the traditional dombura, which is a Kazakh string instrument, popular in the Central Asian areas.
As a 17 year old he travelled together with a Kazakh music and dance troupe; first to Guangzhou, then Beijing and in the end to Shenzhen, to perform their traditional Kazakh music. Shenzhen later became his musical base where he started to develop his own music.
Last year marked a new start in Yerboli`s musical career, as he together with Xiaoyu (percussion), Liao Kai(bass) and Wen Feng (drummer) started to create their own music. As well as playing music based on traditional Kazakh songs, they also add modern elements of improvisation. The genre is folk-rock, with references to reggae, the Middle East and the rough landscape of Xinjiang.
Riddu Riđđu – an international indigenous festival
The Riddu Riđđu is an international indigenous festival featuring an extensive program with around 200 artists and 3,000 visitors representing different indigenous and other peoples from across the globe. This year the festival will start Wednesday July 15th to Sunday, July 19th, 2009.
The Riddu Riđđu festival was started by the Sámi associations in Kåfjord in 1991, as a sea-Sámi culture festival. The festival has become one of the largest Sámi festivals and primary yearly festival for international indigenous peoples. The festival programme encompasses music, stage art, literature, children program, Northern People program, youth camp, film program, courses (work shops), seminars, art exhibition, market (bazaar), indigenous houses and much more.
For more information about the Riddu Riđđu, click here.