Martin and Su spent many hours jamming with the Baka in the forest. The Baka’s music was so full of their generosity of spirit and joy of life that Martin and Su wanted to bring that spirit back home to Britain.
In 1993 they created the band Baka Beyond, mixing the chants and rhythms of the Baka with the songs and melodies of their own Celtic roots. The album “Spirit of the Forest” was released alongside an album of traditional Baka music, “Heart of the Forest”. Both albums sold worldwide and so started a lifelong cooperation between these 2 British musicians and an extended family of Baka Forest People from a small village called Banana, 500Km from the nearest tarmac’d road and 10km from the Congo-Cameroon frontier.
Royalties from these albums were used to set up the charity Global Music Exchange which directs them back to the musicians and helps the community adapt to the changing world whilst maintaining their rights to access their forest.
This film tells you about the Baka, GME and the Forest Voices Tours