Hugely talented South African musicians Graeme Sacks and Erika Strydom have done the parents of young children an enormous favour - goodbye Barney, hello unique, funky, African educational music for tots that will have adults boogie-ing along from the first drumbeat.
Picture an African village deep in a valley. Hear the sounds of ululation drifting through the hills. Now move to the vibrant city streets of bustling Soweto, children laughing, taxis hooting, dogs barking……..and from down the street the jazzy sounds of a township saxophone. Next we are taking a ride through the African bushveld, with wild animals all around us, and the ancient cry of Impi warriors echoing through the plains.
This is the authentic African collage found on the unique “African Alphabet” CD
“The African Alphabet” CD contains 13 fun sing-along songs for kids of all ages. The songs are an A to Z of things African and are composed in vibrant African styles ranging from Afro-Jazz, Afro-fusion, Afro-pop, to more traditional sounds and a whole lot more!
Aside from teaching the Alphabet in a novel way, the CD exposes kids to wonderful African music and culture where they will get to learn about Ululating, Yebo, Impis, Marimbas and so much more.
“The African Alphabet” is the brainchild of the songwriting/production team of Graeme Sacks and Erika Strydom, co-founders of Burnt Bread Productions, and features the talented Relebogile “Lebo” Mabotja on lead vocals and internationally renowned jazz musician, Kelly Petlane, on flute, pennywhistle and alto saxophone.
The CD is further enhanced by the enthusiastic, musical vocals of a wonderful group of children from Redhill School in Johannesburg, under the leadership of Elise Coutts-Trotter.
All of these performers come together to make a refreshing, foot-tapping,sing-along African CD.
The CD is packaged in a “Digipak” (fold-out cardboard with a plastic tray) and is beautifully illustrated with pictures depicting each letter of the alphabet.
Free gift to teachers: Email us via the address on our website & we will send you a link to download backing tracks, sheet music and lyrics for the entire African Alphabet CD. A great tool for the classroom!
For more info visit www.africanabc.com or email info@africanabc.com
About Burnt Bread Productions
“Burnt Bread Productions” was founded in 1998, and through their company, Graeme Sacks and Erika Strydom have been composing and producing music together for the last eight years. The team has written and recorded music for three educational theatre projects, a number of local artists, an Afrikaans children’s CD, and many radio and television commercials. Graeme is a freelance guitarist who has performed with top musicians around South Africa, and in many high profile musical theatre productions including “The Lion King” and “The Rocky Horror Show”. Erika Strydom is currently part of the all-girl pop/rock group “She”. Both Erika and Graeme also have extensive music teaching experience.
News Flash!!!!!!
- “Stories from the Alphabet Tree” is a new show starring Erika Strydom. It features songs from “The African Alphabet CD” and stories based on African themes from the CD. Look out for it at a venue near you.
- The Second CD “African Numbers” is currently in production. It is due for release early 2009
