Derek Gripper, Pyrography and Pan de Muerto

Weekend Passport 03.19

Passport 03.19

Weekend Passport is Stranger's Guide's weekly subscribers-only newsletter curated by Deputy Publisher, Ambia Elias. Each week we bring you globally-inspired recommendations for your weekend activities from the team and friends of Stranger’s Guide.

Listen: Derek Gripper 

For a one-of-a-kind listening experience, join South African guitarist, Derek Gripper on a beautiful sonic journey. Derek Gripper is known for his extraordinary talent in transcribing traditional kora music—an ancient 21-string instrument from West Africa that has similarities with the harp—to be played on the six-string guitar. Gripper beautifully blends African and classical music traditions and is able to emulate the sounds of the kora on the guitar without compromising the complexities of the instrument and composition which many had believed to be impossible. When Derek Gripper released his first album of kora translations titled, One Night On Earth, the legendary Malian kora maestro, Toumani Diabaté skeptically asked for proof that it was in fact only one musician playing. Get lost in the beauty of Derek Gripper’s stunning musicianship in his album, One Night on Earth here on Spotify or YouTube, and in his 2016 NPR Tiny Desk Concert here. 

Explore: Alex Peter Idoko 

Have you ever heard of Pyrography? I first encountered the art form through the work of Alex Peter Idoko. Wood, leather or other materials get decorated by burning designs onto the surface. Idoko is a self-taught pyrography artist based in Abuja, Nigeria who uses fire to create extremely detailed and hyperreal pieces of art on wood as well as on canvas where he combines the use of fire with acrylics in a technique he calls, pyro-fusionism. Check out Alex’s breathtaking artworks here on his website and watch videos of him painting with fire here on his Instagram.

Do: Diwali Art Coloring