Baka Beyond at the Sub Rooms

by Ben Gannon

To a sizeable crowd in the Sub Rooms, Baka Beyond brought the sunshine indoors with their fusion of celtic and Baka music which hails from the Cameroon rainforest.

Baka have been performing for the best part of 17 years and from the evidence of this performance have lost none of their passion or energy. Despite a technical fault which meant there was no footage of the band in the rainforest, the five-piece lineup provided more than enough visual stimuli. With guest vocalist Molara, an expert percussionist from Ghana, a Congolese bass player and original band members Martin Cradick and Su Hart, the energy levels were euphoric.

The venue, laid out in typical jazz club style with tables and chairs, was soon rearranged to cater for the mass of bodies keen to gyrate and consume the music. With the distinctive Baka singing, the music was at times mesmerising and hypnotic and the crowd responded accordingly.

The reception and applause for this obvious Stroud favourite brought the band back for two encores and when the inevitable happened and the band finished, there was an almost visible and audible come-down from all concerned.

It was a fantastic occasion and with luck Stroud will be treated to a full encore from Baka Beyond in the not too distant future.

Listen to some of this gig