Alexander_v_W

Hello everyone, I am working on a lecture/essay project on the jazz band Mombasa, which was founded by Lou Blackburn in Berlin in 1973. My work is part of a larger research project on memory culture, music, migration and the public sphere. I would be very pleased if you would share your knowledge of the band and its history with me. I am particularly, but not exclusively, interested in the following aspects: - Mombasa and the Krautrock scene: the point is exciting because Blackburn played with Agitation Free in Berlin and the first two albums were released via Intercord's Krautrock sub-label Spiegelei. But there may be other aspects to it. - Mombasa and the German/European major labels: I found the information that Lou Blackburn was interested in a deal with EMI Electrola, but that this didn't really materialise. Are there any other attempts to get signed to a major label? - Mombasa and racism: Blackburn and the band were described in German jazz journals as an African ‘tribe’. These are colonial stereotypes. But what other examples of racist descriptions or criticism of racism against Mombasa are there? - I am interested in any detailed information about the creation of Mombasa's records and their public performances in Europe, information on the number of copies and sales figures of the records, size and composition of the audience at the concerts (were Black and People of Colour represented?), locations of the performances, advertising, etc. would be interesting. - I'm also interested in the band's connections to Africa, to migrants from Africa and African-American migrants. Blackburn travelled to Kenya in the early 1970s. Did other trips or other connections to Kenya follow? Was the band integrated into Black diaspora networks, of which there were not extremely many in the larger German cities such as Berlin or Cologne, but which did exist. - Finally, I'm interested in the band's connection to Cologne. The first two albums were recorded in Cologne recording studios and the band's producer, H. Manfred Schmitz, came from the Cologne area and was closely connected to the Cologne music scene. I would also be very grateful for any further information. I would be very interested in texts, pictures, photographs, films from and about the band. If you know of any surviving band members or their descendants, please let me know (alexander.van_wickeren@th-koeln.de). Best wishes, Alexander