As part of Black History Month, Hackney Museum is hosting an exhibition dedicated to African and Caribbean music in Hackney. ‘Roots, Rhythms & Records: The Sounds and Stories of African & Caribbean Music in Hackney’ also explores how the borough played a role in shaping British music.
Visitors will become acquainted with some of the most influential individuals in modern music history. You can listen to them telling their story while you look at additional source material. For example, Keith McIntosh speaks about Silent Whispers, his accessible venue in Homerton.
The exhibition also contains a large collection of records produced by black people from East London. Alongside the records there are audio displays, playing the tracks.
Archivist Etienne Joseph said: “People in Hackney have done so much for African and Caribbean inspired music internationally that you could easily produce ten exhibitions with all the achievements and stories they have to share.”
However, I couldn’t help noticing that the range of music was limited. There was more emphasis on Caribbean music from steel pans to reggae, with less attention paid to African sounds. This comes as a surprise, since the archivist has African roots.
Although the exhibition is well-intended, the execution was not note-perfect. I found it difficult to link the different displays, and I felt they didn’t all connect. In future exhibitions I would hope to see more African artists and African instruments.
Roots, Rhythms & Records: The Sounds and Stories of African & Caribbean Music in Hackney runs until March 2019. More details: www.hackney.gov.uk/museum
