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Artist
Yampapaya
6+ albums
about
“Yampapaya” is the extraordinary result of a collaboration between two artists from different cultures: David James Hoffman, an American singer and songwriter, and Augustin Bizimana (Bixas Liberatore), a singer and songwriter from the Congo. The group's roots go back to 1984 when David James Hoffman followed his father, an American diplomat, to China where he formed a multiracial group with Eastern, Western and African musicians known at the time as “Beijing Underground”. Sponsored by the Chinese Society for the Development of Culture and Art and by the Chinese Philharmonic Society, the band did a number of highly successful tours around China, devolving the proceeds to the Chinese fund for the handicapped. After this experience David started to focus his multiethnic style more directly on Africa with lyrics in English, French and African dialects such as Lingala and Swahili. The group was soon defined as a "musical melting pot, full of energy, melting together harmonies and rhythms of different continents”. In 1986 David moved to Hong Kong where he continued his "musical laboratory" first calling his band "Afrozilia" then “Ado” and finally “Yampapaya” (which in Thai means “spicy mixed salad”). In 1990 David moved back to the USA, feeling the need to embark on new projects with musicians from Cuba and south America and experimenting with new rhythms and harmonies such as the Zouk, Calypso and Reggae. In 1994 the group transfered to Europe and took up residence in Italy where
