Here’s the text © The Evening Standard…

A photographer has captured well-known musicians in 31 pictures taken over 31 days.

They include solo artists Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dionne Bromfield, Carl Barat and KT Tunstall.

Groups Razorlight and Badly Drawn Boy were also captured in relaxed settings by Matt Humphrey.

The prints will be auctioned to raise money for the charity African Workshop, which runs creative community centres for underprivileged children in Mali, West Africa.

Mr Humphrey, 32, of Muswell Hill, said: “It has been an exciting rollercoaster ride into the world of these fantastic musicians who have given their time to the project.

“The shoots have been predictably unpredictable and although the subjects kept me on my toes, I’ve loved every one of them.”

He raised £12,000 last year with a similar project featuring 31 actors, including Kevin Spacey.

Ben Holt, who runs the African Workshop, said: “We run pop-up workshops for kids, an educational project where they get their school fees paid, a drop-in primary school and we are working with a street kids programme. This money is going to make a huge difference to the children of Mali.”

The images will feature in an exhibition at The Strand Gallery from January 9-22. A silent auction of signed, limited-edition prints is open now at 31thirtyone.com

Jonny Crawshaw (Give It Some! / The Get Down, Leeds) will this time be joined by the venerable Thomas MacGreggor aka Camp Climax (Slam Gumbo / Mac’s Gay Disco) and the man, the legend, Mr Johnnie Lyle AKA Lyley (Scratch) playing Funk, Soul, 60s R&B, Reggae, Hip Hop and whatever else takes their fancy really. Doors are open between seven and midnight and entry is FREE with a suggested minimum donation of £3 to the African Workshop.

For anyone who’s not been, The Scolt Head is a really nice space with comfy shabby-chic sofas and great beer. It’s about a five minute walk from Kingsland Road and maybe fifteen to Highbury & Islington.

Think good music, good beer, good surroundings, good people and a good cause. I think it will be good.

Go to www.giveitsome.co.uk for some musical tasters and please invite all your friends!

Matt is photographing 31 musicians and then auctioning the prints to raise funds for our work in Mali. Puma are sponsoring the project and there are some great acts involved. Read about his latest encounter with the mighty Razorlight….

Read more of Matt’s posts on his blog

this week razorlight must have been feeling particularly charitable as i was lucky enough to photograph them backstage at another extremely worthy cause of the peace one day event in london at the o2 arena.

i can hardly believe i’ve managed to pull this one off as it is over a month since their manager had pretty much ruled out the sitting. i met with them at the v festival this summer and spoke about the charity and project. having seen that they were in town for the peace one day event i thought i’d try my chances and got in touch again. as luck would have it their was a bit of a gap in the schedule and we arranged for me to photograph them backstage ahead of their performance at the o2.

once i’d been checked and approved by security i was allowed back into the dressing room area, where i met the band and hung about in their room for a bit. lead singer johnny borrell recounted his performance at a charity cricket match at lords earlier in the week, they discussed set lists, and practised songs ahead of their performance on the mainstage. this doesn’t seem real writing this and i feel quite privileged to have had this opportunity and well chuffed that i got to photograph them. i’m even more pleased that they were so interested to hear about the project and the work that african workshop are doing in mali. great guys

having scouted out an area for the shoot, literally behind the main stage, we wandered through the corridors and set up for the shoot – i’m very happy with the results and am amazed that it even happened, let alone that the shot is half decent!

that followed the day after the metronomy shoot in southampton, which was the day after ghostpoet in london, the day after scott matthews in oxford – all in all, a great week. i cannot thank the artists and their respective managements enough for their involvement and support of the project.

have a nice weekend all!

Jonny Crawshaw and Dean Atkins (100% Dynamite/Soul Jazz) will be playing funk, soul, 60s R&B & reggae between seven and midnight and entry is FREE with a suggested minimum donation of £3 to the African Workshop.

30 April at 7pm
The Scolt Head
Culford Road (Off Englefield Road)

For anyone who’s not been, The Scolt Head is a really nice space with comfy shabby-chic sofas and great beer. It’s about a five minute walk from Kingsland Road and maybe fifteen to Highbury & Islington.

Think good music, good beer, good surroundings, good people and a good cause. I think it will be good.

Go to www.giveitsome.co.uk for some musical tasters and please invite all your friends!

Only 100 tickets available for this UNIQUE event.
Mulled Wine & Raffle – top prize: Harp from Mali (Ngoni)

Souriba Kanoute
Master Griot Kora player
Relax to the sounds of the West African Harp.(Senegal).

Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands
Modern folk sound with lyrics that reach out to you with music for the soul and senses. (Ireland/Scotland)

Forest Choir
27 voices singing world songs in harmony, collaborating with Mbira players and a Dhol Drum. (Scotland/Zimbabwe)

John Langan
Rare ‘unplugged’ solo set by Celtic Connections open stage winner. (Scotland)

7pm – 9.15pm (first act at 7.15)
TICKETS: £12 LIMITED CAPACITY EARLY BOOKING ADVISED

ONLINE TICKETS: www.midwinterrosslyn.eventbrite.com
Also available by email: friendsofmaliscotland@gmail.com

ALL PROFITS TO :
TIMBUKTU MUSIC PROJECT www.timbuktumusicproject.com
THE AFRICAN WORKSHOP www.africanworkshop.org
Bring warm clothing , the Chapel is chilly !

Come one, come all to this unique event, raising funds for community projects in Mali, West Africa. This Midwinters night come together in the historic and beautiful Rosslyn Chapel, listen to quality music from around the world, drink a glass of mulled wine (non alcoholic option available) and help 2 grass roots community projects in one of the poorest countries in the world.

The organiser of this event, Chandra Mather MSc, is a Community Musician and has lived and recorded music in Timbuktu and Bamako, Mali.  She saw that , although Mali has produced an astonishing amount of World Class musicians (Salif Keita, Habib Koite, Toumani Diabate, Ali Farka Toure, Rokia Traore, Tinariwen, Bassekou Koyate – to name but a few), the people there have few instruments to play, no way of buying strings for the beaten up guitars they do have, and no access to community centres or the resources we in Europe take for granted. The 2 charities this event is supporting are aiming to change that, and she would like to arrive next time (January 2011) with guitars and associated items for distribution through the community centres.  Extra funds will be distributed to the 2 charities. Help her to make this a reality in this season of goodwill.

Remember , if you have a guitar lying around that does not get played , we will take it to Mali in January and give it a new lease of life ! Bring it to the gig or email for collection dates in the Edinburgh area – friendsofmaliscotland@gmail.com

Donations are gratefully received , if you can’t make the concert, please email to send a donation via PayPal. friendsofmaliscotland@gmail.com

THIS EVENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE GENEROSITY OF RED DOG MUSIC, EDINBURGH. THANK YOU !

Here’s what it’s all about in a nut(ter) shell:

“This is the start of what will be a global motorised two-wheeled movement. We have a dream to circumnavigate the world by scooter and get as many people involved along the way as possible. We’re starting in West Africa simply because that is where we live, so for us we can begin and end at home, making the start and finish even more sweet, but also helping to market Africa as a largely undiscovered tourism hotspot, bringing it’s charm, energy, resilience and identity to a wider audience.”

So dust off your helmets, dig out your maps and get ready to ride! You’ll have an amazing time and you’ll help hundreds of kids at the African Workshop. Scoot the World!

Dozens of young people came out to celebrate in Mali on the 21st September, joining millions of others around the world determined to create a peaceful future for the planet. Check out the Peace One Day 2010 photos!

We dished out new kits to the two teams who took to the pitch in the neighbourhood where we work. It’s an unusual football pitch, with dips, pot holes, donkey tracks and a road running across it. The players dribbled skillfully around women with huge buckets of food on their heads and past the carts carrying water to nearby houses.

The Peace One Day ball flew about in the red dust, bouncing off feet, heads… and the odd wall! The crowds danced and played games on the sidelines as the match raged back and forth. It was end to end stuff but at the final whistle it was 2-0 to the red and black team.

After the match we served up a meal to all the children and their families and played music into the night. It was a great community event, lots of fun and something special for the youngsters who come to the African Workshop to play, learn and have fun.

Big thanks to the Peace One Day team for inviting us to host the event in Mali. Best of luck with all your plans for the future!

Ben

The Independence Day celebrations have been building in Bamako – lampposts sprouting on main roads; bridges painted; 3km of flashing LED cat’s eyes pulsing red, green and gold; flags grabbing the wind and even a pair of cross-eyed CCTV cameras staring out over the traffic. And everyone talking about the 50^th, wearing wax prints with 1960-2010 designs, getting excited.

The crowd was thick and smiling, laughing, joking, wishing itself a happy festival. Proper lovely!

It’s a nice end to the trip, which has been great and positive and productive, despite the container staying in Dakar and the swiftness of two weeks. We have found a new country director to deal with officialdom while I am in the UK, worked out the next steps for the project – buying land, building our base, bringing over UK artists – and spoken to the relevant village chiefs and mayors. I even had a crash course in Malian customs, import/export law and how to offer ‘presents’ to those that need them when waiting for a rubber stamp.

Now it’s almost time to return to the UK, after a couple more days playing with the kids in Yirimadjo and learning Bambarra as they tackle the new counting games, Transformers and Frisbees. That’s the best bit – seeing those kids who use the African Workshop explore new challenges, learn new skills and push more boundaries. And that is what you are all helping us to do – make the world a bigger place for a brilliant generation in Bamako. Thanks!

Lots of love,

Ben

In Bamako the rain is still sheeting down, running eight inches deep down the street where we are staying and washing rubbish into the river. The humidity is 97 per cent, temperature climbing. The Workshop is sagging and stretched under the weather, demanding new roofing, unholed tarps and time to dry out. But the kids are still playing, running around in the rain.

And somewhere in Senegal a container is moving up the country filled with a Northumberland school room. I hope. More to the point, somewhere in Bamako a customs officer or border policeman is sitting with my paperwork on his desk. I hope is his ready with the rubber stamp that says ‘Yes’.

That means there must be a lorry, as battered and rusted, disel-choked and dangerous as any other on Malian roads, which I will hire next week to drag that container the last few miles to the African Workshop. I bet the driver is asleep under it in his hamock now. And then – when we open it – there will be desks, chairs, tables, instruments, books and supplies for our project’s kids which we last used near Newcastle.

And hopefully – inshallah – the next stage of the African Workshop will have truely begun. Thank you for all help help and support along this journey!

I’ll be updating regularly from Mali so check back soon.

Lots of love,

Ben

The charity number will open opportunities to grow the project and help more kids get creative in Mali. It’s also a great milestone for the AW, something we have been building towards for a while.

Now the next phase kicks in! it’s time to really push on with fundraising events and plans for a new, larger, better equipped centre in Bamako. Get in touch if you’d like to help – email ben@africanworkshop.org

And in other news… the story of the school shipment making its way to Bamako from Northumberland has been picked up by London’s Metro newspaper plus regional press and radio.

• Wigan Today
• Lynn News
• Journal Live

The response has been really positive and there is a lot of interest in more articles once the donation arrives.

The shipment is due to arrive mid-September so I’ll be there to document it and distribute it. Fingers crossed for some good media attention when I’m back in the UK.

Thanks for all your support and amazing help – next stop the Towersey Village Festival!