Baka Beyond was originally inspired by artists Martin Cradick & Su Hart's visits to the Baka Forest People in Cameroon. "It was the amazing bird-like singing or yelli that first attracted me," says Su Hart, Baka Beyond's lead singer. "The women get together before the dawn to sing, enchant the animals of the forest and ensure that the men's hunting will be successful. Song and dance are used by the Baka for healing, for rituals, for keeping the community together and also for pure fun! We try to do the same in Baka Beyond." Their first album "Spirit of the Forest" helped define the term “world music” and pushed Baka Beyond into worldwide recognition. "The original idea of 'Spirit of the Forest' was to recreate the mood of the music sessions that take place many afternoons and most evenings in the forest," says Martin. "However none of the recordings really touches the raw energy that is present in the forest where everyone, young and old, would be taking part. It just isn't possible in Britain to find the same atmosphere, especially in a studio. I've known for a long time that I would have to, one day, get a multi-track studio to the forest, and now the technology has caught up with the idea. "When I went on my own in November 2002 I took my laptop and a couple of decent microphones. This was the time that plans were being made for the construction of the Music House. The Baka, inspired by this idea, couldn't wait for our return the following spring for construction to start on a very large traditional-styled Baka house or 'mongolu' to play music in. The building of the Music House has created a more permanent base in the rainforest, which has opened up more possibilities for recording. Martin took a solar panel and battery in January 2004 and a multitrack system so that the Baka's music could be captured live. From these beginnings, Baka Beyond has evolved into a multicultural, dynamic live stage show. Although in the early days the live “Baka Beyond” was mainly British musicians reproducing the recordings on “Spirit of the Forest”, over the years the band has grown to include members from Brittany, Cameroon, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ghana as well as Britain. Each musician brings their influence and talent to the music to create a unique spectacle honoring a lesson learned from the Baka people, “everyone to be listened to”. The music of the Baka somehow touches the music of many different cultures,” says Martin Cradick, guitarist and founder member of Baka Beyond. “I’ve always looked for the similarities in music from different places and the fast, yet gentle syncopated rhythms of the Baka somehow provide the perfect glue to join together different musical elements from different roots.” “It’s amazing to see how connected we are,” adds Seckou Keita. “We come from different cultures yet Baka rhythms such as Boulez Boulez are so similar to Senegalese rhythms.” Baka Beyond is one of the few groups who ensure that they put as much back into the culture that inspires their music as they take out. They created the charity “Global Music Exchange” to deal with royalties that were due to the Baka from the album “Spirit of the Forest” and “Heart of the Forest” and to bring these royalties back to the musicians’ communities. This has led to an ongoing relationship with the Baka community involving many return trips in order to find out how best to use the funds. “We now feel very much part of the family,” says Martin. “I have seen more people born and more people die in this small community than I have back in England! Since we keep coming back and they have seen material changes to their lives as a result of the money they have earned with their own music, a great sense of trust has built up, and they are very keen for us to spread their music and rhythms as far as possible.