Describing the first milestone in an artistic research project, this article sheds light on a musical journey from early compositional ideas, technical challenges, and in-depth reflections leading to a recital exploring unprecedented forms of expression. Two words, appropriate and creation, are combined to introduce a new concept: approcreating describes creative processing that draws inspiration from other cultures while appropriately respecting the source of the influences. The Approcreations-recital was an artistic component in a doctoral research project exploring how instruments commonly regarded as representatives of a certain culture may become part of the artistic identity and expression of a non-native musician. Discussing the ethical dilemmas it addresses, the said research project seeks to find out how an increased understanding of cultural appropriation may inform the ways in which artists navigate these complex issues.
The main tool of the research is the diatonic balafon, a melodic percussion instrument of the Mande peoples of West Africa, augmented with live electronics. As far as is known, such live audio effects have not been applied to a balafon before. The kora, a harp-like instrument sharing similar cultural roots, plays a supportive role. Following an autoethnographic (Tarisayi, 2023; Ellis et al., 2011) approach, the author gets tossed into the toolkit as well, as their artistic identity is exposed to the crosshairs and mirrored against the image reflected in the feedback.
As an author, my insight sprouts from decades of international touring as a non-Mande balafonist. Since the early days of my career before the turn of the century, I have played my way through the evolution of the cultural appropriation concept from bud to blossom.
Initially, the motivation for this research was sparked by experiencing first-hand how profoundly time, geographic location, and social environment affect the responses towards culturally multi-sourced art. So much has happened since the nineties! The careless use of cultural elements as an exotic spice has evolved into pervasive wariness, posthumously transforming icons like Elvis from trailblazers to questionable exploiters (e.g., Jackson, 2019, pp. 1–8; Green, 2018, p. 61). Criticism has mostly been warranted, as earlier practices certainly required amendments. The cultural sources of art must indeed always be shown due respect. Still, at times, the fear of cultural missteps may turn into over-cautiousness, as media debates flare up at the slightest suspicion of appropriation, pushing artists to rather play it safe (e.g., Lenard & Balint, 2020; Aikio, 2021; Kallioniemi & Siivikko, 2020; Nyman, 2021; etc.).
The pieces in the Approcreations-recital are self-composed and not based on traditional elements. However, this does not remove the need to ask whether writing your own material is enough to avoid all suspicions of malpractice, nor does it negate the need to critically examine the ongoing effects of colonisation and the power dynamics associated with a representative of a dominant culture behind an African instrument.
The burden of colonialism is both transgenerational and transnational. As a Finn, I find it essential to emphasise the latter. Being educated in a country that did not directly participate in the colonisation of Africa does not equip you to anticipate the reception you will receive, nor does it absolve you of all responsibility. At school, the subject was covered rather superficially, almost completely from the angle of a distant observer. This even included blatant blind spots, such as no acknowledgement of the way Finns systematically trampled on the rights of the indigenous Sámi people in the northern region of our country. A deeper understanding began to dawn on me only gradually during my adult life.
Historical injustices continue to shape the way people interact with each other and the privileges they are afforded. A musician in the global north may relatively easily obtain visas, perhaps even institutional support to study music abroad, while their African peers face significant systemic barriers when seeking similar opportunities. The result is an asymmetry where the privileged have the possibility of accessing, learning from, and freely collaborating with artists from diverse corners of the globe, unlike their not-equally-privileged colleagues who face considerable barriers with travelling and disseminating their artistry outside their home continent.
Globally, more and more musicians are claiming the right to self-determination while rejecting stereotypical or pre-assumed ideas of ethnicity. Rising population diversity has led to growing numbers of mixed or hard-to-define ethnicities (Cleveland, 2024, pp. 65–88), making it difficult for many to identify the cultural roots of their music unambiguously. Consequently, categorising and promoting gets more complex, reducing their chances of being selected as event performers. Should African elements be present in the art, both the origin and the physical appearance of the product/combo seem to take on a particular significance. Recently, a Finnish colleague, Marjo Smolander, observed how much easier it was to book engagements for a band playing distinctly Malian music with mainly native performers compared to her other, more multiculturally profiled African-inspired collaborations (M. Smolander, personal communication, 27.03.2025). Even on native Africans, too fair a skin has reportedly led festival organisers to reverse their previous clearances for African-themed music stages (Krings, 2015).
Non-natives incorporating African elements into their art must recognise that their work exists within a historical context where those sounds have been both excluded and appropriated, or where their artistic connotations have been trivialised into an exotic otherness in contrast to dominant cultural frameworks. Rooted in colonial history, this sonic alterity continues to shape how non-Western music is engaged with, marginalising it while simultaneously fueling Western fascination.
Bearing all this in mind, self-awareness and humility emerge as vital virtues for a non-native instrumentalist. However, maintaining a realistic and truthful understanding of how our actions may be interpreted by others is a challenge, especially when we are easily carried away by the spell of creative inspiration. This adds to the essential ingredients that have motivated this research and provides yet another reason to expose my artistic identity to possible criticism.
Interludes
The chapters in this article guide the reader from the first musical experiments to the evaluation of the concert along the following steps:
Never alone may be taken as a continuation of this prelude. Its writing style, differing from the rest of the article, represents a door opening into artistic research methodology where art is used as a tool instead of an object (e.g., Varto, 2018; Hannula et al., 2014). The choice of style also pays homage to the storytelling tradition of the Mande peoples by deepening the autoethnographic approach with an autofictional (Effe & Lawlor, 2022) narrative about a real-life event in the narrator’s past. Through interpersonal and internal dialogue, the text reflects on the significance of ancestry in an ancient family tradition and elucidates the ethical considerations contributing to the narrator’s subsequent artistic choices.
Techniques and distortions dives into the structural specificities, possibilities, and limitations of the balafon. It introduces the technical platform for expanding the instrument’s sonic expression into innovative dimensions and opens up some of its distinctive attributes, influencing the work approach, progress, and sonic outcome.
Tradition and theories takes an exploratory look at the interaction of social and cultural elements concerning the intermediating instruments – i.e. their sociocultural significance. Balafon’s and kora’s creators, the jali caste of the West African Mande social hierarchy, is presented, along with light shed on the author’s initiation into the jalis’ hereditary trade secrets. Applying the affordance theory (Gibson, 2014, pp. 119–135; McDonnell, 2023, p. 201–203; Sun & Suthers, 2021; Tullberg, 2022) to musical instruments and mirroring against cultural appropriation (e.g., Agawu, 2016, pp. 305–335; Britannica, 2023; Siems, 2019, pp. 408–423; Young, 2008) discussion I observe how their symbolic substance changes with geographical location, and speculate when the cultural ties relax enough to liberate them into socioculturally neutral tools for human creativity.
Next, the individual pieces in Approcreations – the concert are presented, specifying which elements paid tribute to the Mande tradition and which were brought in to introduce experimental musical dimensions. Words get converted into melodies and rhythms as video excerpts from the recital in Helsinki Music Centre on the 10th of April 2024 concretise what the above means in practice. In the concert, visuals played an important role. Subtly changing graphics were projected on the stage backdrop to enhance the overall sensory experience. Unfortunately, the camera on a static tripod cropped out most of the images, so to convey a more authentic overall impression, some of them are scattered throughout this article as text illustrations.
When the dust settles and the last notes fade out, it is time for Analysing the applause. The public feedback is weighed against the performer’s aftertaste to observe how the theories and hypotheses translate into practice. Was the response as anticipated, or did the reactions noticeably differ from what was expected? The findings are reflected upon to see if they offer some insights into addressing the affordance of culturally bound musical instruments or contribute to opening up perspectives on the intricate controversy between cultural appropriation and inspiration.
In Conclusive coda, the entire concert project is consolidated into a summary evaluating how the pre-assumptions and research objectives were met in this artistic component. The conclusion seeks to identify guidelines from the outcome that might prove fruitful for musicians, performing artists in other fields of art, and art-loving audiences alike.
