Merry Christmas, portrait of the technician responsible for the PCBF's sound equipment

Merry Christmas, portrait of the technician responsible for the PCBF's sound equipment

Norbert Sawadogo, better known by his stage name Joyeux Noël, has been in charge of the public address system at the Paris venue since 2007. Burkina Faso Cultural Platform (PCBF)one of Africalia's partners in Burkina Faso. At 47 years of age, this slim, slender man has been working for the PCBF for almost 10 years now. You are better known as Joyeux Noël than Norbert Sawadogo. Where does this rather original nickname come from? My civil name is Norbert Sawadogo, but here in the artistic world I'm known as Joyeux Noël. I was given this name by a Belgian in 2000, when I was in charge of the sound equipment at a festival in Paris.Burkinabe Theatre Workshop (ATB). It was December and I wished the team a Merry Christmas. The next day, one man said Merry Christmas, and then another. I asked them who they were addressing and they replied: "It's yours". And from table to table, as soon as I passed they said Merry Christmas. That's how it started. What made you decide to become a sound technician? At lycée, I used to dabble in helping students plug in tape recorders. Then I went into the theatre business because I was an actor. There I discovered the technical aspects of the sector, such as sound and lighting. I had a love of this equipment and so every time I left the ATB, I was in charge of lighting and sound. During the festivals, I got close to people who were in the business and I realised that it was a job in its own right, that it was no laughing matter. In 2007, Africalia donated professional sound equipment to the PCBF. I took the opportunity to follow the training with other technicians and discover the equipment. At the end of the Waga Hip Hop festival, where we were on a training course, I was told that I would be in charge of the sound system. I wasn't expecting that at all. When the equipment goes out, what is a typical outing like? The outputs are all different, although they can be grouped into 3 or 4 standard outputs. I start by gathering information: who requested the equipment? When and where? How long will the event last? Is it for an evening or a week? What are the material requirements? I always prepare the equipment the day before it leaves the PCBF premises. I always bring a little extra in case any of the cables fail. On the big day, before the lorry arrives, I check all the equipment again to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. When we arrive on site, the other technicians and I install the equipment and check that everything is working. Sometimes we have to balance the scales. During the event, the other technicians and I go and do the technical stuff and once it's finished, we un-cable everything. This can take a long time. For big events, there are sometimes several sound systems and you have to be careful because sometimes the cables get mixed up. The great champions are the artists who like to steal jack cables. When they see that the cables are good, they take them and leave others in their place. When I get home, it's often 3 or 4 in the morning... because once everything's put away, you still have to take the equipment back to the PCBF. The next day, I check the condition of the equipment and make sure nothing is missing. I then start to clean the cables: the power supply, the modules, and so on. This can take between 1 and 3 days. Sometimes I also have to clean the flight cases. However, this is not done systematically. When the equipment is used in rooms, there isn't much dirt. So I wait for two or three outings and as soon as I see that it's a bit dirty, I clean it. On the other hand, as soon as the equipment comes out in the dust, it has to be cleaned. On average, we do between 80 and 120 outings a year. The number of outings varies greatly from one season to the next. Between July and September, we have fewer activities because of the rain. But the festivals start in October. During events, we like to use our sound system to put them in front of the authorities and we put the others in the extremes. But we don't provide sound for political activities such as campaigns or religious activities. Has the digital revolution had an impact on your work? There isn't much digital equipment in Burkina Faso today. It's more common in recording studios. In the field, we work mainly with analogue equipment. Recently, however, I was lucky enough to take part in the sound system for Alpha Blondy's concert, where we worked with two digital consoles sent from Côte d'Ivoire. At the Ouagadougou concert, we did a lot of work on the settings, which were saved on a USB stick. For the Bobo-Dioulasso concert, all we had to do was run the files on the key and it was ready to go. I've been impressed by digital technology because it reduces the amount of work and it's practical when you're short of time. But maintaining the equipment is a problem because here we have heat and dust. If the console breaks down, it's all over, whereas with analogue, if a cable stops working, you just replace it with another one. What are your plans and wishes for the future? I'd like us to be able to renew this sound system because it's had its day and the equipment has now paid for itself. In addition to the numerous outings, the equipment has been through dust, rain, sun... Then, if we could complete the sound system with a lighting installation, that would be even better. I hope to remain in charge of the equipment in the future. Now, whether I stay or not, I'd like the person in charge to be able to work more comfortably. If the number of projects increases, for example, I'd like us to be able to train other people so that we don't have to go looking for engineers to provide sound for our activities. When we work, we don't do it for profit. When we agree to provide sound for our events, we have a duty to do a good job and provide the right sound. There is no such thing as a small audience or a large audience. There are no VIPs or ordinary citizens. With us, everyone is the same. People think I'm demanding, but I accept it because wherever we go, people say they like our work because they find it professional. In short, I always want to be up to the challenge and keep this opportunity to develop myself through my work. [Interview by Audrey Brisack/]

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