Djembe Magazine carries the subtitle: “Because The World Is Bigger”.

Its mission is to communicate images, information, debate and inspiration concerning the diversity of cultures which exist in Denmark today. It focuses on cross-cultural and global influences in the arts, in particular in the fields of music, film and literature. 70-80 music albums and 10-15 books are reviewed in each issue. The articles are in the Danish language.

Djembe Magazine has been published on paper in 2,000 copies four times a year since 1992, approximately 52-68 pages per issue. At the web site www.djembe.dk news articles are published more frequently, along with articles in longer versions and in two languages. An e-newsletter is published every fortnight to approximately 800 subscribers.

In 2007-2008 the magazine has been in a process of re-structuring its content and design.

Djembe Magazine is sold in certain shops in Denmark.

Organisations such as the Danish Association for Promotion of African Music, Drama & Art, Couples Without Borders, DanTan and the Danish World Music Association use Djembe as a news bulletin for their members.

• This web page is a part of the Cross Culture Network which is placed on Kulturnet Danmarks web server.

• Djembe is a member of the Association of Danish Cultural Journals.

• Read more facts about the staff, printing, etc., here

What is "Djembe?"
Listen to an interview about Djembe with RealAudio.

And here is another short story about Djembe in Danish: Kenneth Wilson being interviewed by Sveta Rubin in the Danish radio programme Verdensmusik at DR P3 in 2000.

A "Djembe" is a West African drum. Since 1992, it has also been a forum for inspiration between cultures in Scandinavia

A djembe is one of the most noisy and powerful African drums. It origines from the Malinke people who lives primarily in Guinea and Mali in West Africa. Because of its special sound of the highly pitched goat skin, this drum has become very popular in the Western music world and today, masters of the djembe drum are found all over the world. It has become a symbol of a new cross-over between African and Western culture.

How it all began

Djembe Magazine started in 1992 as a volunteer project without any funds. We borrowed a small Macintosh Classic-computer and a room in a staff-member's apartment to produce the first issues.

We knew about journalism and photography, but nothing about magazine production, layout or printing. We learned... the hard way.

At this point, we have a number of Mac-computers, scanner, laserprinter, ADSL, external harddisks, phone, PR-material, etc. - all financed by the income from the magazine.

Who are "we"?

The driving force in the staff is still the enthusiasm for finding inspiration between cultures. In general, more than 50 writers and photographers are involved with the production of an issue of Djembe Magazine to come out every three month. You can read more about who are presently members of the staff in our "kolofon"

A tight economy somehow sets a limit to how far we can go in terms of technical printing quality, but we feel we are doing something worthwhile, we have an audience, good feedback, a busy phone, a full mailbox and an exciting office which is jumping.

Djembe
Copenhagen
Denmark

Tel: (+45) 33 91 80 09