Por: Anastasio N. Bickie

I was born into a musical family in the lush tropical country of Equatorial Guinea in West Africa. I became immersed in music from an early age. My father played guitar and often our home would be filled with people singing, dancing and playing drums. There was a popular musician, Ecuaga Miko who along with his wife, would travel from village to town singing and dancing to traditional ‘Fang’ rhythms and melodies. The town’s people would supply the drummers and their voices would become the backup choir for Miko and his wife to perform. I was influenced greatly in my early years through these musical experiences and this environment contributed greatly to my decision to make a career in music.

While growing up in Bata on the mainland in the Rio Muni district there was not a lot of local recorded music available. The radio stations mostly broadcast popular music of neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Gabon and Nigeria, soukous of Zaire, music from Spain, South America and Cuba, European and North American pop music. These musical styles along with the traditional ‘elon’ rhythms and other musical styles of Equatorial Guinea combined to create the unique sound of my music.
I had the opportunity to go to Madrid where I formed my first band called Annax.
I performed with my group around Spain and I also toured with a popular Spanish duo, Eduardo Rodrigo and Teresa Rabal. Soon after I migrated to Canada in 1985 and called Toronto home,I formed a band and named it Annax Bickie and Zalang. I'm one of a few musicians that introduced African music to Toronto in the mid ‘80’s. I recorded a couple of albums, ‘Harvest Time’ and ‘Cosecha’, and an award winning video ‘I Can’t Sleep’. Annax Bickie and Zalang performed in some of Toronto’s popular clubs including The Phoenix, The El Mocambo, The Bamboo Club and Harbourfront Centre.

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