Anna Sibongile Buda with Biggi Vinkeloe in Sweden

One day I got an email from an unknown organization, asking me to present my career with ups and downs for a women’s online audience. Sibongile sent this mail to me from Johannesburg, South Africa. Of course, I accepted. I researched GJW on Facebook and realized what a great initiative this is. When men and women refer to musicians they worked with, mostly men’s names come up. Rarely are women mentioned. In a way, as a non-male musician, you are invisible and unheard of.

This was the first year of the pandemic, so it felt like a window to the outside world had opened. To communicate with people on an international level made me feeling less alone. I made my presentation the first time I saw Sibongile online. On this Zoom, every Thursday, at least one musician, composer, facilitator, or activist shares her story. Little by little, together we change the narrative by creating a supportive network with all these fabulous people from all generations from all over the world.

By the end of the first year, Sibongile and I had the idea to create an annual publication with information about every woman and non-binary person who participated. I put the first book together with my daughter, Nema Vinkeloe Uuskyla, a wonderful singer, violinist, and website professional who designed the book as a digital release. We aim to print physical copies. The idea is to promote the best possible distribution to facilitate access to references and information about other creative women and non-binary people.

Sibongile invited me to South Africa, but it was impossible to attract funding. We invited Sibongile to come to Sweden to create music together. Her first application for a visa was unsuccessful, but the second time, after much paperwork, she got the visa to travel to Sweden. We spent two intense weeks in a workshop, concerts, and a performance involving a circus artist that was a magical experience!

Rehearsals with Annika Törnqvist, electric bass, Nema Vinkeloe Uuskyla (voice, viola), Gaeya (voice, small percussions), Sibongile Anna Buda (upright bass), and me on saxophone and flute were enchanting. The first recording was at a professional studio. We only had a quartet because one singer, Gayea, was too sick.

We recorded original compositions by the band members and added two free improvisations. The second recording happened at a private home, with drummer Vanja Holm, who provided the bass for Sibongile. I’ve known Vanja Holm for many years, and we worked together on and off, though we developed different paths in music. We have always been supportive of each other. It felt great to bring Vanja and Sibongile together to record music. It turned out to be great trio music, improvised but melodic and structured.

We had many talks about the situation for women in the music universe, about how to find a safe environment to learn an instrument, develop music skills, improvisations and solos. We discussed how to grow with other people and about how difficult it is to reconcile a music career with a family. Age discrimination is always a looming problem, and the public face of society is superficial and appearance-oriented.