The list of things that fit in a backpack is a long one — one where “music studio” doesn’t seem to have a place. PBS Digital Studios’ new series Beat Making Lab, on the other hand, begs to differ, as it has carried its own back-mounted, portable studio kit to Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. There music producer Apple Juice Kid and UNC Chapel Hill professor Pierce Freelon worked with the city’s local talent to create “Cho Cho Cho,” an original track and music video.
This video is the first in a series of 20 that have begun to chronicle the travels of the Beat Making Lab to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Panama, Senegal, Fiji, and beyond, where the two backpack carriers teach a two-week crash course in music production, culminating in a track and video unique to their locales. Beat Making Lab also donates any purchased equipment back to the community to encourage further exploration into the world of beat-making.