Johannes got inspired by the African rhythms after some excursions to Morocco, where he picked up lots of old cassettes and soaked up the very natural musical environment out there. People sitting out in the open jamming away was a far cry from his academic and classical training, and this Moroccan music seemed to flow from the heart. Johannes particularly like the feeing of celebration and healing at the Gnawan trance performances, where the dance and music was so interlinked.
He also met Ethiopian jazz ambassador Mulatu Astatke, who taught him more about the different musical modes. After that Johannes just knew he had to play with other people who also loved this music and shared the same spirit and ideas. After an initial period of writing he brought together a group of ten musicians, with a view to recording a single. Combining the fiery rhythm section, with keys, guitar, and a five-man brass and woodwind combo, Johannes took the name for the group from a Guinean rhythm that his percussionist friend taught him - Woima, the rhythm of the magician.
Despite some of these musicians never having played together before, the studio sessions snowballed, and they ended up recording a couple of album's worth of material. Some credit to this productivity should also go to the Lovelite facility in Berlin, the club/rehearsal space/studio where Jimi Tenor and the Afrobeat Academy also record - where the set-up makes it easy to rehearse ideas and then hit record. So after three days rehearsal and a pair of two-day sessions, the Woima Collective had laid down a heap of tracks - well-formed arrangements that make perfect starting points for their live versions.
