Posts Tagged ‘african soul rebels’

African Soul Rebels 2010 tour hits the UK from February 18

Posted on February 14th, 2010 in World Music.

The sixth African Soul Rebels tour of the UK takes place February 18-March 3 with three more diverse acts from across the length and breadth of the continent. The headline act is one of the great women of Malian song, Oumou Sangaré. Her most recent album Seya [reviewed in #58] was nominated for a Grammy award, and she continues to be one of the greatest singers in the musical powerhouse nation of Mali.

She is joined by one of those timeless West African big band ensembles whose music never grows tired. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou from Benin create a vibrant mix of James Brown-inspired funk and soul and voudon sato and sakpata rhythms as contested to on the new release Volume Two Echos Hypnotiques on the Analog Africa label [reviewed in #66].

You have to travel down the length of Africa to find the final member of this year’s African Soul Rebels trio. Kalahari Surfers is Warrick Sony – composer, musician, experimentalist and anti-apartheid activist. Back in 1981, Kalahari Surfers began as a solo project that soon became one of the most politically radical sounds to come out of apartheid South Africa. It was also musically radical – mixing reggae, punk, electronica, hip-hop and avant-garde rock. Sony brings his psychedelic sound to the UK as the African Soul Rebels take in 12 dates…

18 Feb Poole Lighthouse 0844 406 8666 lighthousepoole.co.uk

19 Feb Brighton Dome 01273 709709 brightondome.org

20 Feb London The Barbican 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk

21 Feb Northampton Royal & Derngate 01604 624811 royalandderngate.co.uk

22 Feb Bristol Colston Hall 0117 922 3686 colstonhall.org

24 Feb Basingstoke The Anvil 01256 844244 anvilarts.org.uk

25 Feb Coventry Warwick Arts Centre 024 7652 4524 warwickartscentre.co.uk

26 Feb Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 0151 709 3789 liverpoolphil.com

27 Feb Edinburgh Usher Hall 0131 228 1155 usherhall.co.uk

28 Feb Manchester Bridgewater Hall 0161 907 9000 bridgewater-hall.co.uk

02 Mar Leicester De Montfort Hall 0116 233 3111 demontforthall.co.uk

03 Mar Gateshead The Sage Gateshead 0191 443 4661 thesagegateshead.org

www.musicbeyondmainstream.org.uk

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African Soul Rebels 2010 tour hits the UK from February 18

Posted on January 7th, 2010 in World Music.

The sixth African Soul Rebels tour of the UK takes place February 18-March 3 with three more diverse acts from across the length and breadth of the continent. The headline act is one of the great women of Malian song, Oumou Sangaré. Her most recent album Seya [reviewed in #58] has been nominated for a Grammy award, and she continues to be one of the greatest singers in the musical powerhouse nation of Mali.

She is joined by one of those timeless West African big band ensembles whose music never grows tired. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou from Benin create a vibrant mix of James Brown-inspired funk and soul and voudon sato and sakpata rhythms as contested to on their new release Volume Two Echos Hypnotiques on the Analog Africa label [reviewed in #66].

You have to travel down the length of Africa to find the final member of this year’s African Soul Rebels trio. Kalahari Surfers is Warrick Sony – composer, musician, experimentalist and anti-apartheid activist. Back in 1981, Kalahari Surfers began as a solo project that soon became one of the most politically radical sounds to come out of apartheid South Africa. It was also musically radical – mixing reggae, punk, electronica, hip-hop and avant-garde rock. Sony brings his psychedelic sound to the UK as the African Soul Rebels take in 12 dates in Poole, Brighton, London, Northampton, Bristol, Basingstoke, Coventry, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leicester and Gateshead.

www.musicbeyondmainstream.org.uk

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Musical-political giants tour the UK in African Soul Rebels 2009

Posted on February 16th, 2009 in World Music.

The fifth African Soul Rebels tour of the UK – taking place March 3-14 – is almost as much a political as a musical roadshow. The pan-African line-up takes in Senegal in the west, Kenya in the east and Zimbabwe in the south. The opening act – Extra Golden [Top of the World #48] – are a band who have found increasing limelight due to the support of US president Barack Obama. Based in Obama’s home city of Chicago, the band plays a mixture of Kenyan benga and US Midwestern rock that is pretty much a musical embodiment of Obama himself.

Extra Golden are joined by two towering giants of African music. Senegalese singer Baaba Maal is one of West Africa’s biggest musical exports, most recently becoming part of the Africa Express sessions, but he is also one of the region’s most articulate social activists as a Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Programme. Oliver Mtukudzi has been a giant of southern African music since 1977 and his homeland of Zimbabwe has become the focus of world attention in the last few years for all the wrong reasons. Maal and Mtukudzi are both backed by their longstanding bands Daande Lenol and the Black Spirits respectively.

www.musicbeyondmainstream.co.uk

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