If you were hungry for the modern face of world music and global beats then Village Underground was the venue to be on this November night. Not only were Ibibio Sound Machine playing the home town leg of their first headlining tour, Afrikan Boy was also there bringing his unique...
Articles
Articles
Within few minutes of the doorman closing the doors Bishopsgate Institute was transported to the main square of the small Hungarian town of Szentendre during the annual Festival. The main event’s star performers were three brothers, Áron, Benjamin and Dávid Eredics, one of their cousins Salamon Eredics and one of...
“I’m trying to bring gnawa music to this country. I’m trying to let people know what this music is all about.” Few musicians have dedicated their life and career to one musical style as Simo Lagnawi is doing with gnawa, the traditional Moroccan music that was originally carried to North...
You just need three words to describe a Pascuala Ilabaca’s gig: alegría de vivir. The joy of life that infects you when you listen to her mellow voice, the fluctuating sound of her accordion and the full-flavoured accompaniment by her band Fauna is simply exhilarating. You just want to delve...
Without so much as an introduction Angelique Kidjo and her musicians walked out on stage and embraced their instruments. As Angelique intoned the first notes of ‘Ebile’ the band instinctively lit up the night. And why would she need to be introduced? After her thirty-year music career everyone recognizes the...
“I have never been in London before”, stated Pascuala Ilabaca, but she quickly fell in love with the ‘Big Smoke’. “I really like the taxis – the black cabs. Also the weather is not bad as they say. It rains a lot I know, but it reminds me of Valparaiso...
I’m Upstairs at the Ritzy for the debut performance of Sabbey International and I have with me the two founder members of the band, Afla Sackey (Afrik Bawantu) and Yaw Asumadu (Ozi Ozaa). Rhythm Passport Sabbey International is one hundred percent traditional and one hundred percent acoustic. What is the...
To demonstrate how much Namvula is absorbed in her music I shall recount an incident that occurred during her album launch at the Old Queens Head in London. On stage she was entranced, moving to the relentless rhythm and the melody of her songAfrica, when suddenly a cloud of smoke...
Originating from Brazil, Badi Assad looks to push the boundaries of musical performance through a sense of freedom and experimentation that is rarely shown on stage. She flowingly mixes a wide range of influences, spanning from the traditional music of her homeland to an amalgamation of Jazz, Pop and other...
The Senegalese Amadou Diagne and the Italo-Sudanese Amira Kheir mirrored two different aspects of Africa and its music, but the audience was touched by the same artistic drive that invoked the invaluable cultural richness of the continent. On a hypothetical road trip you would have to drive 4,000 miles to...
