African Soul Rebels 2010
18 Feb - 3 March 2010
The sixth African Soul Rebels concert series brings together Africa’s most radical artists whose use of politics, feminism, attitude and mysticism have long given listeners cause to think, while their music unites us.
Oumou Sangare Mali’s queen of Wassoulou music. Her spellbinding vocals and irrepressible live performances have made her an international icon. Her debut album, Moussoulou is a pioneering rallying cry for West African women. She has since released three more acclaimed recordings on the renowned World Circuit label and has proven that she more than lived up to the reputation set in her early years.
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou from Benin are one of the great African groups of the 70s. Their James Brown inspired instrumentation, put funk and Afrobeat into voodoo. Roll on 30 years and their music became prized amongst collectors wanting to explore afro music beyond the legendary Fela Kuti. This, their first UK tour brings them to an international audience 45 years after they were founded! Be one the first to see this brilliant African band.
Kalahari Surfers were central to the South African post-punk scene but now create a more downbeat, electronic and experimental world. Controversy surrounded them, branded undesirable and censored by the Apartheid regime they were exiled to the UK. An atypical story as the band’s founder Warrick Sony is a white African.
"If Aretha Franklin had grown up in Bamako she might have sounded something like this " - BBC Music (re Oumou Sangare)
"This was stirring, gloriously rhythmic big band music, and the best of their cheerfully melodic, funky and galloping songs sounded like the soundtrack to some unlikely African cowboy movie." - The Guardian (re Orchestre Poly...)
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