3rd Focus Africa Music Festival 2019
Posted: Jul, 24th 2019
Contributor: Bilen Shifferaw,
Focus Africa Music Festival is a brand new multicultural musical showcase in the heart of London, at Rich Mix, East London’s
The third edition is on Saturday 27th July 2019 with the final lineup.40+ artists, DJs, Live Music, Traders, Food from
Ghana - Nigeria - Gambia - Burkina Faso - Senegal, UK and more...
Expect the Best Music that the African continent could offer.
Koroleko Moussa Dembele : Free drum and Balafon workshop from Burkina Faso 5 pm - 6.30 pm
Book your free place sending your names to attak@focusorganization.com
Femi and The InRhythms Femi Sofela (Afrobeat / Afro-Funk / Afro-Jazz)
The West African HIghlife Collective - Ikenga - (Afrobeat / HighLife)
DJs Playing the best of #Afrobeat #Azonto #Kuduro #CoupeDecale #Afrohouse etc...
DJ Snuff
Djsoulprovyder
T-Roy Broadcite
Stalls will be available: booking on a first come first served basis attak@focusorganization.com
Stall 1: Ethnicity Clothing
FEMI AND THE INRHYTHMS: Afrobeat /Afro-Funk/ Afro-Jazz
Femi and The InRhythms, a 7-piece band from Lagos and London, mixes the cerebral musicality of afrobeat with the visceral grooves of funk underpinned with Yoruba-English vocals styles to create an eclectic futuristic world dance music making them one of the key bands from the contemporary African music scene.
Femi and The InRhythms was formed by bassist Femi Sofela to put the heavy afrobeat into funk and jazz, music with which he built his reputation as a musician and producer.
The band releases their debut CD/LP “Pressure To Pleasure” on Joyful Noise Records in January 2018.
“music that can fill the dance floor”. Kevin Le Gendre, Echoes Magazine
“classic afrobeats with a few surprises”, Nigel Williamson, Songlines, Issue 135 page 36
The West African HighLife Collective: HighLife
The West African Highlife Collective (formerly known as Ikenga) - a multi-ethnic, multi-racial group with roots in the urban sounds of West Africa.
The West African HIghlife Collective is a gathering of some of Africa's finest instrumentalists, with a personnel list, featuring veterans of some of Africa's greatest bands such as Fela Kuti's Egypt 80, Zaiko Langa Langa, Victor Olaiya's All-Stars, Osibisa, Tony Allen and many more.
Their legendary stagecraft spans from high octane Festival sets, with the full orchestra, showcasing their big-band Highlife repertoire of the classic era 1950-1970 to stripped-down, rustic, unplugged sets showcasing the Palmwine Highlife from the vintage era 1920-1950.
The Collective always promises high energy performances that showcase the West African Highlife story from its rustic origins in the musty creeks of West Africa, through the classic Big band format, on to its present-day offsprings i.e the neo-highlife heroics of Hip-life, Funky Highlife and Afrobeat. Propelled by its eight-piece frontline line-up.
The band's original name Ikenga was sourced from the Igbo name for the traditional symbol of individual personality, conscience and integrity.
KOROLEKO MOUSSA DEMBELE: FREE Drum & Balafon workshop
Moussa comes from a traditional Bwa Bwa griots family of musicians and craftsmen from Burkina Faso and Mali who have been making and playing musical instruments for generations. He was trained by his father and various family members from a young age. He has gone on to become a professional musician and teacher as well as a master craftsman of West African instruments all of each he has done for the last 15 years.
Dembele has toured extensively throughout Africa, Europe and Israel as a freelance multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. He spent many years based in Ghana where he played balafon for the renowned Pan-African Orchestra. In addition to the balafon, he also plays the kora and ngoni and percussion including djembe, doum doum and talking drum.
Now based in London, as well as leading his band Koroleko, Moussa has performed as a soloist, for Greenbelt Festival (2017) and Shropshire Music Trust as well as played with bands including Native Sun and Minyanta and recorded on tracks with Afriquoi. Moussa continues to build exquisite koras, ngoni’s and balafons and can also build and repair percussion instruments such as djembes and doum doums.
DJS
T-Roy Broadcite T.Roy _ on the set - Broadcite music productions label A&R.
T.Roy is responsible for the production projects and selection of music that is released on the boutique Broadcite music label catalogue.
DJSOULPROVYDER Ian Milne
Ian has played at many venues across London over the years including Ronnie Scotts, Jazz Café, Koko, Sketch, Momo’s, East Village, Plan-B, Trapeze, POW to name a few as well as big festivals such as the Isle of Wight and V Festival for the award winning Barcardi B-Bar. In 2013 he had the honour of being asked to DJ at the legendary Southport Weekender (SPW) afterparty in the SunCeBeat Dome arena. 2014 had him playing at the second Love Supreme Jazz Festival in the Matua Bar with the Jazz FM DJ’s.
@DJSNUFFONE (Focus Africa/Pantheon Jam)
insta/twitter/facebook
aka Dogon Dagda of the Tuatha Da DJ, dipping deep into Kwaito, Afrobeats, Azonto, Kuduro, Coupe Decale, Ndombolo, Bikutsi, Sungura, Nu-Highlife, Electro-Soukous, Singeli, Afro-Drill, Gqom and AfroTech/House vibes for the dancefloor.
This Irishman has layers of flavour, with roots in DJing for Hip-Hop/Breakin' (break-dance/house-dance) events from an early age as part of Belfast City Breakers in the early to late 90's. A regular party starter and cultural cultivator in London town since 2000. A frequent DJ at club and dance events across east and west Africa since 2010, including residencies at many of Kampala/Uganda's underground clubs. Known for heating up the dancefloor worldwide from Senegal to China, Philippines to Montreal, NYC to Berlin, Jamaica to Ireland. Scratch DJ in the Congo Natty live Jungle band. Has been live show DJ for artists as diverse as Roots Manuva, Shadia Mansour (Palestine) and many more. Has been tour DJ for international megastars such as Snoop Dogg and underground legends such as Immortal Technique. An organiser of many iconic events (Speakers Corner Brixton, End Of The Weak worldwide, Breakin' Convention Park Jam). Dancers choice DJ for parties, cyphers and battles run by House Of Absolute, Rain Crew and Breakfast Jam Uganda among others. A resident DJ with Focus Africa, and avant garde afro-drill-kuduro fusion event Pantheon Jam. Often collaborating live with musicians and vocalists. Known for having an unquenchable and unpredictable thirst for fresh and exciting rhythms, from the homegrown sounds of London's diverse underground bass culture, to the freshest, popular, progressive and alternative sounds of the African continent and global diaspora. Limber up and prepare to ZANKU!
28 July 2019 at 3:00am -
28 July 2019 at 1:00pm
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
Price: £12.50 Adv | £15.50 OTD
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