Focus Africa 9th Anniversary: 40+ Artists/Musician
Event Information
About this Event
Celebrating 9 years of promoting African music and culture!
With 40+ Artists/musicians, traders, DJs, Live Music, African food;
UPDATED LINEUP
For some unforseen reasons, Young Paris will not perform any more at this event.
Please welcome the multi instrumentalist Afla Sackey and his world class band
Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu
Afrik Bawantu is an orchestra producing African rhythm-driven, dance inducing fusion with traditional roots, formed by Ghanaian vocalist and djembe drummer Afla Sackey.
Afrik Bawantu’s original compositions blend highlife from West African percussion and more funk, rock genres, enhancing the cross-cultural collaboration. The uplifting rhythm section in harmony with roaring brass accompanied by high-powered bass lines creates a powerful Afro-Funk sound with an energy that drives audiences to the dance floors.
Kasai Masai: Urban Equatorial Funk
First class exponents of the soukous style of music, Kasai Masai aren’t known for doing things by halves. Based in London, and led by Voodoo King, Nickens Nkoso, Kasai Masai mix the traditional sound of the equatorial African village with a distinctive urban edge. The band’s fast-paced style of soukous and rumba meld with Congolese folkloric traditions to create an infectious form of dance music. From the plains to the soaring heights, theirs is a sound that will transport you to a land where music is more than just entertainment, they will take you to a place where it is a way of life.
Sir Loui: The international Music Producer and Choreographer will deliver a world class #Afrobeats, #Ndombolo #CoupeDecale' and #AfroHouse workshop
DJS:
*4 to the floor london Djsoulprovyder
BROADCITE music T-Roy Broadcite on the set (Ghana/UK)
DJ Snuff aka Dogon Irish aka TuataDêDJ aka the Irish Frantz Fanon..
Playing the best of #Afrobeats #Afrobeat #Kuduro #AfroHouse etc…
Koroleko Moussa Dembele: By popular demand, Moussa returns for a Free drum and Balafon workshop from Burkina Faso 5pm - 6.30pm
Book your free place sending your names to attak@focusorganization.com
THEME OF THE NIGHT: Dress to impress African style: wear anything African inspired: #ankara #africanfabrics, African head wraps etc...
*Stalls
African themed traders (#clothing #food #arts & #crafts, personal care products etc... )
Few stalls are sttill available on a first come first served basi;
please book yours by contacting the team at attak@focusorganization.com
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AFLA SACKEY & AFRIK BAWANTU
Afrik Bawantu is an orchestra producing African rhythm-driven, dance inducing fusion with traditional roots, formed by Ghanaian vocalist and djembe drummer Afla Sackey.
Afrik Bawantu’s original compositions blend highlife from West African percussion and more funk, rock genres, enhancing the cross-cultural collaboration. The uplifting rhythm section in harmony with roaring brass accompanied by high-powered bass lines creates a powerful Afro-Funk sound with an energy that drives audiences to the dance floors.
Their music is about unity and togetherness. Afla was inspired by homelessness and refugee crisis when writing his compositions.
Afla’s incredible orchestrations and compositions rejuvenate the long tradition of Ghanaian dance drumming and song, by weaving melodies in his native tribal language of Ga and English between complex drumming patterns, explosive solos and dynamic horn phrases lifted by funky guitar riffs and groovy bass lines.
Alfa’s talent has been recognised by many well-established musicians whom he has collaborated with and played as a session musician. Great artists such as Sun Ra, Ginger Baker, Seun Kuti, Sons Of Kemet, Tony Allen, Yaaba Funk, Dele Sosimi and many more.
Afrik Bawantu has been invited to the BBC Radio Theatre to be a part of Global Beats program in 2015 and to perform live at Outlook Inspirations 50’s Anniversary Awards in 2016. They have performed at numerous festivals in the UK and Europe. In London they have headlined the Africa on the Square festival in 2015 and London African Festival. Other major festivals include Shambala, Secret Garden Party, Back2Black, Green Man Festival, Africa Utopia, Fieldview Festival and others. Jam’in Jette Festival in Brussels has had the band twice within half a year.
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Sir Loui: International Music Producer and Choreographer
The Multi Talented and TRIPPLE award winning choreographer Sir Loui, pioneered the afrobeats dance industry back in the late 2000's. He has worked with multiple major African artists from the likes of 2face and Lola Rae to legends like Awilo Longomba and P Square. He's speciality in Ndombolo and coupe decale took his name off the street and into the main stream, but it isn't just his style of dancing that makes him known, it's his unique choice of special moves that forges the WOW factor.
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KOROLEKO MOUSSA DEMBELE
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 intruments 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 band leader. 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.
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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.
“T-Roy continues to connect the dots between the evolving underground
music scene in London and contemporary world music’’
TIME OUT
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!
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