On the 9th October 2010, from 11am – 7:30pm Amazing Africa turns Trafalgar Square into a bubbling calabash of celebration of African culture through music, dance, enactments, food and arts & crafts.
Rhythms of a Continent
The music and dance line up includes a wide spectrum of musical genres from the motherland. From ancient to modern from tradition to innovation, Amazing Africa offers the very best of Africa including:
PERFORMERS
African music is always accompanied with pulsating dance movements. Each dance has a storyline based on legends and folk tales that dictates its pace, style and particular costume or attire.
The music and dance line up includes a wide spectrum of musical genres. From ancient to modern from tradition to innovation, Amazing Africa offers the very best of Africa including:
CARMEN SOUZA – Cape Verde - This songstress has it all: excellent repertoire, a mesmerizing, expressive and versatile voice that glides effortlessly through a huge range of registers and a spellbinding, charismatic stage presence. Whether she is singing the plaintive morna (the Cape Verdean variation of the blues) or an exuberant batuco, Souza is always convincing owing to her swingy jazz sense of timing and her virtuoso voice full of nuances from the highest to the lowest notes she sings.
COCO MBASSI: Cameroon – Her music is a subtle blend of African roots, classical music, jazz and gospel, along with the modern feeling of acoustic soul music, which she mostly composes herself and co-produces with her husband Serge Ngando Mpondo. Winner of several awards including the Radio France International Decouvertes Contest in 1996, German World Music CD Critics Award in 2001 and nominated for the BBC World Music Awards 2002.
MODESTE: Madagascar - Modeste Hugues Randramahitasoa grew up in Betroka, in south central Madagascar and the music he plays is unique to this region of Madagascar. His music is influenced by all the traditional sounds of the area together with the sounds of the bush and softer South African dance rhythms, the gifted self taught guitarist is now an award winning songwriter. “Hugues is a pleasingly smoky-toned singer and a fine guitarist, able to play rhythm and lead all at once. He's so effective in this musical sleight of hand that audience members scan the stage in search of a (non-existent) second guitar player.” -- Jamie Renton the Independent
GRUPO LOKITO – DR Congo, Latin America + UK– A gorgeous mélange of Congolese and Cuban rhythms and melodies. This brilliant band is made up of super talented and respected Soukous and Rumba musicians playing side by side with some of the most gifted salseros around, including the inventive "Burkina Faso", one of the most revered Congolese popular guitarists; you only have to mention his name in Kinshasa for people to bow down in supplication. Grupo Lokito take you to the place where Soukous meets Son producing an effervescant mix of classic and brand spanking new songs, throw in their outrageously infectious dance moves and the scene is set for music for the heart and feet.
MUNTU VALDO – Cameroon – A child of Cameroon’s Sawa coast, Muntu is a fantastic multi instrumentalist. He is a one man band who builds loops to create layers of textures of rhythms and melodies that lovingly support his supple voice and engaging songs, his live shows are spell binding. Very much at the vanguard of the new generation of insightful African singer songwriters he has been noticed by and invited to share a stage with international artists that include Alpha Blondy, Ali Farka Touré, Lokua Kanza, Cheick Tidianne Seck, Tony Allen, and Manu Dibango who encouraged Muntu to produce his debut album “Gods and Devils – Moiye Na Muititi”. The album resonates with a sensual and spiritual music, both delicate and powerful, a synthesis of Muntu’s many musical influences blues, bossa nova, jazz, afro-cuban, soul, funk, a wide spectrum of music whose origins are rooted deep in the heart of Africa. With special guest award winning Cameroonian songstress Coco Mbassi.
HARARE – Zimbabwe - Kuduashe Motimba, virtuoso marimba player presents full throttle Zimabwean dance music with his band Harare. The exiled musician was a member of Zimbabwe’s’ legendary Bhundu Boys and was at the heart of his country’s music scene is now based in London. Kuduashe has formed a vital new outfit that confronts his homelands woe and looks to the future while celebrating the musical alliances he has made in the UK through the prism of Zimbabwe’s urban Chimurenga and Jit Jive music.
GEATA (Genna Ethiopian Arts & Theatre (Dance of Culture) – Ethiopia. They present a dazzling display of dance drawing from the rich heritage of the 82 ethnic groups that make up the Ethiopian nation. GEATA’s captivating traditional dancers amaze and thrill as they cast a spell with their breathtaking rootsy shoulder and body popping dances.
Drummers and traditional dancers, acrobats
KAAGO FEAT: HENRI GAOBI - Ivory Coast – Kaago was formed by the outstanding percussionist and dancer Henri Gaobi and Rose Zan Lou both of whom attended the Guoro Ivory Coast National Ballet. Kaago bring to life their heritage through the many different traditional rhythms and dances and masquerade enactments of their homeland. The physical strength needed to perform these dances is matched by the skills, grace and interaction between musicians, dancers and acrobats who tantalize the imagination as they evoke the animist and natural worlds that are the foundations of their audacious art forms. SAMOS PERU: South American – This dance group are renowned for their eye catching and captivating African dance rhythms. One of these, the "Alcatraz", was developed in the Peruvian coast by African slaves and is accompanied by flames. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRQl_fH2Aig
‘Taste of Africa’ Food Court
A testament to the popularity of African food in London is the large numbers of Moroccan, Ethiopian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Eastern and Southern African restaurants in all areas of the city. >>> Food CourtArts & Crafts
Stalls have been made available to retailers who stock various traditional colourful arts and crafts like beads, textiles, paintings, carvings, etc.
>>> Stall holders.
