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This month, London African Music Festival will stage two Live Events at the RichMix, London.

FRIDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER - 7.30PM

The High Life Orchestra, established by trombonist and vocalist Abdul Raheem, will be the first to perform for the Trombonist and singer Abdul Raheem is the man to breathe new life to Hi-Life music. His career has seen him playing and recording with host of West African legends like Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Tony Allen, Orlando Julius, Osibisa and many more, as well as releasing great albums as a leader.

His 8-piece orchestra takes the magical sounds of hi-life and update it with modern grooves that drives you crazy with its infectious riffs and blazing horn lines. This is a re-birth of Hi-Life that continues to play important roles in shaping the future sounds of West Africa. Expect to hear classics from the hi-life’s incredible musical history.

Click on link below to buy your ticket.

SATURDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER - 7.30PM

The African Jazz Orchestra will be the second and final act performing at the Richmix and will  bring its irresistible music driven by the basslines of Serge Ngando-Mpondo, who has an impressive CV, playing bass for Manu Dibango, Miriam Makeba, Touré Kunda, Papa Wemba, Busi Mhlongo, Cheik Lô. He features on Lion of Africa and also produced Coco Mbassi’s CDs “JÓA” and “SEPIA”
The orchestra is packed with brilliant soloists and has one aim which is to rekindle people’s love affair with African jazz. Their brilliant music takes the listeners to the roots of all black music where hi-life meets afrobeat and then meeting jazz along the way. Bassist and leader Serge Ngando-Mpondo has spent the last few years writing for this orchestra with the aim of creating spectacular live shows with some of the best African jazz soloists in contemporary music.  Together they speak with one unique voice that creates music that has no boundaries. 

Click on link below to buy your ticket.

You'd like to get a feel of London African Music Festival.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Biyi Adepegba back in 2018. Click below to watch the video and get a feel of the festival.

Flashback to a special interview with Soul singer, songwriter and musician Noel McKoy where he shares with Caro Sika his earliest memories of Black British Music talking about Lovers Rock, Reggae, Soul artists and more.

Click below to watch the interview.

Noel McKoy is a British-based soul music singer. His music is a collection of soul, R&B, gospel, funk and Northern soul. Born in South London, he fronted the James Taylor Quartet in the early 1990s and has worked and duetted with several artists such as Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Cliff Richard, Lenny Henry, Jessie J, Mica Paris, Beverley Knight and his favourite - Stevie Wonder, as well as being known as the Dutch Pot owner, a nightclub located in London. He is currently part of the British Collective and also continues to tour and collaborate on a number of musical projects, one of the most recent being an international production with EEDB in collaboration with artists from Brazil and the US called "What are we gonna do? "

 Click below to watch the video clip

Tiramagan Traoré was a general of the great Soundjata Keïta, founder of the Mandinka empire, also referred to as the Mali Empire at the end of the twelfth century through to the sixteenth century.

The story goes that Tiramagan Traoré went to the heights of Kabul (present-day Guinea-Bissau which was formerly a territory of Gambia) with his griot Djelimadou Woulen Diabate and two hunters. During this expedition, Tiramagan spotted a Jinn, in front of a cave, which is a spirit in a form of a woman, living in the mountains. When she saw the expedition, the Jinn became frightened and took refuge in the cave.

Back home, Tiramagan told Waligelenjan, a descendant of Kamisoko, about his adventure. All decided to leave the next morning with a fishing net in order to catch this famous Jinn. When they arrived on the scene, the spirit woman was sitting in front of the cave. Immediately, the hunters launched the net on her to capture her. She, once more, took refuge in the cave and came out with a Kora. Tiramagan married this very beautiful woman and gave the Kora to his griot since he was a nobleman and wasn't permitted to play it. Djelimadou Woulen then exclaimed: "Nobleman, that's an instrument of ours, which belongs to the Mandika people".

It is from this story that the Kora, a stringed instrument of twenty-two strings with crystal sounds, draws its feminine gender. The first person to play it was this griot. When he died, in his honour, a string was removed. Since this time, the Kora has twenty-one leather strings. From the time of the first griot Djélimadou Woulen Diabaté, the Kora has been transmitted from Father to Son and has known more than 70 generations of griots.

Here is below an interview that took place at the Jazz Cafe couple of years back with a griot from the Cissokho family "Diabel Cissokho" by Caro Sika. Enjoy :)

Cette semaine, dans la rubrique 'Patrimoine Culturel', nous vous invitons à explorer avec nous les origines africaines des Champs Elysées de par des faits anthropologiques et culturels.

Avant de rentrer dans le vif du sujet, vous avez probablement tous entendu parler de Stonehenge, une des structures mégalithiques les plus célèbres au monde, située en Angleterre. Elle date du IIIème millénaire avant J.C et pour ceux qui aiment l’anthropologie, elle nous renseigne sur l’ancestralité africaine des peuples 'européens'. Je choisis de mettre l’Europe entre guillemets dans ce contexte puisqu'elle est née d'une volonté politique et non d'une séparation continentale puisque, strictement parlant, le territoire qu'on appelle Europe n'est pas un continent au sens propre puisqu'il partage la même surface émergée du globe que l'Asie (souvent référé à mineur) sans frontières naturelles terrestres, telles la mer ou l’océan. Le continent africain est également le continent le plus proche du territoire européen ce qui, bien naturellement, nous renseigne sur les échanges culturels de ces peuples depuis la génèse des temps. À cet effet, une des plus belles découvertes est le site archéologique de Nabta Playa, en Egypte du sud, à environ 1000km de Khartoum, Soudan. Nabta Playa date du 9^ème millénaire avant notre ère et on y a découvert les premiers alignements mégalithiques témoignant de la connaissance astronomique des sociétés africaines de l’époque, précédant de 6000 ans Stonehenge ou des sites semblables en Bretagne par exemple. Les mégalithes étaient majoritairement des arrangements funéraires qui renvoient à la continuité et l’éternité et qui nous rendent une belle image de la conception africaine de l’au-delà. Mais de manière plus évidente, c'est la preuve incontestable que ce savoir-faire et la croyance qui l'accompagne ont voyagé et inspiré d'autres civilisations au cours des siècles et millénaires.

Pour en découvrir plus sur l'histoire du Balafon et de la culture Sambla, ainsi que sur le parcours de Mamadou Diabaté, cliquez sur l'interview ci-dessous réalisée au Jazz Café, à Londres, lors de son dernier passage.

Our cultural mediator, Caro Sika, showcasing Walk with Wings by Tene Edwards:

Incognito Band is an Acid Jazz Band founded by Mauritius-born Jean-Paul Maunick, nicknamed Bluey, and the late Paul 'Tubbs' Williams. They first made their debut with a disco-funk group in the 1970s known as Light of the World but in time made a few personal changes to it and renamed it Incognito. Their first release was Jazz Funk in 1981. Although Paul Williams left the band a while after, Bluey continued to write for the group and other artists, including George Benson and Maxi Priest. Consequently, Bluey also became Incognito's bandleader.

Ten years after Jazz Funk, Incognito released Inside Life, a 1991 album that spawned the single, “Always There,” with vocal track by Jocelyn Brown, which became a top ten hit. Inside Life boasted a large cast that included some of the best funk players in England at the time.

Since then, the band has released a consistent string of high-quality recordings, beginning with Tribes Vibes & Scribes, a 1992 album that marked the first appearance of American vocalist Maysa Leaks in the lineup. Incognito Band also produced numerous hit singles on either side of the Atlantic, including a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing.”

More than just a band in the traditional sense, Incognito is an ever-changing collective of musicians hand-picked by Bluey from a worldwide pool. The result is a dynamic musical entity that spans a vast range of styles and cultures. Bluey stated that more than 1,000 different musicians and vocalists, from all corners of the earth, have performed for the band, over the years, with lineups varying in size from eight pieces to fourteen (or even larger configurations).To name but a few, current and past members originated from South Africa, India, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Israel, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and much more...Many of the current key members, however, have been in place for several years, including vocalists Joy Rose and Vanessa Haynes. Understandably, the band has toured all over the world and performed in well over 25 countries since their debut.

We had the pleasure of seeing Incognito Band perform at the Happy Days Festival in Surrey alongside many Soul and Funk legendary artists such as Sister Sledge, Sugar Hill Band, Evelyn Champagne King, the British Collective, Jocelyn Brown and many more.

Click below to watch our coverage of the festival, bringing back excellent memories of Live Musical Events.

Understandably, FUSE ODG has been instrumental in promoting 'the Year of Return', a 2019 initiative of the Ghanaian government, along with the U.S. based Adinkra Group, that is intended to encourage African diasporans to come to Africa (specifically Ghana) to settle and invest in the continent. In support of the year of Return Campaign, he launched Nana Dolls in December 2018, a black doll line for young African girls on the continent. In his announcement, the singer stated that the doll line was an important addition to the cultural representation of the true African girl. He went on to address the problem Africa is facing as Black dolls in Africa only represent 1% of the market. 99% of the toys being sold in Africa are white dolls which condition children to believe that being white is better. His contributions were recognised the same year at The African Diaspora Awards, which celebrates the accomplishments of exemplary individuals from the African Diaspora who excel in various spheres of life, as well as individuals in society working towards the advancement of Africans in the Diaspora and Africa as a whole.

FUSE ODG has now embarked on the new mission of building a high school in Akosombo, Ghana and refurbishing a secondary school in Jamaica with Reggae artist Chronixx, fitness entrepreneur Chakabars  and artist Donisha (who also happens to be Bob Marley's granddaughter). Students will be equipped with various vocational skills to find work, upon graduation, in industries such as construction, or health and beauty for instance.

For more info, watch one of his latest interview below:

Takine Camara est une entrepreneure malienne talentueuse et ambitieuse. Elle est créatrice et fondatrice de la marque de mode 'Beauté Charismatik'.

Alors que sa passion pour la mode remonte à sa tendre enfance, Takine Camara la matérialise adulte par le lancement de sa marque 'Beauté Charismatik'. Afin de faire écho à ses origines maliennes et pour se distinguer de la tendance de la mode africaine associée, très et trop souvent, au wax, elle décide de se spécialiser dans la confection de tenues en bazin, une étoffe synonyme de luxe et de richesse portée, notamment en Afrique de l'Ouest, lors des festivités. Le bazin devient donc la signature de marque de Beauté Charismatik, qui confectionne des tenues à la fois modernes et traditionnelles.

Depuis, sa marque fait l'unanimité en Afrique de l'Ouest et dans la diaspora et s'associe au luxe et au prestige. De par ce fait, Takine Camara est conviée à participer à de nombreux évènements de renom tels Miss Mali ou Miss Afrique de l'Ouest où les prétendantes aux titres défilent portant des créations de Beauté Charismatik. Takine Camara a également eu l'opportunité de collaborer avec la marque WATI B pour la Nuit du Mali en habillant son directeur artistique, ainsi que l'artiste Cheick Tidiane Seck. Plus récemment, ce sera l'artiste Mokobe, qui parrainera le premier Fashion Show de Takine Camara au Sénégal ou la grande Diva Internationale Oumou Sangaré qui sera habillée par Beauté Charismatik pour son premier concert à Dubaï.

Bref, 'the sky is the limit' pour cette créatrice et entrepreneure africaine qui n'hésite pas à voyager, à s'inspirer de cultures et expressions artistiques aux quatre coins du monde et à y travailler.

Découvrez-là ci-dessous dans un de ses interviews en compagnie du présentateur et entrepreneur Mohamadou Deme sur KWABO TV.

Serge Aimé Coulibaly est né à Bobo Dioulasso le 12 mars 1972. Depuis 2002, il travaille en Europe et dans le monde entier par le biais de la compagnie de danse Faso Danse Théâtre, dont il est le fondateur et directeur artistique . Il fondera également ANKATA, un laboratoire de recherche, création et production des arts de la scène situé à Bobo Dioulasso.

Serge Aimé Coulibaly fait ses débuts au sein de la compagnie Feeren au Burkina Faso, sous la direction d'Amadou Bourou, en tant que comédien, danseur et musicien. Cette première expérience lui permettra de partir en tournée en Afrique et en Europe. En 1998, il est choisi pour chorégraphier le spectacle d’ouverture de la Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, et en 1999 celle de l'ouverture du Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO).

Depuis la création de sa compagnie Faso Danse en 2002, Serge Aimé travaille sur des thèmes complexes et tente de donner une véritable impulsion positive aux jeunes générations Son africanité est la source de son inspiration et avec son art, il veut créer une danse contemporaine puissante qui part du sentiment mais qui porte aussi réflexion et espoir. La puissance de son expressivité rend son travail universel et compréhensible sur tous les continents. Les pièces en date, produites sur différentes scènes européennes et africaines (festivals), en commençant par la plus récente sont Kirina (2018), Kalakuta Republik (2016), Nuit Blanche à Ouagadougou (2014), Fadjiri (2013), Khokuma 7° Sud (2011), Babemba (2008), Solitude d'un Homme Intègre (2007), A Benguer (2006), Minimini (2002).

Cliquez ci-dessous pour l'interview complet de Serge Aimé Coulibaly sur son parcours et son engagement politique lors de la 100ème représentation de sa pièce Kalakuta Republik, au Barbican Center, à Londres.