Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX
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 With members hailing from Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Malaysia, Italy
and the UK, Kalakuta Millionaires is a truly global mix of musicians who
draw on influences from jazz, funk, soul and world music.
Following live recordings for Mark Lamarr at
BBC Maida Vale studios, the band has performed to thousands, headlining
stages at Glastonbury Festival, Latitude Festival, Secret Garden Party,
Waterford Spraoi, Sunrise Festival and many more.
With airtime on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music,
there's been KM tunes on Craig Charles' Funk & Soul Show, Mark Lamarr's
God's Jukebox, Russ Dewbury's Jazz Rooms show and John Warr's Afrobase
show.
The band recently came number one in the World
Music Network charts with their debut album which is out on global release
via the Big Chill Label, and their second album is set for 2014 in
collaboration with renowned producer Nick Faber.
There have been KM remixes by Diesler, Nick
Faber and Max Mezzowave which are due for release summer 2014.
THE MUSIC
Tanzanian/ Kenyan vocalist Siggi Mwasote has
generated her own unique lyrical style, giving a fresh funk-soul twist to
the traditional African aesthetic. Many of the lyrics are written in a
mixture of Swahili and English and the unique female-led perspective is
communicated passionately through the music. This is particularly reflected
in their song Yansan, written about the fate of women and children in
Charles Taylor's Liberia, and Bata Boy, written about homophobia in the
Afro-Caribbean music scene.
The band draw on a wide range of influences in
their writing, taking the listener on a musical journey which references
jazz, funk, soul and world music. A heavy underbelly of rhythm and bass
underpins a horn section blistering with soul, whilst jazz-drenched guitar
riffs merge seamlessly into highlife and funk. A truly polyrhythmic
percussion section of four congas, percussion rack and hand held percussion
brings in East and West African, Cuban and Brazilian influences.
The band cite their musical influences as The
Lijadu Sisters, ESG, James Brown, Ernest Ranglin, Oscar Sulley, Fela Kuti
and Orlando ?Cachaito' Lopez.
KALA-what?!
The word ?kalakuta' translates as ?rascally' in
vocalist Siggi Mwasote's mother tongue of Swahili. It is also a nod to Fela
Kuti's compound in Nigeria, the Kalakuta Republic, where the ethos was very
much anti-establishment - as was the attitude towards music-making:
"Fela contended that AfroBeat was a modern form
of danceable, African classical music with an urgent message for the
planet's denizens. Created out of a cross-breeding of Funk, Jazz, Salsa and
Calypso with Juju, Highlife and African percussive patterns, it was to him
a political weapon." www.fela.net
? so the name Kalakuta Millionaires literally
means ?rascally rich' - which can be interpreted as a political statement
regarding globalisation, or simply that this renegade crew break all the
rules with their wealth of musical styles.
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Tickets:
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?16 and ?8 concs
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Book Tickets
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Friday Nov 21st -
Equator Choir Competition
Norton Knatchbull School, Hythe Road, Ashford
! Thud ! - Equator's Percussion Festival : Feb 6-8th 2015
Taster workshops and performances all day
dates
tba for the Autumn in Ashford and Chatham
Please email us if you are interested in taking part
or performing.
The
Equator Festival is a world music and dance festival produced by
ShivaNova.
ShivaNova is a cutting-edge arts
organisation with an international reputation, specialising in music.
Shiva Nova is an ensemble of musicians from around the world, who blend urban
and folk, jazz and ambient sounds with influences from Indian, African,
Caribbean and Western music. ShivaNova celebrates cultural diversity through
music as well as through other art-forms including storytelling, dance,
visual art and projection, circus and theatre.
EQUATOR
FESTIVAL was set up by ShivaNova in 2007 as a promotional arm of the
company. It promotes and tours high quality international world musicians and
dancers from all over the world in its series of concerts and events in
London as well as in areas of Kent. Venues and regions it is promoting
include Royal Festival Hall, RichMix in London, Chatham,
Sevenoaks, Folkestone, Whitstable, Faversham and Ashford in Kent.
Shiva
Nova is led by Priti Paintal, a woman composer, performer, music producer and
promoter. Her music brings together traditional, classical and jazz
performers in a unique mix of Indian roots and contemporary flair. ShivaNova
has worked with girls and young woman from a range of communities and in 2006
set up the Girls Only Global Orchestra (GoGo) when the idea of the Equator
-Women of the World Festival (WOW) was also born.
ShivaNova/Equator
has been awarded an Arts Council Strategic Touring Fund to extend its
touring and promotional activities in Kent and London including Ashford,
Chatham, Folkestone, Sevenoaks, and Whitstable.
For more
information on Shivanova & Equator:
www.myspace.com/shivanovacom
Follow us on
Twitter:
Equator Festival_at_ EquatorFestival
WOW-WomenoftheWorld_at_events_wow
For information please email:
management_at_equatorfestival_dot_com
events_at_equatorfestival_dot_com
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