Africa Oyé – the UK’s largest celebration of African culture and music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
AFRICA OYÉ 2012 CELEBRATES 20 YEARS – THE LARGEST LIVE AFRICAN MUSIC
AND CULTURE EVENT IN THE UK
Funded by Arts Council of England
& Liverpool City council
AFRICA OYÉ 2012
LISTEN TO AFRICA
The UK?s largest celebration of African music and culture
Sefton Park, Liverpool
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24
th
June 2012
12:30pm - 9:30pm both days
Admission: FREE
In 2012 Africa Oyé are marking 20 years of bringing the best in African music and culture to
the UK.
Starting out as a series of small gigs in Liverpool's city centre in 1992, Africa Oyé has gone
from strength-to-strength, and has evolved into the foremost celebration of African and
Caribbean music and culture in the UK.
Over the past 20 years Africa Oyé has brought some of the biggest names in music from
Africa, the Caribbean and South America to Liverpool, including Tinariwen, Peter Tosh, Femi
Kuti, and of course, last year?s headliner, 'Queen of Reggae' Marcia Griffiths.Full Line Up Now Confirmed For 2012:
The Rasites (UK)
In 2001 the Rasites Band lit up the roots market with their debut album, Urban Regeneration
- a record that inspired comparisons with the early greats of the business. UK reggae hadn't
witnessed the emergence of a young band of musicians intent on writing and playing their
own material, since Aswad and Steel Pulse first blazed their international roots trail a
generation ago. Since their emergence The Rasites they have recorded hits with Jamaican
Superstar Luciano. After playing at 2004 Rbel Salute in Jamaica, they stayed on the island
to record tracks with master Saxaphonist/Producer Dean Fraser and Bobby Digital.
Brinsley Forde (UK/Jamaica)
Best known as front man to seminal reggae band Aswad, Forde now takes to the Oye stage
to deliver a charismatic set of Roots reggae. His phenomenal stage presence and crowd
pleasing vocal earned Forde a number of live collaborations with Dizzee Rascal,
collaborations which blew audiences away on the likes of Jools Holland and at the Electric
Proms.
Yaaba Funk (Ghana/UK)
The band was born in Brixton in 2006. The core members of Yaaba Funk met on the south
London African scene in the late 1990s when, as well as studying African music, many wild
nights were spent jamming together at house parties, drumming, dancing and djing 'til dawn.
The name Yaaba Funk comes from an album called Yaba Funk Roots, the only album ever
released outside of Africa by Captain Yaba, a musician from northern Ghana and exponent
of the 2-string „guitar? called the koliko.
The band has gigged extensively around London and the UK, building up a loyal fan base
with their exuberant live shows, and have also performed in Europe and Africa. A floor-filling
extravaganza combining the tightest rhythm section this side of Accra, fat analogue bass
lines, blazing horns, sparkling African and gritty rock guitars. YF are considered to be one of
the best live acts on the circuit.
The Endless Journey (Niger)
Touareg singer, guitarist and songwriter Alhousseini Anivolla and Wodaabe singer Bammo
Agonla have toured Europe, Canada, America and Australia with the internationally
acclaimed group Etran Finatawa. Mamane Barka is a charismatic musician and
ethnomusicologist who is widely known in Niger as a virtuoso ugurumi player. Internationally,
he is best known as the last master of the Biram, a sacred instrument of the Boudouma
people that he learnt in order to save it from obscurity. Oumarou Adamou, the son of a
Hausa Griot, is a famed percussionist and lifelong friend of Barka. Together, their swirling
strings, driving rhythms and haunting vocals evoke the vast open spaces of the desert and
the very soul of nomadic life.Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra (Nigeria/UK)
Dele began his career when he joined Fela Kuti's Egypt 80. He then created the Positive
Force band with Femi Kuti, with whom he performed from 1986 to 1994. In both bands he
was keyboard player, also musical director taking care of re-orchestrating and arranging
music as well as handling the recruiting and training of new musicians. Based on Afrobeat,
Dele's music is a blend of complex funk grooves, Nigerian traditional music (including hi-life),
African percussion, underpinning the jazz horns and solos from other instruments, as well as
rhythmical singing. With a 15 strong line up featuring a brass section and some amazing
dancers, this is one live show not to be missed!
Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Samba Mapangala was born in Matadi in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He
spent the early 70s with various bands in Kinshasa, before moving to Uganda in 1975 where
he and some other Congolese musicians formed the Les Kinois band. They moved to
Nairobi in 1977. He formed a new band, the Orchestra Virunga, in 1981. The band is named
after Virunga volcano located in Congo.
Orchestra Virunga released their first album, It's Disco Time with Samba Mapangala in 1982.
In early 90s the group gained some international popularity through album releases like
"Virunga Volcano" and "Feet on Fire."
He has continued to record, and is still one of the leading musicians in East Africa. He is now
based in the United States.
Jaliba Kuyateh (The Gambia)
Modernising the exquisite Kora music of Gambia into what he calls „Kora Pop?, Jaliba
Kuyateh - together with his band - unite current and ancient Gambian sounds into an electric
and uplifting live show. Kyuateh began playing the 21-stringed instrument at the age of five
and is now among the most dynamic of its players.
Diabel Cissokho (Senegal)
Part of a great line of Cassikho griots, Diabel Cissokho?s virtuosic talent, his resonant voice
and rocking kora style, have been welcomed everywhere from WOMAD and Glastonbury to
London?s Barbican, where he performed alongside Femi Kuti, Cheikh Lo and Manu Dibango.
Diabel?s success with bluesman Ramon Goose cemented his reputation as a versatile
musician, able to effortlessly cross cultures. Their album Mansana Blues was lauded as “a
flavoursome mix of slide guitar, mellow kora and undulating Mandinka rhythms” (fRoots)
which “delivers moments of steamy pleasure” (Songlines).Finally, we are sure you will all be glad to hear that Africa Oyé will remain a free and
unfenced event. The festival has always maintained that they are committed to keeping
Africa Oyé open to all. Thanks to all their supporters, sponsors, and the generous donations
received at last year?s festival, they have managed to do so once again.
See you all in Sefton Park 23
rd
-24
th
June, 2012!
http://www.africaoye.com
LISTEN TO AFRICA
Funded by Arts Council of England & Liverpool City Council
For press queries / images requests please contact ally@onefellswoop.co.uk
ENDS