Heads High

Dele Sosimi is back for the first time in 2010 with his Afrobeat Orchestra and the phenomenal DJ, Koichi Sakai.

For those of you that have no idea about the significance of this statement, I urge you to come and experience this super-party for yourself… A mixture of Fela’s classics and Dele’s own material fuels this jamming session till the wee hours of dawn.

Here’s what they have to say for themselves:

“All those who had been eagerly awaiting for this Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80 original keyboard player Dele Sosimi’s dedication of Afrobeat have the opportunity to feel the heat once again. He will bring authentic Kalakuta style live Afrobeat performance with the finest musicians and dancers in London. DJ Koichi Sakai will drop heavy weight Afrobeat, Afro Funk and Tropical sounds ’strictly vinyl only’ on the decks.”

Click here to watch Dele in Off The Meters’ Afrobeat Vibration promotional video or check out this mini-interview (below) that I managed to get with Dele sharing a piece of his mind:

1.Which afrobeat tracks would you say are essential for anyone wanting to dig deeper into the genre?

Lady, Shakara, Zombie, Sorrow Tears and Blood, Water No Get Enemy, Teacher, Power Show, Beast Of No Nation, E No Possible and Expensive Shit are all Fela Kuti classic favourites of mine. Better still, Essential Afrobeat which is a 3 Cd Afrobeat compilation selected by me and released by Family Recordings will take you on a real ear opening journey.

2. What do you think of the afrobeat scene in UK by comparison to Nigeria?

It is certainly more dynamic, developed and diverse here in the UK. There is an ever-increasing variety of artists representing afrobeat in their own way such as Tony Allen, Bukky Leo, Funso Ogunndipe, Fanga London Afrobeat Collective, Afrobeat Crusaders and Hot Club Afrobeat Orchestra to name a few. However in Nigeria, there only seems to be Femi and Seun Kuti when there should be much more. I would love to see more happening in Nigeria although this would require a tremendous shift in the cultural ideology of the nation.

3. What is your vision for afrobeat? How do you see afrobeat evolving?

Afrobeat itself is a fusion of different genres. I believe that music should always evolve and collaborate with other genres such as funk, hip-hop, jazz and so on. Through projects such as ‘Red Hot & Riot‘ or ‘FELA!‘ the musical, afrobeat has been able to reach wider audiences and continues to live on. Now more artists from other genres are wanting to co-write, produce, compose and release new material which is one of the most basic tools required for the development and evolution of genres. In saying this, I hope to see for example, ‘Dele Sosimi featuring Snoop Dogg‘, ‘… Jay-Z‘ or fingers crossed ‘… Esperanza Spalding!’

4. Share some words about what Afrobeat Vibration means to you.

Afrobeat Vibration is a deep movement that will infect you, make you reflect and affect you. Once you get a feel of it, you will not be able to stay away from us. Through this party, I have been able to keep the afrobeat fire burning and build a large family of musicians and listeners who all share in the same passion.

Thanks Dele for shedding some light on the issue and we certainly look forward to dancing till we’ve at least filled a few buckets of sweat*.

Afrobeat no go die!

Saturday 30th January at The NEW Empowering Church
1a Westgate Street (off Mare Street), London E8 3RL
Nearest station: London Fields
Bus: 26, 48, 55, 106, 236, 254, 388, D6, N26, N55, N253

Entry: £10/£8 advance booking. *An added (FREE) bonus to the night is the ‘full Nigerian’ breakfast in the morning.

Dele Sosimi’s current album Identity is available at Amazon, iTunes and many other outlets. Check his MySpace for more details.