DJ Lubi presents...

SANTROFI + ONIPA (live PA) & WIYAALA + DJ RAS MYLES (AFROSHAKE)

highlife/afrobeat direct from Ghana

After packed and super energetic African music shows already in 2022 at Brudenell by ONIPA and KOG, Leeds global beats/world music promoter DJ Lubi delivers his big African music gig of the summer at the venue on 16th June.

Direct from Accra, Ghana's newest highlife/afrobeat kings Santrofi make their Leeds debut, one of just 3 UK shows on their 2022 European summer tour. Support from that man KOG and Nubiyan Twist's band leader Tom Excell doing an ONIPA live PA with special guest singer Wiyaala, the Ghanaian afropop/afrobeats queen known as "The Young Lioness of Africa". On the decks all night is Kenyan DJ Ras Myles from the Afroshake crew playing past and present Pan-African sounds.

At the time of their first European festival tour in 2019 and the release of their debut album "Alewa", Ghana's young highlife revivalists Santrofi had audiences dancing everywhere with their exciting and energetic live shows. This included the Sines Festival (Portugal), WOMAD (UK), Roskilde (Denmark) and WOMEX (Tampere, Finland). This young allstar band from Accra (Ghana's capital city), brims with gifted musicians, beautiful music and maximum energy on stage for live shows. The 8 piece collective is made up of a young generation of award winning musicians who have backed everyone who's anyone in the Ghanaian/West African music scene, from Azonto sensation Sarkodie to Nigerian superstar 2 Face Idibia.

Led by bassist/ producer Emmanuel Ofori, who made his reputation playing with music legends such as Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band, this collective of celebrated young musicians are on a mission to revive vintage Ghanaian highlife music in all its forms. From the riveting fast-paced pulse of 1970s dance-guitar highlife to the other-worldly sound of highlife funk via 1950s big band highlife and the polyrhythmic beats and melodies that took afrobeat across the globe. This wall of sound, although long lost and forgotten, is back with effortless ease and with a progressive edge as if it had never been away.

Santrofi’s debut album ‘Alewa’ (2020) captured all these influences from the diverse yet intertwined eras of Ghana’s highlife musical journey. "Alewa" is a popularly known local black and white striped sweet made from sugar and is a metaphor that represents the symbol of independence for the country and the need to recognize, accept, tolerate and embrace racial diversity to build a world with love and unity.  Santrofi’s multi-instrumentalists represent this spirit of community and unity, sharing instrumental and compositional duties both in the studio and live on stage. They were set to hit European stages again in spring/summer 2020 to promote the album when the covid pandemic hit worldwide and the tour was cancelled. Finally, after a 2 year wait, they are back to Europe including a very limited UK tour featuring just a handful of dates.

Support comes from UK afrofuturist/afrofusion kings ONIPA in the form of a duo set from co-leaders KOG (Kweku) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist). Their bands and projects like Nubiyan Twist and KOG & The Zongo Brigade have been at the forefront of the UK's African music and global beats scenes for the last decade. ONIPA (full band) and KOG (full band) have already rocked packed shows at Brudenell Social Club this year and now Kweku and Tom return to warm-up the crowd for Santrofi. They perform a duo set mixing up live instruments, vocals, samples and programmed beats. They now have a special guest from Ghana - afropop/afrobeats singer Wiyaala aka "The Young Lioness Of Africa". Back in Ghana, she is a superstar with her own TV show, fashion brand and hits galore. A great addition to this show, ONIPA and Wiyaala will be bringing some UK style afrofusion mixed with traditional highlife to the party.

Guest DJ is UK/Kenyan selector Ras Myles from the Afroshake DJs. They rocked the last KOG Brudenell Leeds show and have been building up their own clubnight Katika over the last few months in Leeds as well as doing guest DJ slots at venues like Hifi Club, Hyde Park Book Club and Wharf Chambers.

Gigs like this come round very rarely so if you love African music and especially Ghanaian music/highlife, you need to be at this show.

Click here to read more…

Thursday 16th June 2022

Price: £14.50 advance / £12.00 student advance

Doors 19:30

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