CityLife

A concert featuring the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, one of the greatest African bands of the 70s. Based in Benin, they mixed funk and Afrobeat with the bewitching rhythms of their native Voudoun tradition. While the musicians scattered over the intervening years, their sensational return concert at the Barbican last September showed that the power, energy and all-round funkiness of the 11-piece band is undimmed. With support from The Kalahari Surfers, formed in South Africa in 1982, whose energising mixture of rhythm and outspoken social commentary promptly resulted in the banning of their first three albums under the apartheid regime. Oumou Sangare's outstanding CD releases including the latest 'Seya (Joy)', have gained her a great reputation over the years, but her live shows are even better, driven by her majestic presence and spellbinding voice.

CityLife review

For a night replete with social commentary and politically orientated African acts crashing off each other as counterpoints, one particular quotation sheds light on our own society.more

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