Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu in Malawi, East Africa. He grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands such as Masaka Band. He was a good friend of the legendary Evison Matafale and they played together for several years before Matafale was killed in Malawi police custody in 2003. In 1999 Esau Mwamwaya moved to London, England has until recently run a second-hand furniture store in Clapton, East London.
Konono Nº1 is a musical group from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire). They combine three electric likembé (a traditional lamellaphone similar to the mbira) with voices, dancers, and percussion instruments that are made out of items salvaged from a junkyard. The group's amplification equipment is equally rudimentary, including a microphone carved out of wood fitted with a magnet from an automobile alternator.
Driving, no-fat, hard rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Recommended for fans of Hot Snakes or Drive Like Jehu.
Born in 1967 in the village of Minta in East Cameroon, Bona grew up in a home filled with music. He began to perform in public at the age of five, singing in the village church with his mother and four sisters. His earliest instruments were wooden flutes and hand percussion. Eventually he constructed his own 12-string acoustic guitar. After moving to the bigger city of Douala, Richard began playing gigs at the age of 11 on a rented electric guitar. A major turning point in his life happened in 1980 when a Frenchman came to his town and established a jazz club in a local hotel.
DRUMS OF DEATH A London based electronic artist originally from Scotland, his music is a blend of techno, old-school house, punk rock and electro. He is known for very energetic and exciting live shows and has said in interviews his forthcoming album is all "Love songs and rave horns". Drums Of Death worked on Peaches' recent album "I Feel Cream" and produced and co-wrote the title track as well as a 40 minute mixtape of his own remixes of several of her other songs. This was released early 2009 onto blogs by XL Recordings to build promo for Peaches' album.
The Afro Celt Sound System is a musical group which fuses modern dance rhythms (trip-hop, techno, etc.) with Celtic and African influences. It was formed by Grammy-nominated producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and is considered to be somewhat of a world music supergroup, often having a wide range of guest artists on their albums. Their albums have been released through Peter Gabriel's Real World Records, and they are also reportedly the best-selling band on the label...
Femi Kuti is an award winning Nigerian musician, and the oldest son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Femi was born in London on 16 June 1962 and grew up in the former Nigerian capital Lagos. Like his father, Femi has shown a strong commitment to social and political causes throughout his career, but he differs in his religious views. In 2001, Femi collaborated with a number of US musicians such as Common, Mos Def, and Jaguar Wright, on his Fight to Win album. This album was widely regarded as the most influential Neo-Afrobeat album of the early 21st century.
Daara J (Pronounced Daa-raa Jee, which means "The School" in the Wolof language) are a Senegalese rap trio, consisting of N’Dango D, Aladji Man and Faada Freddy. Their music blends western hiphop with traditional African rhythms to create a great infectionsly dancy style. In their last album, Boomrang, they were joined by guests including Rokia Traore, who is one of the leading women in Malian music.