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WOMADELAIDE 2001
program highlights
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Femi Anikulapo Kuti & The Positive Force (Nigeria) |
| Like father, like son.
The undisputed inheritor of the genius of Nigerian Afrobeat superstar Fela
Anikulapo Kuti, is his son Femi. Femi’s version of Afrobeat borrows
from Fela’s funky, jazzy, heavily percussive sound that took James Brown’s
beat back to Africa, and adds to it his own fresh American dance-influenced,
soul-infused style with strong social commentary for a new generation.
Femi’s Afrobeat is the most exciting new sound to emerge from Nigeria for
years, and together with his 15-piece band The Positive Force, featuring
horns, lead guitar, bass, congas, piano, and dancers, his high-energy live
performances are already legendary. Femi began singing and playing saxophone
(soprano, alto, tenor and baritone) in his father’s forty-piece band Egypt
80 at the age of 18, before forming his own band in 1987, The Positive
Force. A debut album No Cause for Alarm, soon followed, bringing
Femi to prominence in Europe. Worldwide releases of Wonder
Wonder (1995) and the critically acclaimed Shoki Shoki, have since taken
Femi’s music to a global audience. Such is the interest in Femi,
that Shoki Shoki was re-released with a welter of re-mixes by such dance/house
noteables as Masters at Work, Kerri Chandler, and Snowboy, all eager to
associate themselves with Femi’s exciting brand of Afrobeat. Over
the last few years Femi has toured consistently in Africa, Europe (performing
with James Brown at the Nice Festival) and the United States. He
was awarded Best Male Artist at the 1999 Kora All Africa Music Awards in
Sun City, (the African equivalent to the Grammies). Femi recently
founded his own political movement, MASS “Movement Against Second Slavery”,
an organisation based in Lagos which lobbies for social reform. The Womadelaide
2001 performance will be Femi’s first visit to Australia. |
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