21.00 Afro Sunday DJs
21.30 ZZ Twerkers
22.00 ZZ Crew
22.15 Total Hip Replacement
24.00 Afrojazz Quintet feat. Jimi Tenor
01.30 DK Balafu
Tickets: in advance 18,50 € Tiketti / 20 € at the door
Group tickets 75 €/5 people, Fri + Sat tickets 35 € in advance from Tiketti!
As part of Finland’s 100 year celebrations, Pirfest the association of festivals in the Pirkanmaa region, launched a series of videos representing the member festivals and their views on the freedom of speech in Finland. The video about Fest Afrika and the 2017 festival theme “Voices to be heard” emphasizes the importance of also minorities having their voices heard in Finnish society.
Video production: Reunamedia (Sami Lindfors, Ida Tokola, Ilana Pantzar, Miikka Varila)
Sananvapauden tarina artwork in the intro: Ville Färsaaret
Music:
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble – Djigbo (N. Saizonou)
Malang Cissokho – Simbo
Afrotysonia – No more
Wednesday is Afro Kantele Night! The concert presents West African kora and Finnish kantele and explores their similarities in sound and style.
The opening act Malang Cissokho plays Western African kora and guitar and sings Mandinka peoples traditional songs and his own compositions. He has been living in Finland for a long time and is a member of griot family from Casamance, Senegal. Malang’s father is a well-known kora player. Malang himself started to play first guitar and modern music, before starting to play kora. Nowadays he’s a master in playing the instrument. While living in Senegal, Malang played with the world famous Youssou N’Dour and in Finland he has become famous for playing with Piirpauke, Cool Sheiks, Riddim Raiders and J. Karjalainen.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/cissokhomalang/
Bandcamp: http://malang.bandcamp.com/
The second band of the night, Afrotysonia is an afro-jazz trio based in Helsinki, Finland. It’s music is strongly influenced by the West African kora and popular music, but in the groovy mix you can also hear Nordic folk music, jazz and Caribbean rhythms. Their debut album “Dance on the Roof” was published in March 2017.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/afrotysonia/
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/afrotysonia
Zimbabwe’s pride, most successful artist and national treasure, Oliver Mtukudzi is gifted with a deep and gusty voice plus a talent for writing songs that reflect on the daily life and struggles of his people. ‘Tuku’ as he is known, began performing in 1977 and has earned a devoted following across Africa and beyond, all the while incorporating elements of different musical traditions. A member of Zimbabwe’s Kore Kore tribe, he sings in the nation’s dominant Shona language as well as Ndebele and English.
Tuku (along with Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo) is one of the most successful African recordings artists in North America, having sold hundreds of thousand of records on Putumayo, Heads Up/Telarc and Sheer Sound. One of Tuku’s biggest fans is Bonnie Raitt, who has not only called Tuku “a treasure,” and recorded a cover of “Hear me Lord” but also credits Tuku as the inspiration for the song “One Belief Away” on her album Fundamental.
Facebook fan page here.
Total Hip Replacement is a young band that blends reggae and funk, focusing on explosive energy that transcends stylistical borders and venues around the world. It consists of five guys from Aarhus, who have a lengthy history in the local underground scene. Apart from doing European shows the band also did a visit to Ghana in the spring of 2013.
Band members: Philip Akrofi – bass & trombone, Victor West Hosbond – vocals & trombone, Malthe Jepsen – keys, Alexander Arlien-Søborg Dutschke – drums, Carl West Hosbond – guitar
Noël Saizonou – voice and percussion | Petri Kautto – guitar | Kari Ikonen – moog synthesizer
An ultra-positive, high-energy, extraordinary afro-pop-jazz trio that makes you smile, dance and feel happy!
More info, photos etc from here.
Advance tickets from Tiketti and Lippupiste.
Free entrance with the ticket for Pakkahuone.