UNVEILING ISEDALE AFRICA PROJECT

The ISEDALE AFRICA PROJECT is a socio cultural organization, out to promote the culture and tradition of the Yorubas and the African continent, through Music, Dance and Creative Art.
The project runs an eighteen man band and a dance troupe, called ISEDALE & Di COWRIES led by a highly talented artiest by name; OLALEKAN OKANLAWON aka “ISEDALE” the band consist of trained musicians from Peter King College of music and traditionally trained percussionist on Bata, Gangan, Agogo etc.
ISEDALE & Di COWRIES plays a genre of music that consist of Traditional African Folks (TAF) and a fusion of Jazz, with spectacular dance performance by the dance troupe.

The band have since performed at the French Cultural Center Lagos, the Osun Osogbo festival Osogbo, guest artist at the YOMAFA award night organized by the Lagos Television in conjunction with Leo Gold Productions and 3 editions of FELABRATION.

The project will be unveiled on the 2^nd of December this year and the debut album of Olalekan Okanlawon aka ISEDALE will be launched on the same day 

@ the Blue Ribbon event center No. 15 Olayiwola street new Oko Oba, Abule Egba Lagos.

Red Carpet starts by 2:00 pm prompt

Admittance is by Ankara

For your Ankara call: Keye 07065562187 or Lekan 08024555775

Click here for more information

Felabration 2012

The organizers have announced plans for this year’s edition of the annual Felabration music festival in honour of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti

The festival which celebrates the life and times of the late music icon, multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afro- beat music, human rights activist, and political maverick, Fela Anikulapo Kuti is tagged ‘Africa, Centre of the World‘.

We have been told it will take a new shape this year as organizers have planned a list of scheduled events.

This year’s Felabration will kick off with the usual symposium ‘The Fela Debates’ themed ‘Corruption and the Generation Next’ and will hold on Monday, October 15, 2012, Fela’s birthday.

The symposium will feature as guest speakers Michael Veal, Seffi Attah, Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, Carlos Moore, Donald Duke, Ben Murray Bruce and a host of others.

This symposium will be followed by a debate for senior secondary schools students themed ‘Social Media in Africa; Good or Bad’ which will take place on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at the Freedom Park, Lagos.

The multi-headliner music concert featuring artistes from all parts of world will hold from Tuesday, October 16 to Sunday, October 22, 2012.

Femi and Seun Kuti missed out from last year’s Felabration as they were on tour. Fans will be looking out most especially for their performances this year.The organisers have announced plans for this year’s edition of the annual Felabration music festival in honour of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti

The festival which celebrates the life and times of the late music icon, multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afro- beat music, human rights activist, and political maverick, Fela Anikulapo Kuti is tagged ‘Africa, Centre of the World‘.

Weve been told it will take a new shape this year as organizers have planned a list of scheduled events.

This year’s Felabration will kick off with the usual symposium ‘The Fela Debates’ themed ‘Corruption and the Generation Next’ and will hold on Monday, October 15, 2012, Fela’s birthday.

The symposium will feature as guest speakers Michael Veal, Seffi Attah, Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, Carlos Moore, Donald Duke, Ben Murray Bruce and a host of others.

This symposium will be followed by a debate for senior secondary schools students themed ‘Social Media in Africa; Good or Bad’ which will take place on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at the Freedom Park, Lagos.

The multi-headliner music concert featuring artistes from all parts of world will hold from Tuesday, October 16 to Sunday, October 22, 2012.

Femi and Seun Kuti missed out from last year’s Felabration as they were on tour. Fans will be looking out most especially for their performances this year.

FELA IN PLAY

The rise of Afrobeats

It's the new sound of the UK underground, reworking the African pop of Fela Kuti for kids reared on grime, hip-hop and funky house. With stars like Kanye West wanting in, just how big will it get?
As London ushered in its Olympic year at midnight on 31 December, the official fireworks playlist blaring out over the Thames moved predictably through Vangelis, Soft Cell, Shirley Bassey and Adele. But it was accompanied by one less obvious choice: D'Banj's Oliver Twist. It may have been the first time most of the 250,000 revellers heard the hit-in-waiting from the Nigerian rap star, but it probably won't be the last. At that moment, London DJ Abrantee, the man who gave the name "Afrobeats" to the hottest scene in the UK right now, was getting ready to fly to Egypt, where the very same song "tore the place apart" in front of a Cairo club crowd more used to house music. Most people are familiar with the Afrobeat styles of Fela Kuti – Afrobeats is something different; with the addition of the letter "s" comes a whole new chapter in global pop music.

BABA70

Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Bob Marley Musical giants in a time of revolution

Looking back to the days of these two musical giant who check the world during their life time and still pronounced in today world clamoring for  change  even after thy have long gone. To me these two musical giant are prophet in there own right who see the true meaning of humanity 

 

It’s Bob Marley’s Birthday — and therefore, the perfect time to share this article by noted music writer, Vivien Goldman. HBD, Bob! follow the link below 

http://tinyurl.com/7tdurq8

The Real Kalakuta Republic

Kalakuta Republic was the name musician and political activist Fela Kuti gave to the communal compound that housed his family, band members, and recording studio. Located at 14 Agege Motor Road, Idi-Oro, Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria it had a free health clinic, and recording facility. Fela declared it independent from the Nigerian government after he returned from the United States in 1970.

The word "Kalakuta" was a caricature of a prison cell named Calcutta that fela inhabited.

 The compound burned to the ground on February 18, 1977 after an assault by a thousand armed soldiers. Before the attack on Fela's home, he made a record called Zombie, about the Nigerian military regime. 

In the song, soldiers are called zombies for obeying orders blindly. One of the lines of the song, in pidgin English says, "Zombie no go walk unless you tell am to walk", i.e., a zombie won't walk unless commanded to. While not criticising the idea of military service generally, Fela was frustrated with the Nigerian army's rank and file that allowed corruption and intimidation of their communities by the corrupt and rich top brass, while blindly following orders to intimidate Nigerians.

The song was popular in Nigeria, upsetting then Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo had been a schoolmate of Fela's in primary school in Abeokuta. The military was unhappy with Fela's constant criticism and said it was unseemly to have a republic within a republic. Nigerian tabloids carried lurid but unverified tales of girls lured to the compound by Fela's band members and corrupted.

During the attack on Kalakuta Republic by Nigerian soldiers, Fela's mother was thrown from a window and died after an 8-week coma.

Following this attack, Fela married 27 of his backing singers in a mass wedding ceremony at the office of his lawyer, Tunji Braithwaite. Fela said he would not have marital relations with all of the women as the tabloids suggested, but had married them as they could not find employment after the recording studio had been burnt down. According to Fela, in African tradition, when a woman was in danger of being left destitute, it was the duty of a man in her community to marry her as a means of offering protection.References

Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon By Michael E. Veal, p. 143

Revitalization of Fela's influence on music and popular culture

In recent years there has been a revitalization of Fela's influence on music and popular culture, culminating in another re-release of his catalog controlled by Universal Music, off-and-on Broadway biopic shows, and new bands, such as Antibalas, who carry the Afrobeat banner to a new generation of listeners.

In 1999, Universal Music France, under the aegis of Francis Kertekian, remastered the 45 albums that it controlled and released them on twenty-six compact discs. These titles were licensed to other territories of the world with the exception of Nigeria and Japan, where Fela's music was controlled by other companies. In 2005, Universal Music USA licensed all of its world-music titles to the UK-based label Wrasse Records, which repackaged the same twenty-six CDs for distribution in the USA (replacing the MCA-issued titles there) and the UK. In 2009, Universal created a new deal for the USA with Knitting Factory Records and for Europe with PIAS, which included the release of the Fela! Broadway cast album.

Thomas McCarthy's 2008 film The Visitor depicted a disconnected professor (Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins) who wanted to play the djembe. He learns from a young Syrian (Haaz Sleiman) who tells the professor he will never truly understand African music unless he listens to Fela. The film features clips of Fela's "Open and Close" and "Je'nwi Temi (Don't Gag Me)."

In 2008, an off-Broadway production of Fela Kuti's life titled Fela! began with a collaborative workshop between the Afrobeat band Antibalas and Tony award winner Bill T. Jones. The show was a massive success, selling out shows during its run, and garnering much critical acclaim. On November 22, 2009, Fela! began a run on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. Jim Lewis helped co-write the play (along with Bill T. Jones), and obtained producer backing from Jay-Z and Will Smith, among others. On May 4, 2010, Fela! was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Bill T. Jones, Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Sahr Ngaujah, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Lillias White.[19]

On August 18, 2009, award winning DJ J.Period released a free mixtape to the general public via his website that was a collaboration with Somali-born hip hop artist K'naan paying tribute to Fela, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan entitled The Messengers.

In October 2009, Knitting Factory Records began the process of re-releasing the 45 titles that Universal Music controls, starting with yet another re-release of the compilation The Best of the Black President in the USA. The rest is expected to be released in 2010.[dated info]

In addition, a movie by Focus Features, directed by Steve McQueen and written by Biyi Bandele about the life of Fela Kuti went into production in 2010. It was announced in 2010 that Chiwetel Ejiofor would play the lead role.

References
From Wikipedia the online encyclopedia