Music and live performance reflecting capital's global connections at Rise: London United
Rise: London United Against Racism, which takes place in Finsbury Park on Sunday 15 July, will feature music and performance that is rooted in cultures from around the world and which has had a profound influence in London.
Mayor Ken Livingstone, who is organising the free event in partnership with the National Assembly Against Racism and TUC South East Region (SERTUC), said: 'London's success depends on the international character of our city and London's fortunes are tied up with our stand against racism and prejudice.
Fighting racism is a daily fight and a political priority for our city and the Rise: London United festival is a clear statement of that fact.'
The international character of the capital is reflected in the eclectic range of music on offer at Rise: London United. As well as main stage performers such as K'Naan (Somalia via Canada) and the Skatalites (from Jamaica), the anti-racist festival will also feature the African Village, bringing a little of the distinctive spirit of London's African communities through music, food, drink, culture arts and crafts and the Big Cuba Fiesta and el Barrio Latino, which will include performances by salsa and merengue bands, Latin American DJs and salsa dance classes, all brought together by the Cuba Solidarity
Campaign.
Heading east, the Crescent Stage, programmed by Continental Drifts, will feature music with roots and influences, including Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Middle East pop, desert music and dance by Kurdish and Sufi groups.
Even further east, the Mela Stage, programmed by Nutkhut, will feature traditional and contemporary Asian music and dance, from Bhangra – including Kalakaar - to Asian Fusion.
AFRICA VILLAGE, BIG CUBA FIESTA, MELA STAGE, CRESCENT STAGE - LINE UP DETALS
AFRICAN VILLAGE
The African Village brings a little of the distinctive spirit of London's African communities through music, food, drink, culture arts and crafts. The line up includes:
* Multi-instrumentalist singer Frankie Paul, often referred to as the
'Jamaican Stevie Wonder' and award-winning Hip Hop / R&B star 2Face from Nigeria.
* Senegalese 8-piece band Lolou and the Zawose Family from East Africa, who have been signed to Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.
* King Masco from Sierra Leone and award-winning Dorothy Masuku, one of the most influential popular jazz artists in South Africa.
* Osvaldo Chacó, who began his musical career with some of Cuba's top salsa bands, including Paulito FG and El Medico de la Salsa and since coming to London in 1977 has established himself as a leading exponent in the UK of the new and exciting sound of Cuban timba.
* Osibisa, who were formed in London in 1969 by three Ghanaian and three Caribbean musicians, played a central role in developing an awareness of African music among European and North American audiences in the 1970s and Harare, which was formed by two musicians from the heart of the Zimbabwean urban music and combines different styles from Jit Jive to traditional hypnotic rhythms of the Mbira (lamellaphone).
BIG CUBA FIESTA & EL BARRIO LATINO
The Big Cuba Fiesta and el Barrio Latino, organised by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, with thanks to UNITE T&G section (London & Eastern Region, features performances by salsa and merengue bands, Latin American DJs and salsa dance classes. The line up includes:
* Raíces Cubanas, led by violinist and musical director Omar Puente from Santiago de Cuba have been dubbed part of the country's 'nueva generacíon' (new generation). With roots in Cuban Son and Charanga (violins, flute, keyboard, bass, timbale, congas and bongos with a strong vocal front line) infused with Afro-Cuban jazz, together they have developed an exciting new dance sound in Cuban music.
* Palmeras Kannibales, an 8-piece b
and from Caracas, Venezuela fuse Ska, Reggae and Rocksteady with Latin rhythms.
* Havana Connection, which brings together Mr Huevo (from Los Paisanos) who has been at the centre of the Cuban underground hip hop scene since 1999, and Michelito "El Vaticano", a raspy, hard-edged Cuban rapper, who performs his material on top of a foundation of folkloric rumba percussion and coro.
* Movimientos DJs Arias & Springfield, who have nights at Notting Hill Arts Club and the Salmon and Compass in Islington, play a fiery blend of Salsa, Cumbia and Merengue mixed with contemporary Latin beats Reggaeton, Funk Carioca, and politicised Hip Hop and Ska.
* Paseo Malanga, the UK's first Cuban Carnival band, with its roots in the Paseo form of Santiago de Cuba, combining vocals, saxophones, trumpets and trombone alongside bells, parading congas and bass drums driving a crazy carnaval sound as they weave amongst the crowd. At Rise, they will be joined by a parade of children
* Club Clandestino DJs - spinning the latest and hottest Cuban dance tunes: salsa, charanga, merengue, rumba, timba, reggaeton and more.
* Cuban dance performances and workshops led by Cuban dance teachers throughout the day
* Digame and Artery Arts children's workshops - where kids can make carnival hats, decorations, shakers, flags of Cuba and Latin America, and more.
MELA STAGE
Programmed by Nutkhut, the Mela Stage features traditional and contemporary Asian music and dance, from Bhangra - including Kalakaar - to Asian Fusion. With Jay Kumar as compere and DJ Meena, the line up includes:
* Gurbaksh Matharu & Navinderpal Singh (Classical Indian Music) – Gurbaksh started learning the Taar Shehnai at a young age from the foremost UK instrumentalist, Ustad Gurdev Singh, disciple of renowned Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Recently, he has been under tutelage of Ustad Bismillah Khan in India.
* SOAS presents Kalaimamani Nandini (Classical Indian Music) – acclaimed violin playing.
* Aneesa Chaudhry (Jazz-Indian fusion) - Raised in Reading, singer who performs a range of music including spirituals, pop music and arrangements from musicals.
* Avipaul (Desi-Funk) - talented and funky composer, vocalist and instrumentalist from West London, who has been influenced by many genres and styles from new to old, east to west and is now working with percussionist and vocalist Jag Major.
* Dhol Academy - traditional Indian dhol drumming group.
* Nathan 'Flutebox' Lee - West London's best-kept secret is half Indian and half Scottish. This former pirate radio Jungle MC has a musical education in Hip Hop, Jazz and Tchaikovsky and is set to go public in 2007 with his trademark live FLUTEBOXING where he beatboxes and plays the flute at the same time - making Hip Hop, Drum'n'Bass and Ragga beats with his mouth while playing Indian classical, Jazz and Funk melodies on the flute.
* Kalakaar (Banghra) - set up by the singer Surinder Kalakaar one of the few live Bhangra acts, the band believes in sticking to its musical roots and producing 'in yer face' Bhangra which is the sound of live instruments.
* Maharajahs -In true Punjabi panache, the stilt walking Maharajahs will be entertaining those in the Mela stage audience with their royal wit.
CRESCENT STAGE
Featuring music and performers with musical roots including Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Middle East pop, desert music and dance by Kurdish and Sufi groups, all programmed by Continental Drifts. Line up includes:
* DAM - Palestine's seminal and acclaimed rap band, who have been attracting international attention today. Through their music DAM prove that rap is a fantastic tool to forge identity and build strength and hope in our acutely discriminating world.
* Koma Sersi - a Kurdish band from Turkey, made up of refugees, who sing in the native language of 40 million Kurds.
* Abdullah Chadehh - innovative and gifted performer who plays the qanun - an Arabic zither made of 81 strings - Abdullah's music reflects his journey from East to West, blending the unmistakably Arabic qanun with jazzy double bass and western percussion.
* U-Cef - composer, producer and DJ, with rave reviews from the Telegraph to DJ magazines, U-Cef fuses the traditional Moroccan sounds he was brought up with, and urban beats through London or New York hip-hop.
* Mecca2Medina - The UK's first and most successful Muslim hip-hop and raga group who have released their Nasheed Album Vol 3 'Proud to be a Muslim'.
Other attractions at Rise: London United in Finsbury Park include the Rise Stage, with Kelis, Jamelia, K'Naan, St Etienne, Skatalites, The Holloways, Noisettes and Beardyman. There will also be live comedy and the annual Rise Poetry Slam organised in conjunction with the Poetry Society, plus the Underground Stage. There will be a children's play area, food and drink, exhibitions and arts and crafts. This year will see Union City, bringing together the DJ Bus with hip hop DJs from the Trojan Sound System, a bar, and trade unions stalls, offering information for members and people wanting to find out more.
This year, Rise is also hosting a stage at the Dagenham Town Show the day before (Saturday 14 July). Artists performing on the main stage include MOBO-award winning hip-hop artist Sway, Neils Children, Afro Cuban Band Jazz band Raices Cubanas, Nensi, Congolese Allstars and much more. The Rise DJ Bus will also be making a stop, with Union City DJ lineup: Andre Who!?! Breakin' Bread, Luke Clinic, Monsta, and special guest: Radio 1xtra - Benji B. ENDS
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Event: Rise: London United
Location: Finsbury Park, London N4
Date: Sunday 15 July 2007
Time: 12pm - 8:30pm
Entry: FREE EVENT
Public information: www.risefestival.org / 020 7983 6554
Event: Rise: East
Location: Dagenham Town Show,
Central Park, Wood Lane, Dagenham, RM10 7EJ
Date: Saturday 14 July 2007
Time: 4pm - 8:30pm (festival runs 11am-8pm)
Entry: FREE EVENT
Public information: www.risefestival.org / 020 7983 6554