We are back at Hootananny Brixton for our second party of the year and we’re really excited to bring three energetic and dynamic bands for an evening of funk, swing & West African grooves. Yaaba Funk return to their Brixton home, throwing us into a frenzy of Afro-funk and sweet melodies, Join the Din bring the party with their explosive and electric sounds and to kick things off, we have Lit FM, a band who will delight you with their international disco, soul and jazz-hop blends.
DJ Blondezilla will be keeping the fire going through out the night with her Retro-Afro mix.
YAABA FUNK
Formed in Brixton, London in 2006 by a group of musicians with a deep love of African music, funk, jazz and eclectic dancefloor grooves, Yaaba Funk released their first album Afrobeast on their own Yaabaphone label in 2010.
Fronted by two dynamic vocalists Richmond (Chief Commander Yaaba) Kessie and Helen (Lady Yaaba) McDonald, Yaaba Funk features a West African inspired rhythm section, deep analogue synth basslines, intricate guitar work which ranges from ‘psychedelic Hi-life’ and funk to dub and horns which go from tight funk lines to deep Sun Ra jazz.
The band's second album My Vote Dey Count was released in spring 2014 on the highly respected Sterns label, mixed by Daz I Kue of Bugz in the Attic and featuring some of the UK's top musicians: Jason Yarde, Idris Rahman, Robin Hopcraft (Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA, Fela musical band) on horns and Jesse Hackett (Owiny Sigoma) and Nick Ramm (Hello Skinny) on keyboards. The album received four-star reviews in the Independent on Sunday and Songlines magazine and was voted World Music Network album of the month June 2014.
Yaaba Funk have built a reputation as one of the UK's hottest live acts, having played extensively in the UK as well as around the world (Brussels, Milan, Rome and Venice 2013, Sauti Za Busara, Zanzibar 2011; Raizes Atlanticos, Madeira; Africa Oyé, Liverpool 2013; Womad UK 2014, Radio 3 Charlie Gillett stage; Liverpool International Music Festival 2014.
...if you imagine Fela Kuti's legendary Shrine club relocated to South London, you're a long way to understanding the irresistible appeal of this energetic collective. Not that you should ever regard them simply as a retro act revisiting the 70s heyday of Afrobeat and souped-up highlife. This bunch are very much of the here and now, with bright and vivid touches from contemporary London thrown into the mix.
Nige Tassell, Womad 2014 website band biography.
JOIN THE DIN
5 piece double drum kit, dueling saxes and pumping tuba, Join The Din is a contemporary ensemble that embodies the new vibrant East London live music scene.
The lineup features Rich Muscat and Ronan Perrett on sax, Ed Ashby on tuba, Riccardo Castellani and Emanuela Monni on drums. Explosive, deep and eccentric the band catches audience's imagination through intense and eclectic performances...best way to experience it? See it live!
LIT FM
Lit FM are an international disco, soul and jazz-hop fusion band founded in South London in 2014. The members originate from across the UK, Italy, Poland and the US, and are fronted by award-winning Polish vocalist Karolina Micor. Unified by chance encounters and a love of groove-laden music, they quite simply broadcast positive vibes encapsulated within a style which encompasses the history of jazz music; all the way from the american and latin roots, then through funk, soul, disco and ending with hip-hop and jungle. And there's always a message involved.
DJ BLONDEZILLA
DJ BlondeZilla comes with a heavy bag of equally heavy African vinyl; from 70s Ghanaian highlife, Nigerian funk and Senegalese Sabar, to Ugandan village sounds, Somali pop, Sierra Leone party bangers and electro street music from Mali. With music from all different corners and eras of Africa, she just wants to make you move and lift your spirits.
ENTRY
Free before 10pm, £5 after