REPRESENT AFRICA! goes harder in January!!!! BLITZ the Ambassador will guest host as well as perform at the monthly talent showcase for rising African artists in Chicago! The Ghana-born, Brooklyn based Hip Hop artist is making big waves with his conscious lyrics and globe-hopping sounds.
Guest performers are backed backed by house band BoSA and can earn a spot opening for a national act at The Shrine!
Artists wishing to perform at a future REPRESENT AFRICA! should send a youtube clip and/or MP3 to: representafrica@gmail.com
REPRESENT AFRICA! Thursday, January 19, 21012. (Doors open 8pm)
Chicago's very ownJEREMY SOLEmakes his hometown return on Friday, December 16. (With resident - The Voodoo Killer DJ NewLife and very special guest DJ Jesse De La Peña)
Sole is a beast on the ones and twos. He is a fixture on the influential KCRW radio in Los Angeles and DJs and hosts long-running parties like Afro Funké and The Lift. He is also a prolific producer/re-mixer and bandleader (Musaics)
Here's what some heavyweights have to say about Mr. Sole's DJing prowess;
"If I was a DJ full time, I would most likely spin like Jeremy Sole. His mind and soul hears exactly what I hear. He makes Sunset Blvd feel groovy, and that's hard to do in my book." - Raphael Saadiq
"Jeremy Sole is a man of good taste & tasteful mixing. Los Angeles is lucky to have him ...he's a goldmine of music." - Quantic
"Jeremy Sole is not only a world class DJ, but a world class citizen of the world. One of the nicest ugly dudes I've ever worked with haha. AND, his beard is great for storing snacks and small tools on those long hot nights in the DJ booth. Jokes aside though, one of my favorite dudes in the game hands down, and a fucking phenomenal talent." - Rich Medina
"Jeremy is a great DJ, presenter, producer and knower-of-music ...an extremely cool dude. I cannot stop listening to his remix of 'I Put A Spell On You' ...it's irresistible." - Henry Rollins
"Jeremy can get your grandma out of her rocking chair & doing the wop, the smurf & the bus stop! Jeremy's in my top 2 for good Global dancefloor DJs out there." - Nickodemus
“One of the only successful AND good DJs in LA (those are usually mutually exclusive)." - Peanut Butter Wolf
"Jeremy Sole is one of the consummate tastemakers in the U.S. and a bad ass DJ to boot! I'm honored to have to played alongside him and I'm proud to call him a friend." - DJ Day
“Jeremy constantly shatters World Music boundaries and catapults his audience on a sublime international journey." - DJ Nu-Mark
Ron Trent returns with another edition of Ilé on Friday, December 2!!! This is the party strictly for the dancers. Follow the drums from the past and into the future....!
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We come together and collectively celebrate love, passion and dance through music. Afrobeat is the center, but we rebel in diversified rhythms and melodies - no genres necessary!
Winters Blessings as we refresh for the New Year! ILÉ brings you another installment of music and praise.
Your offering is your energy!! Get involved!!
Hosted by: Boogie, Gus, Kristen, Sean & Christopher Sound design by: Mark Bell
Dig the new promo video for this month's offering...
Straight from Jamaica! THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS Live in concert. Classic Reggae for FREE!!!! Yup, NO COVER For ROOTS LEGENDS DJs Craig / Andju / Special / Tropical Storm + dancehall+reggae+dubstep+soul+++
RIGHT TIME: LIVE AT THE SHRINE! THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS!!!
Dan Boadi rose to prominence mid-70's, topping the national charts in his native Ghana with the Abrabo LP, which apparently "sold like apples". Dan decided to try his luck in the United States, arriving in Chicago in 1978. With little fanfare, he released Money is the Root of Evil in a limited run of 500 copies. The LP's two cuts, "Money is the Root of Evil" and "Play That Funky Music" launched the propulsive Afro-Beat of Nigeria's FELA KUTI into the majestic, psychedelic abandon of the American dance floor. At least that was the intention. What should have become a venerable Loft/Warehouse monster passed unnoticed.
Re-issue from early 2000's
"Money is The Root Of All Evil" popped up on the African Disco compilation, and has been re-released a couple times.
THIS IS MONSTER AFROBEAT DISCO FUNK RECORDED RIGHT HERE IN CHI-TILLA!!!!!!
Sent over by a friend. Turned her on to Asa, and now she returns the favor by hipping us to this amazing live performance in Paris. And it's a FULL HOUR! As she said, "Press play, turn it up and go about your morning routine. So, so good." Agreed!!!
The one and only Cucumber Slice, Cool Bob Love er, BOBBITO takes over the decks this Friday. A NYC icon, the man is a legend in the game. His long running radio show with Stretch Armstrong is enough to put him in the Hip Hop hall of fame, but that is only a bit of his bio. DJ, singer, producer, semi-pro basketball player, writer, editor, photographer, sneaker designer, you name it - Bob does it. But Bobbito on the decks, is what he does best. Get ready to take a trip.... Man has deeeeeeeeeeep crates. Can't hardly wait.
Friday, Nov 18, 9pm. With The Voodoo Killer DJ NewLife
Monumental Afro Soul from El Rego Et Ses Commandos – El Rego's best recordings from the late 60s to early 70s – a beautifully done compilation put together by Daptone and Frank Gossner, the deep digging West African music expert behind Voodoo Funk! Theophile Do-Rego is a legend in his native Benin, essentially credited as the godfather of Benin funk – but to date, he hasn't been celebrated around the world nearly as famously as the superstars of African music hailing from Nigeria and Ghana. That's something that can change really quickly if enough people pick up this truly great compilation of pioneering recordings. Singer El Rego and his excellent, diversely capable band – sax and flute by Baboni Oudou, sax by Michel Diogo, guitar by Oscar De Souza, trumpet by Emmanuel Ganssounou, guitar by Roger Coffi, tumba by Marcelin Kpohonon, additional vocals by Christian Agueh, and bass by band leader Paul Hounnou – take a tighter approach to funky soul. Just a couple tracks on this set roll past the 4 minute mark – which gives it a tighter soul sound, along with some Benin blues and some riveting JB-indebted vocal affections.
Had this glued to the turntable last night! BUY IT. simply amazing. Hats off (again) to Voodoo Frank and Daptone. Buy it on wax!!!
Raw sound, indeed – and possibly one of the most hard-hitting compilations so far from the Analog Africa label! There's a quality here that's mighty fresh, and which shows us that there's still plenty of African nuggets to find, if you know where to dig! Much of the music has a dark, moody quality that's really striking – still the grooves you'd expect, but an exotic undercurrent that's almost like Ethiopian music – although very much it's own vibe too! The mix is really wonderful, and makes these tracks from Burkina Faso a rich musical discovery – one that's very thoughtfully put together by the Analog Africa label, with their usual strong attention to sound and detailed notes – not to mention a very handsome package.
Viva Samy + Analog Africa! Another DOPE comp. Buy it on wax!!!!
Sonic Diaspora is a high energy dance party that takes place every 2nd Friday of the month. An intriguing mix ofResident DJs will welcome guest selectas worldwide each month as they play the best music of Africa and the Diaspora, including Afrobeat, Afro & Latin House, High Life, Reggae, Nu Dancehall, Transnational Dubstep, Cumbias, Soukous, Kuduro, Kwaito, Global Bass and more.
::: With DJs Itch 13, David Nallah + Afroqbano
HOSTED by ::: Tifflove and the Wolfpack
JEWELRY by ::: Roots of Life Designs
PHOTOGRAPHY by ::: theCrapper
SPONSORED by ::: Gozamos.com, Peoples Djs Collective
PERCUSSION by ::: YOU!
No cover, 21+, space is accessible. Much love to our hosts & street team. Connect if you'd like to join & get involved!
Let your feet beat a healing rhythm into the earth.
Let your feet beat a strengthening rhythm for those who struggle the hardest.
Let your feet beat a life-giving rhythm for all peoples, regardless of race or national boundary, regardless of whether we’re human or whether we’re the trees, the air, the fish, the birds--
We come out of hiding, we come back from the dead, and we dance, and our dance is a prayer, and our songs and our rhythms and our breath give life"
Ron Trent's newest vision kicks off Friday, November 4. The party, called Ilé, is dedicated to "Drums of Passion + Afro Beat", but anyone who knows Mr. Trent's work knows his musical pallet knows no bounds... dancing spirits rejoice!
A massive Afro Funk combo from the contemporary Paris scene – stepping out here on a wicked debut LP! Paris has certainly been home to some great Afro-styled groups over the years – and Les Freres Smith can definitely count themselves among the best – as they play here with a rock-solid set of rhythms that really take us back to 70s Lagos, but also inflect things with a nice dose of Ethiopian influences as well! The horns are especially great – and the Smith Brothers play some killer tenor, alto, and baritone that really stands out from other groups of this nature – blowing with a hell of a lot of feeling, and hitting these wild raspy notes that really deepen the sound of the whole set. There's only a bit of vocals – on two of the tunes – and Tony Allen guests on one track too.
The third and best album yet from Sao Paulo Underground – formed by Chicago scene veteran and sonic adventurer Rob Mazurek – with a sound that's informed by the rhythms and creatively boundless possibilities of Tropicalia era Brazil and well beyond, along with the cosmic spirit of other Mazurek projects such as the Exploding Star Orchestra. This is hypnotic, attention seizing work that pushes boundaries and challenges tradition while still respecting it – it's never less than fully engrossing and pulls you right in, but it also skirts convention on just about every level. Mazurek's on coronet and electronics that fracture and fuzz out the atmosphere, creating some really dynamic interplay with instrumentation. Mauricio Takara is on cavaquinho, drums and percussion, Guilherme Granado on keys, loops, samples and percussion and Richard Ribeiro on drums. A pair of excellent tracks feature fellow modern greats with roots in the Chicago underground – vibes player Jason Adasiewicz and drummer John Herndon on "Just Lovin'" and "Six Six Eight" – the latter also featuring bass player Matthew Lux.
