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Felabration will bring Dele Sosimi, Onipa and Pat Thomas to ADE

Tuesday, 28 May 2019
On Saturday, October 19th Paradiso will celebrate the life and music of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti.

Following up on recent announcements of 10 years ADE Beats and New Order taking over AFAS Live, we continue with news about Felabration, as it will return to Paradiso this year. Worldwide, around Fela Kuti's birthday, parties take place in honor of the 'Godfather of Afrobeat'.

Following up on recent announcements of 10 years ADE Beats and New Order taking over AFAS Live, we continue with news about Felabration, as it will return to Paradiso this year. Worldwide, around Fela Kuti's birthday, parties take place in honor of the 'Godfather of Afrobeat'.

As part of ADE, Felabration celebrates African Dance Music. Expect a night of traditional afrobeat, highlife/disco, and underground dance. Previous ADE Felabration editions included artists like Bixiga 70, Basa Basa, Nihiloxica, KC The Funkaholic and Rick Medina.

This year the program will feature:

Dele Sosimi

The Nigerian musician is one of the key figures when it comes to afrobeat. He was a bandleader, arranger and keyboard player for seven years with Fela Kuti himself and then for years with his son Femi. With his own band, he makes a danceable mix of fat funk grooves, rhythmic vocals, brass, and African percussion, and his music has even found its way to the electronic music scene with remixes from DJs such as Âme & Dixon.

Onipa

Onipa brings raw afro grooves, electronics, Afrofuturism and unprecedented energy to the stage. Band leaders K.O.G and Tom Excell have worked for years on their own projects (K.O.G and the Zongo Brigade and Nubiyan Twist) and they are joining forces with Onipa to create something new, undressed and raw, with deep grooves and full of fire. Think Konono no. 1 mixed with Shangaan Electro, Songhoy Blues and Débruit (the producer behind KOKOKO!).

Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band

The Ghanaian Pat Thomas is known for the highlife music of the 70s and 80s, where traditional African music is mixed with elements from the western sound such as swing and jazz. The result is very danceable: funky organ parts, roaring guitar riffs, bass disco lines, and an unprecedented groove. Pat Thomas is in good company with his Kwashibu Area Band. This "all-star" band of legendary musicians is led by multi-instrumentalist Kwame Yeboah, known for his collaboration with Cat Stevens.

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