What is Afropolitan Vibes?
Afropolitan Vibes is a monthly live music concert which exists as a platform for alternative music: a place where music lovers congregate to watch contemporary singer-songwriters and musicians perform mostly original works that are firmly rooted in African musical origins of Afro-beat, Afro-funk, Afro-hip-hop, Afro-pop and Highlife music. A host of talented artists gather each month to rehearse and then perform with Bantucrew on stage at Freedom Park’s Amphitheatre. The show is held every third Friday of each month. Show starts promptly from 8.00pm-10.30/11.00pm.
Bantu
Bantu aka Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity is a 12-piece Afro-funk-Afro-hip-hop-Afro-beat musical collective founded by NigerianGerman brothers Adé Bantu and Abiodun. The band features multiinstrumentalists and singers who perform as a collective.
Palm Wine Tradition
Palm wine is now available at all our shows. As our palm wine is always freshly tapped in Badagry in the early hours of the morning of each show, this luscious white liquid is guaranteed to be sweet and only mildly intoxicating as it is yet unfermented. Our palm wine is served the traditional way: the wine is available to buy per gourd (to share with friends/family) or in individual calabashes. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are also available for purchase at the Freedom Park bar area where we encourage you all to come join us after the show for a drink, chat and photographs.
Official After Party Spread the Word
After each show, we have an after party gig at the Freedom Park bar area. Your DJ for the night will be Raymond Bola Browne aka DJraybeeBrowne of Igroove Radio. Join us at the Freedom Park bar for past, present and future dance music all in the mix. If you love Afropolitan Vibes, spread the word – Tweet about or follow us: @afropolitanvibe Join our Facebook page: facebook.com/Afropolitanvibes, and invite your friends and family next time.
Next Afropolitan Vibes show will be on August 15th 2014. See you then! Afropolitan Vibes Magazine credits: Editor: Abby Ogunsanya
Printing: John Bola
Contact and advertising enquiries:
Copy Editor: Kolade Arogundade
Cover art photograph: Aderemi Adegbite
afropolitanvibes@gmail.com
Guest artists Interviews: Rayo Adebola
Guest artists’ pictures: Courtesy of subjects
Tel: + 234-816740-1016
Graphic Design: Graeme Arendse
Show pictures: Aderemi Adegbite
Issue 10 // July 2014
Editor’s Notes
If I had 100 Naira for every occasion people ask why they never see my pictures among the event pictures, or my image in any of the videos of Afropolitan Vibes, I think I would by now comfortably be able to afford a beachfront property somewhere exotic. The answer to the question is in fact, really rather boring - I shun publicity and I have never had any interest in being famous. To be out of the limelight is always my preferred choice in any entertainment partnership. Ade Bantu on the other hand, is a musician by profession and is accustomed to being in the limelight. This month, I am momentarily breaking with tradition by featuring somewhere on the cover of what is a milestone for us - the 10th edition of Afropolitan Vibes Magazine.
In this issue
Rayo Adebola interviews our guest artists Yemi Alade, and Falana. Unfortunately, just before going to print, we found out that Praiz had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict. Fortunately General Pype has kindly stepped in as our third guest artist. General Pype’s interview will be published in our August edition. Our sound engineer Ayo Ogundare talks about his career. Ade Bantu answers a series of questions using visual expressions. We feature some of our favourite pictures from the June edition.
Contact us
You can email us with your thoughts at afropolitanvibes@gmail. com. We also read all comments and respond to questions on Facebook and Twitter. We have a limited number of back issues of Afropolitan Vibes magazine. If you would like a copy, please contact us via email or on +234-816740-1016.
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When Yemi Alade’s hit single ‘Johnny’ was released earlier this year, it quickly caught on because of the catchy tune, the catchy lyrics, and maybe the fact that most of us women have been involved with a ‘Johnny’ at some point or the other. Like many Nigerian artists, Yemi Alade made her singing debut in the church choir as a child but winning a talent show years later helped her make the decision to become a professional musician.
“I often work with my mood and the environment,” she explains, adding that titles often come to her first before the body of the song. “I get inspiration from personal experience, and sometimes I just work with fiction.”
After winning the talent show, she dropped her first song, ‘Fi mi sile’ featuring ELDee and then she landed her first record deal.
I ask her if ‘Johnny’ was a personal experience of hers, and she laughs, saying she wasn’t consciously trying to tell her own story through the song.
“I became a member of a girl group when I was about 16 years old and I was singing with them for 5 years before I won the talent show,” she says. “I already had it in mind that I wanted to make music, but the decision to go professional was made after I won the show. It dawned on me that it was time to exploit my talent.”
“In the beginning, we were just having fun, laughing about the subject matter. It was after promotion that I started getting questions about who Johnny was. I then realised that sometime in the past I had actually dated a Johnny.”
Although she hasn’t released an album yet, Yemi has had quite a number of successful singles over the past year, and I ask her what it has been like to have her songs on lips around Nigeria and beyond.
Being A Woman In Entertainment “The release of Johnny, the reception, and the places the song has gone to has been great,” she says. “It has put my name on the map and I’m grateful for that.”
“It’s been overwhelming. I’m very appreciative of everything,” she starts. “It’s been a lot of work, especially in trying to manage the expectations of fans, my team and even myself.”
Women in entertainment often have it tougher than their male counterparts, having to work twice as hard for half the success. I wonder if Yemi has experienced any challenges by virtue of her gender.
But she says she is constantly trying to do her best, and having a supportive label makes it easier for her.
“Whether you fine or you no fine, as a woman, you will always get some kind of advances that might be offensive,” she starts. “But that’s just the world we live in. However, the real challenge is that it seems there’s an unwritten rule that a woman has to prove herself like 5 times more than a man does.”
Forging On Her music is a blend of Afro highlife, pop and R&B and Yemi has built a momentum with ‘Johnny’ and ‘Tangerine’. However, she is not resting on her oars. For her, the work continues.
Despite that, Yemi says, her number one rule as a person is to be herself.
The young lady is currently working on her album, which is titled ‘King of Queens’ and it should be released in September, she says.
“At the end of the day, as a human being or as an artist, where you decide to slack, so will your career. If you put in quality, you’ll get quality.”
On her work style, she says: “Most times, I write my own lyrics but the only instrument I can play is my vocal chords.”
twitter: @yemialadee // facebook: facebook.com/kingyemialade 7
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Canadian-Nigerian singer Victoria Falana was exposed to music from her childhood, entering competitions while she was as young as 8, before she decided to make a career of it in 2011. Her music is Soul-Fusion, but she derives influences from different genres, with her last album having a lot of Cuban influences.
“Nigerian artistes have been doing well. So, I’m really excited to get opportunities here.” When she starts talking about Nigerian artistes, it becomes obvious that she pays close attention to the music coming out of the country.
“I grew up in Canada but my parents are Nigerians who relocated there, so we very much had the Nigerian culture at home,” she says. “My dad would listen to Sunny Ade, we’d listen to Fela, and then my influences too, Sade, Lauryn Hill, Chilly Gonzales and Amy Winehouse.”
“I really like Asa,” she starts. “When I found her music, I would try to use it to help me with my Yoruba, to study the language because my Yoruba accent is wacky even though I understand the language very well.”
“I lived in Cuba for a year and that’s where I recorded the EP,” she says of her last body of work. “I call my music soul-fusion but people can call it whatever they want to. It has jazz elements, afro-beats and soul... it’s a real mix.”
The Purpose of Music She gushes about Siji, telling me about discovering his music online and reaching out to him because of how amazing she thought he was.
I ask her if she ever feels like she has a fragmented identity because of her Canadian-Nigerian roots.
“’Lagos Lullaby was just so good,” she says. “Also, I think Omawumi is a great vocalist, I really appreciate her music. I like all types of music, you know. I’ll listen to Asa’s ‘Bamidele’ but when I go out I can have fun to Wizkid or Davido’s music too. That music has its purpose.”
“A Canadian can be a Chinese-Canadian, JewishCanadian... Canada is in itself multi-cultural coz it’s such a blend of cultures,” she says. “I wouldn’t say that I feel torn coz we still celebrate our culture even in Canada.” Falana is interested in not just making music, but learning as much as she can about music.
“When people say music has changed, I don’t agree because yes, back in the day you had to put a lot of time in but now there’s technology so it’s not about how much time you spend making it. At the end of the day all music serves its purpose. If you put out a song and people dance to it and enjoy themselves then it has done something positive.”
“I’m so eager to learn,” she says. “That’s why I went to Cuba. Music is so exciting and while there I was exposed to opportunities there and I got to work with amazing people.” Reconnecting With Roots
What then is Falana’s reason for making her own music? What is the message she hopes to pass on?
Her journey has also brought her back to her roots, Nigeria, as she desires to connect with the scene here.
“My music predominantly helps me to capture moments of my life or experiences that can be relived and shared.”
“I want to be true to my Nigerian side,” she says. “I want to reconnect with my roots coz second generation children of immigrants sometimes lose touch with where they come from so for me, reconnecting is important not just for my music but also my identity.”
The conversation ends with her detailing her experience since she’s been back in Lagos, Nigeria reconnecting with family and finding a platform like Afropolitan Vibes to share her music.
She also plans to work with Nigerian artists, adding,
“It’s been good,” she says.
twitter: @falanamusic // www.falanamusic.com 7
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twitter: @generalpype // facebook: facebook.com/generalpype catch the interview with general pype in our august issue. 11
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ayo ogundare minister of sound www.madesticsentertainment.com ayodele@madesticsentertainment.com
The show affords me the opportunity to put all of my skills to great use and also gain additional experience each month. There are of course challenges that we face, as all projects do from time to time. In the case of Afropolitan Vibes, we are always at the mercy of the weather because the show is live and held outdoors. The rain seems to be a permanent fixture of every third Friday of the month! As a result, we face the challenge of setting up hours in advance and then having to cover or disassemble the equipment and then hurriedly setting up again before show time.
I first met the producers of Afropolitan Vibes in November 2013 when they came to see me at the University of Lagos where I was working on a gospel gig. Ade Bantu and Abby needed a new PA System supplier and I was recommended by one of the members of Bantu’s band. What drew me immediately to them were the passion they had for what they were doing and the long-term vision they had for the project. I immediately decided that I wanted to be a part of the movement, and so it was that I started work as their sound engineer and I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Last month, we collaborated with British Council who hired consultant Sam Jones of Soundthread to conduct a Live Music Show Production Masterclass in Lagos attended by myself and nine other engineers. The masterclass was a wonderful learning experience, both in terms of the theory and then the practical experience of applying what we learned to the Afropolitan Vibes show. I can credit Sam for igniting an interest in the audio recording side of the business, something I had not paid much heed before then.
I run my own company called Madestics Entertainment and have been doing so for the past six years having graduated with degrees ND Electrical Electronics -Laspotech & BSc Audio Engineering - Kingdom Audio College. I have accumulated about 13years of experience so far working as a Consultant Sound Engineer doing sound installations and managing sound systems in numerous churches, nightclubs and private homes. My passion for sound engineering was ignited whilst attending Daystar Church when I enrolled in the audio department of the Daystar academy. As I gained more experience, I eventually moved from the teenage section to working as part of the sound engineering team of the main church. Sound engineering is not only my profession but also my passion. When people ask what I do for leisure, I always tell them that I spend all of my time doing research on the Internet or doing practical work to help improve my skills. That is why I am happy to be a member of the Afropolitan Vibes ‘family’.
What I love about Afropolitan Vibes is the vision to move things forward in all aspects of what we do. Things can only get better and better because I am working with partners, who like me, strive for perfection in everything that they do. Ayo is a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) & InfoComm International, the Audio Visual (AV) Association United State America.
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JUNE 2014 Edition
Afropolitan Vibes
1.
How do you feel just before you get up on stage to perform?
with
ADE
I have to connect with something before sharing myself, find peace.
4.
What do you think about the situation with the Chibok girls and the government’s inaction? It’s painful and embarrassing.
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2.
How do you react when people recognize you on the street?
3.
Life in Lagos in three expressions.
Traffic – drives me crazy.
I am always a bit shy because I can’t believe I’m recognizable.
5.
NEPA – Why? Again? My Internet has gone off.
Beach – I love floating on water.
What was your reaction to the result of the Germany-Brazil World cup semi final match? Unbelievable! We have demystified them. Speechless. PlayStation football. 15
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