Vaudou Game @ The Rainbow
Sunday 29 May
Early heads up people. If you do one thing in May, this has to be it.
The Rainbow, the Alliance Francaise of Durban, Zakifo Music Festival and Concerts SA bring you funk like you may never have experienced before.
Watch this, then clear your diaries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN9StbxjJPw
Vaudou Game is led by Peter Solo, a singer and composer born in Aného- Glidji, Togo, birthplace of the Guin tribe and home to voodoo culture.
The terms “vadou” and “voodoo,” which come from the word “vodun,” refer to spirit and name a blended culture of voodoo practices from different West African ethnicities. Translating tradition into modern instrumentation, Solo states that he composed Apiafo based on the two main musical scales of voodoo tradition. The first track, “No Problem,” comes out clean as it sets up the blueprints for the rest of the album to pull from tradition with a spirit of celebration.
The first of the two ‘voodoo scales’ that inspired Solo takes a deep draw off raw funk, linking in the flavor of 70s bands like L’Orchestre Poly Rythmo De Cotonou to El Rego. The funkiest tracks off the record, “Pas Contente” and “Wrong Road,” have guest vocals from Solo’s uncle, 70s soul pioneer Roger Damawuzan. Their collaboration on “Pas Contente” is a true highlight that smacks with psychedelic trance. The second of the two scales has never been translated for modern instruments. It evokes deep feelings and a sacred ambiance.
Their debut album Apiafo was entirely produced and recorded, mixed and mastered with old tapes and vintage instruments. Solo formed Vaudou Game in Lyon, France, with the vision of codifying the musical scales that are found in sacred songs of Beninese and Togolese vodun music.
Peter Solo – lead vocals & guitar
Vicente Fritis – keyboards, backing vocals
Jerôme Bartolome- Saxophone, percussions, backing vocals
Guilhem Parguel – Trombone, percussions, backing vocals
Simon Bacroix – bass, backing vocals
Hafid Zouaoui – drums
Joining Vaudou Game for this afternoon in celebration of Africa Month is the Mandla Zikalala Quintet. Often on the Rainbow as a sideman, this performance from bassist Zikalala’s Quintet is long overdue. He has filled the role of musical director for such South African legends as Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and one of the Rainbow’s all-time favourite artists, Busi Mhlongo.
The musicians that Zikalala has assembled for this performance are also no strangers to the Rainbow. Sazi Dlamini on guitar, Mthobisi Mthalane on keyboard, Sbu Zondi on drums and Khaya Dlamini on saxophone.
This concert is the official closing party for the second Zakifo Music Festival, which takes place at the old Natal Command site on 27 and 28 May. Please check out www.zakifo.com for a run down on the fantastic acts that will grace the stages of this groundbreaking festival.
TIME: Doors open 1pm
TICKETS: R100- buy your tickets at webtickets.co.za or at The Rainbow
Concerts SA is a joint South African/Norwegian project housed under the auspices of the Stakeholder Hub within The SAMRO Foundation; it receives financial, administrative and technical support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO and Concerts Norway. By engaging with musicians, promoters, venue owners and audiences, the project aims to stimulate live music in South Africa by finding and implementing ways to create regular, sustainable performance platforms. Concerts SA also aims to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.
For more information please visit http://concertssa.co.za, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ConcertsSA or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConcertsSA.
