Afropolitan Vibes: monthly live music at Freedom Park

Afropolitan style

It rained gently the whole evening, not enough to discourage the crowd from gathering at Freedom Park to listen to an eclectic mix of nigerian singers and musicians. That was a blessing after seeing the sky tormented by distant lightnings, it was probably pouring a few kilometers away.
Afropolitan Vibes is a monthly live music concert gathering of nigerian musicians and singers from all musical styles: Afro-beat/ hip hop/ pop and highlife.

Adunni and Nefretiti

The party has become very popular over the years, people are still coming en-masse despite the recent steep price increase of the entry tickets. The increase has helped improve the quality of sound as a result of more money being spent on the sound system.
The show started with Bantu, 2 Nigerian - German brothers, who powered the evening. They invited Musiliu Haruna Ishola, famous for singing Apala music which originated in the 1930s as wake-up call during ramadan in yoruba land, a joyful call for breakfast, which evolved over time to become a full-blown music composition where drums and voice have been joined by keyboard, guitar, saxophones and trumpet. Musiliu is the son of a very famous Apala eponymous singer.

Musiliu Haruna Ishola and his drummers

Then came Adunni and Nefertiti, two female singing yoruba folk music, dressed in large beige dresses assorted to their head gear.
Jazzman Olofin was the rapper of the evening. Finally, Bez, a short man from Jos wearing a panama-style hat, heavy black-framed glasses and an electric guitar played two songs. That was a bit short indeed!

Bez with assorted pants and guitar

Comments

Benin City, at the heart of the Benin Kingdom and its great past

Benin City's popular fashion Benin City is one of the largest cities in Nigeria. It is the capital of Edo state. It probably shines less than it used to a few centuries ago when it was a powerful and advanced kingdom, lauded for its administrative and military strengths by the first Europeans who came to trade in the 15th century. Nowadays modern Europeans hear more about Benin City because Edo's gangs export girls for prostitution and compete with the mafia in Sicily on some markets. Traces of the past are very present, for instance the Oba's palace is still surrounded by a large mud wall. The city has sprawled in all directions. Trading buildings, administration buildings are among the tallest, most of them worn out by time, dusty winters and strong rainy seasons. Large avenues are running through the city, but as soon as one leave them to adjacent roads, potholes and dirt roads slow down navigation. Easier for motorbikes. Market areas are usually buzzing with peopl...

tanker for sale

tanker for sale As in Singapore, many ships are crowding the horizon on the sea along the Atlantic coast of Lagos. These are patiently waiting for their turn to come to unload or load their containers in the harbour of Apapa or Tincan Island. Most of them come and go after have completed their duty. But unlike Singapore some are just staying longer than expected, by design or by accident. Hence the coast is littered by ship wrecks which are rusting away and sinking in the sand progressively so that, in the end, they are no longer visible. once a great ship Stories point out human error as a reason for the ship's beaching. The captain went to see his girlfriends and the ship drifted ashore... seriously? More probable is that these ships are either beyond repair or the company owning her in financial trouble and therefore the ship is abandoned. from raw material to recycling One of them was a complete tanker standing ominously on the sand at the e...

The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the ...

Nigeria, the land of plenty

Search This Blog