Summer is always the most active season for African and diaspora touring artists. We’ll clue you in to what we think are the best. So wherever you are, enjoy the fun fun fun free open-air concerts at Central Park SummerStage, Celebrate Brooklyn, Nuits d’Afrique in Montreal, Concert of Colors in Detroit, Grand Performances in L.A. and more. Artists we’re looking forward to seeing perform in New York this summer include Youssou N’Dour, Toto La Momposina, Seun Kuti and Mulatu Astake. Check their websites to see if they’re coming to your town. Produced by Sean Barlow.

Featured Artists: Summer 2017 Preview Show

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Tom Rosenthal’s fourth studio album, ‘Fenn’ written and recorded in the year following the birth of his 2nd child (named Fenn), is his most ambitious project to date. Having previously stuck to simple acoustic instrumentation, here Rosenthal expands into the world of trumpets, choirs, and 1970’s Moogs. Comprised of 15 varied tracks, ‘Fenn’ was composed as an antidote to the troubled and shifting times of 2016.

Summer is just around the corner and that means your best chance to see exciting live music outdoors at free festivals. We’re looking forward to the African and diaspora artists making appearances in the U.S. this summer. See below for our picks. You’ll also see links to the major festivals to check out and who they are featuring. If you think we missed some great artists or festivals, please let us know by leaving us a comment.

If you live in the greater New York City area, Afropop will be camped out for many concerts at Central Park Summerstage and Celebrate Brooklyn. Come find us and introduce yourself. You’re welcome to join our illustrious Afropop summer volunteer corps. For more information on how to volunteer with Afropop, contact us at info@afropop.org.

Mokoomba

Rising stars of the new school from Zimbabwe, Mokoomba is an Afropop favorite. Reviewing their latest album, Luyando, Banning Eyre writes, “Mokoomba is probably the most impressive new African band I’ve heard in recent years.” Check their tour dates here.

Mbongwana Star 

Mbongwana Star is one of the freshest bands from Congo currently on the international circuit. Featuring alumni of Staff Benda Bilili, the group of disabled Kinshasa musicians that took the world by storm, the lead singers of Mbongwana Star mix it up with some hipster producers for a fresh sound. “The Kinshasa of Mbongwana Star sounds light years away from the familiar sounds of Franco and Kallé,” according to Afropop reviewer Jesse Brent. They will be featured at the Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY. Check their full tour dates here.

l’Orchestre Afrisa International

The illustrious Orchestre Afrisa International, Congolese crooner Tabu Ley Rochereau’s excellent band, has continued on after their leader’s death, at his request. They released a new album, Melanie, in 2016. “Melanie is all about musicianship: groove, guitars—ooooh what guitars!—brass, and lusciously layered, impeccably arranged vocals,” writes Banning Eyre. Afrisa will be on tour this summer, playing Grand Performances in Los Angeles with Ricardo Lemvo on July 15, among other dates. 

Yemi Alade

Yemi Alade, one of the reigning queens of Naija pop in 2017, will be playing North American shows this summer. We interviewed Yemi Alade in Nigeria, and you can expect to hear more from her that in an upcoming Hip Deep Nigeria program.  

Isaac Delgado

Isaac is one of the founders of NG La Banda, who are credited with launching the modern timba movement in Cuba. He went solo long ago, and he’ll be bringing his orchestra on tour to Europe and the U.S. this summer.

Daymé Arocena

Rising star of Cuban fusion, Daymé Arocena (interviewed by Afropop here) combines Afro-Cuban religious music, jazz and pop sensibilities into a totally unique and powerful musical expression. Read, and catch her and her excellent band live.

Totó La Momposina

Afro-Colombian goddess of song, Totó takes us on a journey through the country’s folkloric traditions with every performance. She’s on tour across Europe this summer–catch her if you can!

Amadou and Mariam

The blind Malian power couple (pictured above) returns to the U.S. and Europe this summer, including a free show in Brooklyn at Prospect Park Bandshell July 21. They’re promoting a new mixtape:

Youssou N’Dour 

The one and only, Grammy award-winning, former Minister of Culture of Senegal…Youssou N’Dour. He’ll be making some rare U.S. appearances this summer. Check out his latest single!

Tiago Iorc

Our colleagues in Miami, The Rhythm Foundation are excited to present the U.S. debut of Brazilian singer-songwriter Tiago Iorc:

Cabruêra

The dynamic forro rock band Cabruêra will rock Brazil Summerfest this year. Don’t miss it!

Tagwayen Asali

Tagwayen Asali, a pair of identical twins from Kano, in northern Nigeria, will be featured at Nuits d’Afrique Festival in Montreal this summer, a first for this contemporary Hausa group. Look out for our Kano edition of Hip Deep Nigeria for more from the twins.

Of course there are many more amazing African and Afro-descendant artists touring the U.S. this summer. If we missed your favorite festival or artists on tour you think deserve a shout-out, let us know: info@afropop.org 

Stay tuned for more, and check out the full schedule of festivals including: SummerStage (New York City), Celebrate Brooklyn! Grassroots Festival, Nuits D’Afrique Festival (Montreal), Concert of Colors (Detroit), Grand Performances (L.A.), Rhythm Foundation (Miami).

The Afropop team will be hosting tables at Celebrate Brooklyn and SummerStage in New York this summer. Come find us and say hello! If you’re interested in volunteering with us, let us know!

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Long Strange Trip is the first full-length documentary to explore the fiercely independent vision, perpetual innovation, and uncompromising commitment to their audience that made the Bay Area band one of the most influential musical groups of its generation. Artfully assembling candid interviews with the band, road crew, family members and notable Dead Heads, Bar-Lev reveals the untold history of the Dead and the freewheeling psychedelic subculture that sprouted up around it. The film also provides poignant insight into the psyche of late lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, whose disdain for authority clashed with his de facto leadership of the sprawling collective that kept the show on the road.

Following its theatrical release, Long Strange Trip will be available via Amazon Prime Video on June 2. The documentary was acquired by Amazon Studios ahead of its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film is directed by Amir Bar-Lev, executive produced by Martin Scorsese and produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff, Justin Kreutzmann, Ken Dornstein, and Alex Blavatnik. Long Strange Trip is executive produced by Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Thomas J. Mangan IV, Alicia Sams, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Andy Heller, and Sandy Heller. Long Strange Trip is co-executive produced by Trixie Garcia.

Disc One
“Death Don’t Have No Mercy” (Live/Dead, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 2/27/1969)
“St. Stephen” (Live/Dead, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 2/27/1969)
“Uncle John’s Band” (Workingman’s Dead, 1970)
“Dark Star” (Live At The Fillmore East, New York, NY, 2/14/1970)*
“Easy Wind” (Workingman’s Dead, 1970)
“Candyman” (American Beauty, 1970)
“China Cat Sunflower”> (Live At Chateau d’Herouville, Herovuville, France, 6/21/1971)*
“I Know You Rider” (Live At Chateau d’Herouville, Herovuville, France, 6/21/1971)*
“Morning Dew” (Europe ’72, Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, England, 5/26/1972)

Disc Two
“He’s Gone” (Sunshine Daydream, Live At Veneta, OR, 8/27/1972)
“The Music Never Stopped” (Live At The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA, 8/13/1975)*
“Scarlet Begonias”> ( Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
“Fire On The Mountain” (Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
“Althea” (Go To Nassau, Live At Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 5/16/1980)
“Touch Of Grey” (In The Dark, 1987)
“Dear Mr. Fantasy”> (Live At Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA, 7/2/1989)*
“Hey Jude” (Live At Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA, 7/2/1989)*
“Ripple”> (American Beauty, 1970)
“Brokedown Palace” (American Beauty, 1970)

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Susso, aka bassist / producer Huw Bennett, creates music inspired by, and directly sampling, the magnificent sounds of the Mandinka people, recorded during a recent trip to Gambia. Initially travelling with the aim of gaining perspective as a musician and to discover a new world of music first hand, Huw found himself humbled by such a welcoming community of artists, mostly belonging to the celebrated Susso and Kuyateh griot families.
The tracks are composed entirely from original source material, field recordings and Huw’s talents as a multi-instrumentalist; performing tuned percussion from the region including the Mandinka Balafon, Kutiringding drum, aswell drawing on his skill as a professional upright / electric bassist. The music produced has a contemporary…

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…electronic sound, whilst still paying homage to a traditional Gambian aesthetic. Keira (meaning peace) guides the listener through Huw’s journey up the River Gambia, being welcomed into remote dusty villages, where your people are the most important thing in life. — Soundway

Elida Almeida is a rising star in Cape Verde’s music scene. After releasing her debut album, Ora Doci Ora Margos, the young singer won Radio France International’s coveted “Prix Découvertes” in 2015 and went on to tour throughout Africa, Europe and North America for the following two years. She recently released Djunta Kudjer, a six-track EP in which she brings her deep, powerful voice to a diverse selection of compositions reflecting some of the musical discoveries from her recent travels. I met with Elida last month during the Atlantic Music Expo in Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde, on the island of Santiago. We spoke about her musical trajectory thus far and about the new directions that she is exploring in her latest album.

Last week’s Afropop Worldwide program provides a full report on the Atlantic Music Expo. http://www.afropop.org/36460/we-are-all-creole-the-atlantic-sound-of-cape-verde/

This interview was initially conducted in French.

“Beso D’oru”:

Alejandro Van Zandt-Escobar: Welcome Elida, thanks for joining us. Can you introduce yourself quickly?

Elida Almeida: I’m Elida Almeida, I’m a Cape Verdean singer, and I’m 24 years old. I’ve released two albums so far.

Where did you grow up in Cape Verde?

I’m from the countryside, a village called Pedra Badejo. That’s where I grew up, where I spent a lot of my life. It’s in the interior part of the island of Santiago.

What inspired you musically when you were growing up?

Like I said, I grew up in a village in the countryside where to this day we don’t have electricity, so our main source of fun was radio. I started singing from a very young age thanks to the radio, I learned all of the lyrics to the songs I was hearing. I remember singing along to the radio every night. I think that was my first contact with music.

What were you hearing on the radio? Music from Cape Verde or from elsewhere?

Music from Cape Verde but also European, Brazilian and African music. Lots of soukous … lots of American hip-hop too. A bit of everything!

And during this time were you playing in bands or following some kind of musical training as well?

No, no, not at all. We don’t really have that tradition in Cape Verde, there’s not much of a music school here, but I studied a little–maybe not studied, but it really is a school–in the church. I was a psalmist in the church, and that helped me a lot. I also worked at a radio station for some time. I had a music program, and a talk show about love too. I think that also brought me a lot closer to music.

Did you work at a local radio station in your town?

No, it was in Maio, another island, the closest island to Santiago. I lived there for four years. That’s where I had my … [Pauses] my first son, my only son—and I was living there with my mother for some time, so that’s where everything really started.

And how did you start working in radio?

Like I said, I grew up with radio, and that always stuck with me. I liked what radio presenters would do, the way they spoke and used their voice. So I thought, “Why not?” and decided to try it out, and I enjoyed it a lot. I really enjoyed everything I did during that time in Maio. I hosted music shows every morning. And once a week I hosted a program where I would talk about love, I’d read poems and things like that. It was probably was made me decide to study Multimedia Communications in university. I enrolled in that course initially, but I’ve since dropped it.

To pursue a musical career?

No, because it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to study law. It’s always been my dream to be a lawyer or a prosecutor. So I stopped to think about my studies and see if one day I can study law. Now I’m in music, and I like everything I’m doing with it, but why not study law one day?

And since when did you start to work as a singer professionally?

It started in 2012, when I won two singing competitions, that we call “Everybody Sings.” It’s a tradition: Every year, each island organizes these contests. I won twice—I won in Santiago and I won in Maio as well. So it kind of got me thinking. I said, “Wow, why not?” People started telling me, “You have a beautiful voice, you sing very well.” People were encouraging me. Since then I started writing, I started writing about everything that happens around me, that happens in my life, and I think that people like it a lot. In Cape Verde, people say, “Oh, I prefer ‘Joana’” and someone else says, “No, I prefer ‘Nta Konsigui.’” They know my music.

“Joana”:

Do you find that the messages in your songs resonate with people?

Yes, I talk a lot about our society, about everything that’s going on. In my first album, Ora Doci Ora Margos, I have a song about the day that my mother discovered that I was pregnant. I was 16 years old, so it was a big deal! But I also have songs that talk about my mother teaching me to always avoid married men. [Laughs] So it was really an album that was about my life. I have a song about my brother and his first love, I have one that talks about my dream of being married one day. In this new record I continue in the same direction, letting the people around me serve as inspiration. I write what I see, about what happens every day. And I sing it.

Was singing about your teenage pregnancy a taboo theme or were people open to it?

No, no, people are very open, because it happens too much in Cape Verde. It’s really for that reason that I wrote that song, because it’s a warning for everyone, for mothers and for their kids to be careful. I was 16 when I was pregnant, but now we have preteens—12, 13 years old—getting pregnant. So it’s really a problem, and we need to make people think about these issues. The song is called “Joana” and everyone likes it a lot, everyone sings along with it, but there’s also a message to be heard. I think that’s what’s most important. Music is beautiful, yes, but there’s also a message that makes you think afterwards.

Do you live back in Santiago now?

Yes, I’ve been living in Praia for the past three years.

Do you see much difference in musical traditions between Santiago and Maio?

Not really. It’s true that our country is made up of 10 islands, each with its own specificities and its own musical traditions. But like I said, Maio is the closest island to Santiago, so we have almost the same musical traditions. Batuk, funana, tabanka. On Maio we also have morna and coladeira. But overall, we listen to the same style of music there and here, and I’ve always stayed close to my roots and made funana, batuk and tabanka, all of the styles that I have here, in my skin.

How did the church impact you musically?

A lot of singers in Cape Verde come from the church. I think it’s the same thing around the world! I’ve heard that Beyoncé learned to sing in church, too. It’s a real school, you learn a lot of things from the sisters, lots of techniques. How to project one’s voice, how to harmonize … I’d really like to thank the church for all of that.

I saw that your song, “Nta Konsigui,” was chosen as the theme song for a Portuguese telenovela. How did that happen?

It was great, a real surprise for me, I didn’t expect a Portuguese TV station to say, “Hey, we want your music for our telenovela!” It was important because that song had already been well received in Cape Verde, but having it in the TV show gave us a different type of visibility. Now it has almost three million views on YouTube, and Portuguese people know all the lyrics to the song. It’s great.

“Nta Konsigui”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNHHp0UgBQ4

Beyond that, what opportunities have you had for exposure in Europe and elsewhere in the world?

For the past two years, I traveled to a lot of countries to promote my first album. Holland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal…lots of European countries. We were in Japan too, in Canada, in the United States … everywhere. We won the 2015 “Prix Découvertes,” which led to an African tour. We traveled to 16 countries. It’s been two years full of adventures and discoveries.

What new musical directions have you been exploring since your last album?

Well, to start with, before leaving Cape Verde, I listened to a lot of radio. I was 21, I was making traditional music, with some other influences. I listen to a lot of music from other countries and that’s always been reflected in my compositions. But now it’s even more audible because I’ve traveled so much and discovered a lot of different types of music—new styles, new instruments. That’s very clear in my new record, Djunta Kudjer. I have a song called “Di Mi Ku Di Bo.” I was in Cuba in September, and it was fantastic, I really liked being in Havana, working with some extraordinary musicians. It’s the first time that I worked with an international producer. Even if we don’t speak the same language, we understand each other, and we made this song, which is beautiful. I also have a song called, “Era Mentira,” and it’s as though our trip through Africa—16 countries—is fit into a song. There are instruments from Mali, Morocco, and Ivory Coast all in that one song. It’s really a summary of those two years of traveling.

“Di Mi Ku Di Bo”:

What’s the group that you work with here in Cape Verde like?

I write almost all of the songs. I write the lyrics and the music. But I also have my arranger, my musical producer, Hermani Almeida, who also acts as musical director for my band. We’ve been together for at least two years and he brings a lot. Now our music is more harmonious, more engaged, because we know each other well, and that’s reflected in our music.

In terms of the themes of your songs, do you draw primarily on experiences from your own life? Do you take inspiration from people around you or from society in general?

I talk about other people’s stories too. I have a song called “Forti D’Or,” which is about a mother who lost her son in a street fight—it happens a lot around here now, though it’s not happened to me or my family, I’ve seen that happen a lot. It’s a very painful issue and I wrote that song to raise awareness about it and to say that we can’t keep on losing young people in that way. So I talk about what I see and what inspires me, I write and I sing about it.

Throughout this week I’ve noticed that a lot of the artists who perform at the Atlantic Music Expo are very socially and politically conscious and reflect that in their work. Is that the norm?

Well, when we were on tour around Africa with RFI, it made me think that, yeah, life is good in Cape Verde. People can study—almost everyone goes to school, they can develop and grow. It gives people more consciousness of what happens here politically, economically—everything. I think that people are curious and they’re eager to learn. And today we have Internet, and we can learn everything through that, and we can read books and learn more about the history of our country. So we have everything that we need in order to be conscious and engaged citizens.

I have a last question on a side note—how did you learn to speak French so well?

No, my French isn’t that good! [Laughs] I would love to speak fluently one day, I always enjoyed speaking French in school and practicing with my teacher. And now I work with Lusafrica, a Paris-based label, so I need to be able to speak to them in French. I also travel a lot to do shows in France and I need to be able to communicate with the audience in French. I love the language.

Well, your French is excellent. Thank you, Elida!

Thank you.

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Tracklist:
01. Piano Concerto No. 1 (i. 1st Movement: Allegro Giojoso; ii. 2nd Movement: Andante Molto Cantabile; iii. 3rd Movement: Toccata Con Fuoco; 2017 Remastered Version)
02. Lend Your Love to Me Tonight (2017 Remastered Version)
03. C’est La Vie (2017 Remastered Version)
04. Hallowed Be Thy Name (2017 Remastered Version)
05. Nobody Loves You Like I Do (2017 Remastered Version)
06. Closer to Believing (2017 Remastered Version)
07. The Enemy God Dances With the Black Spirits (2017 Remastered Version)
08. L.A. Nights (2017 Remastered Version)
09. New Orleans (2017 Remastered Version)
10. Two Part Invention in D Minor (2017 Remastered Version)
11. Food for Your Soul (2017 Remastered Version)
12. Tank (2017 Remastered Version)
13. Fanfare for the Common Man (2017 Remastered Version)
14. Pirates (2017 Remastered Version)

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Tracklist:
01. Tiger in a Spotlight (2017 Remastered Version)
02. When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I’ll Be Your Valentine (2017 Remastered Version)
03. Bullfrog (2017 Remastered Version)
04. Brain Salad Surgery (2017 Remastered Version)
05. Barrelhouse Shake-Down (2017 Remastered Version)
06. Watching Over You (2017 Remastered Version)
07. So Far to Fall (2017 Remastered Version)
08. Maple Leaf Rag (2017 Remastered Version)
09. I Believe in Father Christmas (2017 Remastered Version)
10. Close but Not Touching (2017 Remastered Version)
11. Honky Tonk Train Blues (2017 Remastered Version)
12. Show Me the Way to Go Home (2017 Remastered Version)
13. Introductory Fanfare (Live) [2017 Remastered Version]Introductory Fanfare (Live) [2017 Remastered Version]Introductory Fanfare (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 14. Peter Gunn (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 15. Tiger in a Spotlight (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 16. C’est la Vie (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 17. Watching Over You (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 18. Maple Leaf Rag (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 19. The Enemy God Dances With the Black Spirits (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 20. Fanfare for the Common Man (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 21. Knife Edge (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 22. Show Me the Way to Go Home (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 23. Abaddon’s Bolero (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 24. Pictures At an Exhibition: i. Promenade, ii The Gnome, iii. Promenade, iv. The Hut of Baba Yaga, v. The Curse of Baba Yaga, vi. The Hut of Baba Yaga, vii. The Great Gates of Kiev (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 25. Closer to Believing (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 26. Piano Concerto, Third Movement: Toccata con Fuoco (Live) [2017 Remastered Version] 27. Tank (Live) [2017 Remastered Version]

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Tracklist:
01. All I Want Is You (2017 Remastered Version)
02. Love Beach (2017 Remastered Version)
03. Taste of My Love (2017 Remastered Version)
04. The Gambler (2017 Remastered Version)
05. For You (2017 Remastered Version)
06. Canario (2017 Remastered Version)
07. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman: i. Prologue / The Education of a Gentleman, ii. Love At First Sight, iii. Letters from the Front, iv. Honourable Company (A March) [2017 Remastered Version] 08. All I Want Is You (1978 Alternate Mix)
09. Taste of My Love (1978 Alternate Mix)
10. The Gambler (1978 Alternate Mix)
11. For You (1978 Alternate Mix)
12. Honourable Company (A March) [1978 Alternate Mix] 13. Canario (1978 Rehearsal Out-Take)
14. Letters from the Front (1978 Rehearsal Out-Take)
15. Prologue / The Education of a Gentleman (1978 Rehearsal Out-Take)

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MUZIKA KONJIČKE DIVIZIJE

Verovatno je kapelmajstor na ovoj ploči Stanislav Binički lično heroj jednog mog drugog bloga ali to nije provereno pa ćemo sačekati tačne informacije!

The Kondi Band is a multigenerational, cross-cultural collaboration that started with a bootleg remix. Five years ago, a young DJ/producer, Chief Boima (Dutty Artz/INTL BLK), saw a video on YouTube by an elderly, blind Sierra Leonean musician, Sorie Kondi, entitled “Without Money, No Family,” produced with recordist Luke Wasserman. “I saw it and loved it.” Boima told me when we spoke in February 2017. “I was initially drawn to it in terms of the social commentary of it, and the virtuosity of his playing, and really pride in it being something uniquely Sierra Leonean.”

Boima, born in in the U.S., has family roots in Sierra Leone. At the time of his remix, Sorie was a well-known kondi player and singer in Freetown, but at the time of this writing, largely thanks to the work of Chief Boima, Sorie Kondi’s music can be heard in global music hipster DJ sets across Europe, the U.S. and beyond. Originally, Boima remixed the song, “just to have something to play,” but then The Fader picked it up and it traveled fast, creating waves of interest in Sorie Kondi’s music abroad. “It circulated around, and then like three years later Luke Wasserman wrote me an email and asked me if I was interested in working with Sorie. We worked together to get him to do a tour of the East Coast in 2012. He spent a month at my house and that’s when we started the Kondi Band.”

The debut Kondi Band LP, Salone, comes out on June 2 via Strut Records and the INTL BLK platform. It’s a subtle, peaceful record, hypnotic and relaxed, centered around Sorie’s instrument, which often sounds like sweet summer rain, and his voice, aged and textured, like well-worn leather. Boima’s electronic production elements are obvious, but they are well integrated in a way that feels respectful, even deferential, to the master’s musical vision. The album includes previously unheard collaborations, compositions previously heard in other forms on the group’s debut EP Belle Wahallah and the retrospective mixtape of Sorie’s career,The Freetown Tapes 2006-2016, and new remixes, including productions from Will LV and Matt Shadetek.

When I interviewed Chief Boima for the Afropop audio documentary, “Reissued: African Vinyl in the 21st Century,” we also spoke extensively about the Sorie Kondi project, specifically how it relates to the market for African music outside the continent. Here are some excepts from our conversation:

Morgan Greenstreet: Is there an audience in Sierra Leone for the music you guys are making?

Chief Boima: Well, Sorie Kondi is known in Sierra Leone as somebody who does “cultural music.” There is a differentiation in Sierra Leone for types of music: You have older music, which also includes the type of the ‘70s music that’s being reissued by labels in the North, people know that music; And then there’s “cultural music,” which is related to the provinces and to the indigenous languages and ethnic groups in the country; And then you have, obviously, the more Afro-pop, that includes hip-hop and dancehall and these kind of things. So I do think that people are very much aware that Sorie keeps getting on a plane and going to Europe…I think the industry works differently in the concept there than I think most people have in the North: there’s not a lot of money circulating, you know, that’s why Sorie Kondi wants to travel and get out of Sierra Leone and try to bring money back, because there’s not a middle-class that’s supporting a kind of localized music industry in the same way that it exists in the global North. But…in Sierra Leone I think that he is just well known in general, and he’s just part of the local cultural milieu.

So, who is the audience for the Kondi Band?

Actually, I found an audience, interestingly enough, in this [vinyl] digger culture, because some of the labels like Strut and Soundway are now getting into new artist development and releasing new artists. Soundway really kind of led the charge of that, and they’ve really gone deep into finding people doing new African sounds, or new global sounds across the world. And Strut now, with the project that I’m working on, is also doing that. So I feel like the infrastructure of the diggers audience has allowed me to enter a market that’s not totally dependent on the pop sphere, which I appreciate.

That’s really interesting. How does the music of the Kondi Band fit the tastes of the DJ/vinyl digger culture, which is usually focused on retro sounds?

I think musically it appeals to the diggers, I guess? I can’t really say. I hope that…The full album’s not out yet, so ask me in six months how it went [Laughs].

With African music, it’s not only reissued music that people are interested it, it’s not only old stuff—stuff that’s kind of lesser-known also gets attention, and I think Sorie Kondi is really somebody who’s this talent, this virtuosic talent that was kind of unknown. And my relationship with him, bringing him out of…helping expose him to a wider audience, fits within this same reissue-type story, even though he’s a contemporary artist. And what I really wanted to do was to bridge my own work in contemporary African pop with his story, to create this project that is very contemporary. The music, for me, sonically fits alongside any kind of Afro-pop that’s coming out today, because of my production techniques and because of my aesthetic influences, but at the same time it fits the narrative of a lot of what the reissue culture is interested in. So therefore it’s gotten attention in that world, which I think is actually kind of like a subconscious strategy that I just kind of lucked into, but now I’m definitely rolling with.

The positive thing about the developments in reissue culture is that it’s created an alternative industry to the sugary drink kind of sponsored industry where people are buying records and able to sustain what I would call working class musicians’ careers, and get into touring circuits. The reissue culture, or vinyl culture, for me, is the one thing that sustains that, and I hope that it sticks around at least until we can figure out how to give value back to music and take it away from the tech companies.

I think that [this industry] has the potential to also help push traditional music, which you know it doesn’t always get the kind of budgets that maybe you know Wiz Kid or Tiwa Savage are getting, attracting interest from major labels. You know Sorie Kondi is never going to get that kind of attention, but maybe he can in this other industry that exists, this more independent record reissue industry, can support [him] and [he can] also interact with fans that are more interested in cutting-edge sounds.

I definitely see what you’re saying, in terms of the production style and also the kind of “rareness” idea. It’s a very unique story, Sorie Kondi is very unique musician who’s also struggled and now might have an opportunity to reach a broader audience, which is a recurring theme in the reissue scene. But I’m wondering, specifically for the music you guys are doing together, how will people receive the Kondi Band record in Sierra Leone?

In Sierra Leone…I mean…I don’t know if people in Freetown will really associate this as being something new that Sorie Kondi is doing, I don’t imagine that they will because, as a Sierra Leonian, I just see it as a natural step in the evolution, because Sorie Kondi himself, on this latest album, his producer Fadi Konte is sampling P Square beats. He’s very much, they’re all very much aware that they are part of this kind of global music conversation. I think it’s people on the outside that look at it and try to separate it too much, you know. In Sierra Leone, you have these major categories, like “cultural music,” but that doesn’t mean cultural music people aren’t wanting to be popular. One of the biggest artists of recent times is Bobby Fala, he sings Mende traditional guitar music, but he’s got one song that sampled the “Murder She Wrote” [reggae] riddim, and it’s the biggest hit of a couple years ago in Sierra Leone, and that’s traditional music from the southern part of the country. So yeah, back home, I wouldn’t make that distinction. I think that Sorie Kondi is well known and they know that he’s getting attention outside and I think that’s the most significant thing. I hope that, if anything, it will valorize, at home, more of our local traditions and our more local contributions to the global conversation, instead of trying to mimic the United States or mimic Nigeria or Ghana. We have our own kind of contributions, and I think it’s meaningful that I am of Sierra Leonean descent, trying to do these things in conversation with my own culture, with my own people.

So I’m wondering, do you think it changes the power dynamics of the industry, and do you think it’s important to have people of African descent involved in this industry?

One hundred percent yes, but with caveats. I think that in any kind of situation you can have a power imbalance, social issues, you know. Obviously I am born and raised in America, I am of mixed race, back home in Sierra Leone, my family comes from a different class than Sorie Kondi, and so there are definite things to watch out for. But in terms of global power dynamics I think that it is important that people who are from the cultures and the countries that are being represented are involved in the process, because it is an issue for representation and it is an issue for empowerment. Because myself, I’m always going to invest back into Africans, the African diaspora and specifically Sierra Leone every chance I can. For somebody who’s not invested in Sierra Leone, they can just do one thing and then they’re going to move on to the next country, because it’s more of a market decision; for me it’s more based on empowerment. That is something that’s really important to me as an artist, and it’s the reason why I became an artist in the first place, you know, it’s the reason why I chose this profession, because I saw a place that I could really be effective in pushing back against the old ways of doing things.

I’m a trained, I guess you can say “international development specialist,” I went to school and studied and I did the internships at the U.N., I’ve done different things. I felt really disillusioned by the kind of international politics and the game of international development and felt like that that I was able to make more of an immediate impact in the cultural sphere. I also write for a website called Africa Is A Country, I am the managing editor. I feel like the culture and the media sphere is a place that I’m able to kind of push back against the status quo a little more. Then eventually, if I’m successful in that sphere, I can go back to other forms of engagement, and hopefully, whether it’s politics or aid or development, also get involved there. But for now, I felt like the place that I could really do something in terms of empowerment for Africans in the general sense, you know, whether it’s in Brazil, or the United States, or in West Africa or Southern Africa, or wherever, was to participate in the cultural sphere, and I happen to be a musician [laughs].”

Thanks to Chief Boima for taking the time to discuss the Kondi Band with Afropop. Stay tuned for the Kondi Band record, out June 2 on Strut Records.

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