DATE FOR YOUR DIARY!
FEBRUARY 2ND 2008
AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, STRATFORD EAST 7.30PM
SOLA WILL BE PERFORMING SONGS FROM HIS CURRENT ALBUM AT THE ALL AFRICAN
STARS 08 GALA CELEBRATION OF BRITISH AFRICAN THEATRE EXCELLENCE.
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT
www.stratfordeast.com £25/ £20/ £15
What’s been said
about Solá Akingbolá
“Solá Akingbolá has to be one of the best percussion players I’ve ever
worked with – tremendous feel and power.”
Al Stone, Producer of Jamiroquai and Björk
“With Jamiroquai’s Solá Akingbolá beating a funk-infused rhythm on
percussion throughout, he truly and masterfully brought the congas to
life with an intense passion.”
Rebecca Taylor, Drunken Werewolf Magazine
“Watching Solá solo, the deep rooted connection between his language and
drumming, is clear to see. As he progresses through the solo, it’s
obvious that Kay himself is driven by the infectious grooves laid down
by the percussionist.”
Louise King, Rhythm Magazine
Yoruba Music and Culture
Yoruba folk music is
renowned for its advanced drumming. Although there are a plethora of
drums the music is based mainly around the use of hourglass-shaped
tension drums or dundun. It is this music that forms the basis of the
West-African influence in diasporic musical styles typical of Latin
America, the Caribbean and especially Cuba. The iyaalu is the lead drum
used in a drumming ensemble; it is made to ‘talk’ in such a way that the
sound of Yoruba, which is a tonal language, is skilfully imitated.
The music is largely devotional in that spirituality and ancestor
worship lies at the core of Yoruba musical expression.
The complex religious and philosophical system of the Yorubas date back
thousands of years and, as a result of diaspora, has become influential
throughout the Caribbean, many areas of Latin America and increasingly
in North America and Europe. Believers consult divination specialists or
‘keepers of the secrets’, known as babalawo in order to commune with the
spirit world. This practice and the philosophy associated with it, is
known as Ifa.
As well as being inseparable from traditional spirituality, Yoruba folk
music in its various forms is inseparable from regional distinctions
within Yoruba land. In metropolitan cities European as well as Islamic
and other Christian influences have been brought to bear in distinctive
ways leading to the formation of more popular genres such as highlife,
juju, Fuji and Afro-beat.
