Dobet Gnahoré stands at the frontline of West African music as a complete artist – singer,
dancer, percussionist and songwriter. She merges African roots with the European influence
of her French guitarist, partner and co-writer Colin Laroche de Féline, capturing a rare
power in the delivery and purpose of her songs.

Performances:
SATURDAY 3/3/2012
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Stage 2 – ST2

www.womadelaide.com.au

From out of the Western Sahara, Tinariwen strike up a stunning and rebellious new strain of
‘desert blues’. Ripe with electric guitars and rhythms inspired by the loping gait of the
camel, Tinariwen’s songs echo with nostalgia for their ancient Touareg nomadic lifestyle
and rage against the indifference to their plight.

Tinariwen | Tenere Taqhim Tossam from Tap Scène Nationale de Poitiers on Vimeo.

Performances:
FRIDAY
11:45pm – 1:00am
Stage 3 – ST3
SATURDAY 3/3/2012
8:00pm – 9:00pm

Video

Despite being handicapped by polio and living rough on the streets of Kinshasa, Staff Benda
Bilili’s singers, guitarists and percussionists have become a global sensation.  The pulse
of their Congolese rumba echoes the sounds of Havana, Kingston and Harlem, and their
energetic live performances are nothing short of joyous and inspirational.

Performances:FRIDAY8:15pm – 9:30pmInternode Stage 1 – ST1OTHER APPEARANCES10:15pm – 11:45pmZoo Stage – ZST

http://www.womadelaide.com.au

Introducing: Staff Benda Bilili from Glen Milner on Vimeo.

Ahmed Dini

Ahmed Dini, Social worker - Victoria National Finalists 2012 (Australian of the Year 2012 )

AfricanOZ congratulates Ahmed Dini for his achievement. We are proud of you mate!

Read full story on

http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/?m=ahmed-dini-2012

Long before Paul Simon went to Graceland, Johnny Clegg flouted apartheid laws in South Africa by forming the seminal mixed-race band Juluka in the 1970s. Teaming with Sipho Mchunu. Johnny’s sensational cross-cultural concept established the template for fusing Western pop with Zulu rhythms – English vocals fixed to an African heartbeat.

Interview with Africanoz
AfricanOZ caught up with Johnny Clegg to tell us about his music.

<strong>1)What has inspired you to keep making such fantastic music in South Africa for over 30 years?</strong>
I make cross –over music so I am fascinated by different kinds of mixtures possible from the entire musical culture of the world. That is the main impetus to write, a natural curiosity with hybrid music.

<strong>2) What attracted you to Zulu music and culture? What was this like during the apartheid era?</strong>
 The Zulu street guitar tradition and Zulu war dancing. Both are intensely unique but also in themselves, have been influenced by other music and dance styles.

<strong>3) What is your current charity work? How can people in Australia get involved?</strong>
I do education and aids charity work here in South Africa. On our Canadian tour last year I raised funds for World Vision who sold their wares at my shows and I endorse their cause from stage and asked the audience support their work. As I am not a permanent patron of any single charity   and do one- off support shows, it’s hard to get involvement from international fans for that specific show. There are charities that I support as JC in my personal capacity like the Starfish Foundation for Aids Orphans here in SA.

<strong>4) Are we expecting a new CD in 2012? What are your plans?</strong>

I am not releasing a new CD in 2012 as I have to still promote the last one in OZ.

<strong>5) When you’re away from South Africa what do u miss most about the country?</strong>
The fact that there are no guarantees   and each day needs to be negotiated on its own terms.

<strong>JOHNNY CLEGG TOUR DATES</strong>
Melbourne: Saturday 10th March, 2012
Palais Theatre – Bookings: 136 100 <a href=”www.ticketmaster.com.auhttp://www.ticketmaster.com.au/”>www.ticketmaster.com.au</a>

Adelaide: Monday 12th March, 2012
WOMADelaide 2012 – Bookings: <a href=”www.womadelaide.com.auhttp://www.womadelaide.com.au/”>www.womadelaide.com.au</a>

Perth: Tuesday 13th March, 2012
Burswood Theatre – Bookings: 132 849 <a href=”www.ticketek.com.auhttp://www.ticketek.com.au/”>www.ticketek.com.au</a>

Sydney: Thursday 15th March, 2012
Enmore Theatre – Bookings: 132 849 <a href=”www.ticketek.com.auhttp://www.ticketek.com.au/”>www.ticketek.com.au</a>

Nigerian-French artists Asa and Féfé come to Sydney for the first time.
Asa is at ease as the guitar-clasping soulful singer-songwriter and the pop siren bouncing along on a Motown-ish groove. She has drawn

comparisons to Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill with her smoke and honey voice and nod to 60s soul and Afro-beats.
A founding member of French hip-hop band Saian Supa Crew, Féfé has since forged a successful solo career with a stunning debut album that

topped the French charts. He presents an explosive live show fusing elements of funk, soul, blues, rock and the odd ballad.
http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2012/Music/Asa-Fefe-Parramatta/
January 17 at 8.30pm
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
View Map

Hide Map2hrs, including interval$50/$45
Save up to 15% with a Multipack
Save 20% with a ParraPack
Sydney Festival
Book Online or 1300 668 812

Riverside Theatres
Book Online or 02 8839 3399

Ticketek
Book Online or 132 849

AfricanOz In Print Spring 2011 issue now available Hot Off the Press. Order your copy, delivered straight to your door!

HIGHLIGHTS: This issue celebrating African-born musicians and performers in upcoming events PLUS African Australian sporting heroes in rugby league and Australian rules PLUS African Australian Films, Fashion, News Briefs, Food & more…. all in full colour!

Front cover: Feature interview with Australian-based Ethiopian musician Dereb the Ambassador.

This special issue includes interviews with WORLD FAMOUS: Emmanuel Jal (Sudan), Toumani Diabate (Mali), The Magic flute (Isango Ensemble) director Mark Dornford-May (South Africa), Emmanuel Jal (Sudan) and Comedian Barry Hilton (South Africa)

Order your copy!  We will add a free copy of a previous issue.

For Individuals: Subscribe to three editions of the newspaper to have them delivered to your door for just $12 for all three issues (+previous issue free).

Simply send your name, address, email address, postal order/cheque for $12 to: AfricanOz Newspaper Subscriptions, PO Box 388 Stanhope Gardens, NSW 2768, OR PAY ONLINE (Paypal, credit card or bank transfer) click here  to subscribe to 3 Issues

As a gift: Great for friends. Simply send your friend’s name and address, along with your details outlined above or click here to order online

On Thu 20 October 2011, Arts Projects Australia and Melbourne Festival present TOUMANI DIABATÉ at State Theatre, Arts Centre, Bookings: Arts Centre 1300 182 183 or Ticketmaster 1300 723 038   www.melbournefestival.com.au or www.theartscentre.com.au 

“A genius of African music, the finest living exponent of the kora.”  THE GUARDIAN

One of the world’s most breathtaking musical talents Toumani Diabaté is coming to Australia this October for the Melbourne Festival, performing his stunningly beautiful album Mandé Variations, his first solo album in over twenty years, alongside works with a three piece band. The Grammy award winning Diabaté is master of the kora, a West African 21 stringed harp, and his extraordinary dexterity and musical genius with this instrument has critics around the globe reaching for superlatives and inspired comparisons to Jimi Hendrix.

“Diabaté is the alchemical genius of the kora, endlessly testing the boundaries and possibilities of his instrument…one of the world’s most innovative musicians.”  DAILY TELEGRAPH

Toumani Diabaté was born in Mali into a family of griots, a hereditary musician/historian caste, and is descended from a line of 71 generations of kora players. A musical prodigy, he began teaching himself the kora at the age of five.  At 19 he toured Africa with the great diva Kandia Kouyate, the best known griot singer in Mali, and at 21 he recorded his first solo album Kaira, still a groundbreaking best seller and one of the finest albums of kora music to date.

Toumani Diabaté is inspired by the symmetry between tradition and modernity, and is influenced by traditional music as well as the likes of James Brown, Otis Redding and Led Zeppelin. Diabaté sees no contradictions in these disparate influences: “The ‘G’ on the kora is the same as ‘G’ on the piano. It’s the same ‘G’ Carlos Santana was playing. The ‘B’ on the kora is the same as the one hip hop people have.” His deep-rooted yet tradition-stretching music recreates the cultural equilibrium of the Mandé Empire in a modern musical context – offsetting traditional and electric guitars with hard-edged sabar drumming, praise-singing and lute-riffing alongside pounding kit drums, with his own rippling kora phrases through it all.

“Diabaté can transcend melodies, spiralling off with flights of intricate fantasy, exploring spaces you thought only existed in the imaginations of the greatest jazz experimentalists.”  MOJO

Diabaté’s 25-year CV includes a string of dazzling albums and trailblazing collaborations with internationally renowned musicians including Björk, the London Symphony Orchestra, British rocker Damon Alborn, and Blues legends Taj Mahal and fellow Malian Ali Farka Touré.  Toumani and Ali Touré received Grammys for their brilliant collaborative albums In the Heart of the Moon and Ali and Toumani. After refining and perfecting his technique to an unparalleled level, Diabaté returned to solo work with the 2008 release of the superb all-acoustic album Mandé Variations.

A master of his art, don’t miss this opportunity to experience a magnificent and spellbinding performance from Toumani Diabaté, revered godfather of African music.

Toumani Diabaté will also play at the Womad Earth Station Festival.

Read an interview with Toumani Diabate on the latest AfricanOZ in Print Spring 2011 issue.

Sat 22 Oct at 8pm, Gates 1 & 2 open at 6.30pm, 2hr 35min with interval at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, King’s Domain, Cnr Linlithgow and Alexandra Avenues, Melbourne 3004

Emmanuel Jal who is featuring on the line-up for this year’s closing night concert, notes from the hard road. A musical journey from revolution to redemption, Emmanuel Jal will be joined by Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Paul Dempsey, Rickie Lee Jones and The Black Arm Band at the event taking place at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Sat 22 October.

In the war-torn region of Southern Sudan, Emmanuel Jal was born into the life of a child solider on an unknown date in the early 1980s. Through unbelievable struggles, Emmanuel managed to survive and emerge as a recording artist, achieving worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his personal experiences.
 
Emmanuel’s live appearances have included Live 8 and Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday Concert. He has performed with acts such as Faithless, Razorlight, Supergrass and Fat Boy Slim in Europe and has toured the United States as part of the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, in which he performed in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and New Orleans. Jal also performed with Moby and Five for Fighting in the 2007 live concert film, The Concert To End Slavery and, more recently, with Alicia Keys at her Black Ball in New York.
 
Emmanuel is in demand as a speaker and has addressed the UN, US Congress and the highest tiers of several governments. In 2010 he was involved with the British Council, Clinton Global Initiative, Adolescent Girls Initiative (World Bank in association with the Nike Foundation), Child Soldiers Initiative and the launch of Ericsson’s Refugees Reunited Software. He was one of the faces of Amnesty International’s 2010 World Refugee Day Campaign and appeared at Alicia Keys’ Keep a Child Alive Black Ball 2010 in London.
 
This year alone he has taken part in the Oxfam Climate Change Campaign, CNN Freedom Project and spoken alongside Kofi Annan and Martti Ahtisaari for CMI in Finland and Matt Dillon for Refugees International in Washington DC.
 
In 2008 a full-length documentary on his life was released. The film, Warchild, won 12 prestigious film festival awards worldwide. In the same year, his autobiography, also called Warchild, was published by Little Brown.
 
Despite his accomplishments in music and film, one of Jal’s biggest passions is Gua Africa, the charity he has founded to work with individuals, families and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty. Besides building schools, the charity provides scholarships for Sudanese war survivors in refugee camps and sponsors education for children in the most deprived slum areas in Nairobi. Gua Africa recently reached the target amount of $220,000 needed to complete the first phase of an education centre in Leer, in Jal’s native South Sudan, and is now fundraising to complete phase 2.
 
Emmanuel will be releasing his forth album See Me Mama in September 2011 before undertaking his Lose to Win Campaign, which will see him visiting up to 200 schools, colleges and universities world wide to tell his story and raise funds for Gua Africa, Africa Yoga Project and My Start for Windle Trust International. For more visit  www.melbournefestival.com.au

Read an interview with Emmanuel Jal on the latest AfricanOZ in Print Spring 2011 issue.