MAIN STAGE
WUNMI (NIGERIA/UK/USA), KAMIKAZE TEST PILOTS (ZIMBABWE/UK), PINISE SAUL & THE LUCKY RANKU BAND (SOUTH AFRICA), THE SPINDLE SECT (SOUTH AFRICA), THABANI (ZIMBABWE/UK), BOYZ RETONAZ, FRANKIE RUDOLF, TEAM KONTROVERSIAL
20:00 – 21:00 Thabani
19:00 – 20:00 Wunmi
18:20 – 19:00 Mashasha and Sam
17:40 – 18:20 Kamikaze Test Pilots
17:00 – 17:40 The Spindal Sect
16:20 – 17:00 Team Kontroversial
15:40 – 16:20 Boyz Retonaz
15:00 – 15:40 Frankie Rudolf
14:00 – 15:00 Pinise Saul and the Lucky Ranku Band
13:00 – 14:00 Flame Lily
Stage Dj Papa Large
DANCE ARENA
ZEPHERIN SAINT(TRIBE RECORDS) (UK), ROB MACSON (ZIMBABWE), DJ DJEFF (TRIBE RECORDS) (ANGOLA), KRISTELLE MORIN (TRIBE RECORDS) (AUSTRALIA), MIXOLIS (ZIMBABWE/UK) LA DJ PETITE, PAPA LARGE & SAMANTHA BLACKBURN.
21:00 – 22:00 Zepherain Saint
20:00 – 21:00 Dj Djeff
19:00 – 20:00 Tribe Opener
18:00 – 19:00 Samantha Blackburn
16:00 – 17:45 South Africa Vrs Argentina
15:00 – 16:00 Rob Macson
14:00 – 15:00 Mixolis
13:00 – 14:00 Dj Petite
WUNMI
In the world of dance music, Wunmi is a one-off, an artist that effortlessly joins the dots between Nigeria’s Afrobeat heritage, New York’s house pedigree and London’s jazz, broken beat and classic street soul sounds. After ten years of classic collaborations working with production heavyweights like Masters At Work, Osunlade, Seiji and Truby Trio; Wunmi is finally flying solo with her acclaimed debut album, entitled A.L.A and now her new album in the works.
THABANI
Hailing from West London, Thabani the Roots-Soul collective combine Soul, Afro and Groove influences to their potent mix of ‘brilliant front line’ tunes with a modern contemporary edge. Led by charismatic Zimbabwean singer and songwriter Tee Nyoni, together with a tight musical ensemble of brass, guitar, drums, African percussion and backing vocals, Thabani produce a classic ‘Soulful Wall Of Sound’,Tee brings the energy of a young ‘James Brown’ the voice of ‘Marvin Gaye’ and the songwriting influences of Curtis Mayfield and Fela Kuti!!
KAMIKAZE TEST PILOTS
Kamikaze Test Pilots journey in music is not the clichéd ‘struggle’ you hear about on glorified talent shows masquerading as searches for musical talent. It is the real struggle the dedicated and the proud go through for the love of music. The same love of music Zimfest uses to bring you the genuine, authentic and diverse sound of Africa, a strange mix of metal, dendera, rumba and god knows what else. A reflection of our combined journey through life. For a 100% Authentic Kwe Kwe Sports Club experience join us at Zimfest London 2012 and be part of something different!
ZEPHERIN SAINT
Zepherin Saint is an enigmatic producer, DJ, talent scout and co-founder of Tribe records, He started his musical journey as a thirteen year old who would enthusiastically pack rigging into the back of van for parties he was too young to attend. That was 1983, when folk transformed their homes into clubs, with a subsequent door tax – to cover breakages. In the years which have elapsed Saint has toured extensively, discovering an infinite appreciation of his music and the genre in general, in the most unexpected of places; Beirut, Syria, Egypt. Feeding into an obsessive love of soul music, Saint has devoted himself to discovering and nurturing new strains from around the globe. Producing a unique blend of afro house, referencing primary roots into a myriad of hypnotic layers, the sound is deep and intoxicating. Saint has attained the optimum position to convey Tribe’s message of One Sound, One People to the masses
SAMANTHA BLACKBURN
South African born Samantha Blackburn has, in recent years established herself as one of London’s best female talents to emerge onto the scene. She is currently a hot name amongst her London counterparts and has recently been securing gigs at some of the capital’s coolest parties. Making her London debut at Mooch, soon after playing at Jaded and most recently obtaining a residency for Get Diverted at Brixton Clubhouse. At Get Diverted she has had the opportunity to warm up for the likes of Slam and Paul Woolford. Samantha also currently holds a residency with Deepvibes radio and recently played on Ibiza Global Radio.
MASHASHA AND SAM
The unique “African drum and bass” duo Mashasha and Sam first played together six years ago in Harare as part of the cutting-edge jazz trio Too Open. Songwriter, singer, bassist and guitarist Mashasha was best known in his native Harare as the most in-demand bass player in town. Sam Chagumachinyi is a master drummer and percussionist, renowned in Zimbabwe for his highly individual and unconventional style. Reuniting in the UK, they have been steadily building a loyal audience. The breathtaking skills and creativity of the two musicians, combined with Mashasha’s superb songwriting, create an uncompromising sound, as rich and layered as it is completely danceable.
DJEFF
Tiago Barros, son to a Cape-Verdean father and an Angolan mother, was born in 1984 and raised in Alverca – Portugal. Thanks to his father’s long-time interest for music, Tiago has been listening to music since his early years. Representing for Angola Djeff (Tribe Records) has put in the hard yards on heavy rotation at major Angolan nightclubs, pushing straight-up Angolan-flavored afro-house and will grace the decks at Zimfest London 2012 – AFRICA INXPRD for the first time. We got to be excited about that!
THE SPINDLE SECT
The Spindle Sect’s crossover sound has positioned them as one of the most provocative bands to emerge this decade, combining elements of metal, hip hop and electronica to produce a unique and energetic sound. Hailing from South Africa but based in the UK the band had an extremely successful 2012 including a tour as main support act for (hed) p.e in the UK, selling out on merchandise and limited edition signed copies of debut album “Bubonic Tronic”. The band scored interviews and radio play with single “Escape Route” on Kerrang Radio, Q Radio and recently hailed by Ian Camfield on Xfm’s Rock Show. their albumn “Bubonic Tronic” was mixed by David Schifmann (Limp Bizkit, NIN, RHCP) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Deftones, Korn etc).
PINISE SAUL AND THE LUCKY RANKU BAND
The musical partnership between South Africans, the Queen of African Jazz Pinise Saul and virtuoso guitarist Lucky Ranku is now celebrated in a new project “Township Legends”. The creative musical partnership at the heart of Zila, The South African Gospel Singers, Township Express and The African Jazz Allstars is given a new impetus in this dazzling afro-jazz project. Lucky Ranku’s signature guitar provides exhilarating support to Pinise Saul’s soulful voice bringing their songs alive in a display of unbridled energy. With their band featuring 5 star instrumentalists their songs become epic in nature creating an irresistible journey into the heart of the South African townships.
FRANKIE RUDOLF
“Almost too young to be this good, Frankie has a soothing vocal that you’ll just love listening to. His guitar playing is just as striking”-The Maze. Having only been playing live and writing songs since mid-august, he takes inspiration from the likes of Ben Howard and Coldplay which has influenced his sound into a distinctive style which he describes as being “somewhere in between soulful acoustic and indie folk” Frankie was born in South Africa and is currently based in Nottingham England.
ROB MACSON
Zimbabwean Rob Macson is one of the best house DJ’s to come from the country.Rob has held residencies at the top nightclub in Zimbabwe as well asperforming at several of the countries top venues including the biggest house music New Years Party for 2011/12 in his country to a crowd of over 4000 people.Rob has Dj’sd along side international DJ, DJ Hardwell and several South African top DJ’s including: Ricardo Da Costa, Dean Fuel, Mark Stent, DJ Costa, DJ Dizzy, The Digital Diva’s and DJ Speedy. He also opened for South African Band “Locnville”.
