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Discovering Shekhinah, South Africa’s Pop and RnB Icon – New Release by Frank Njugi in English and German
Discovering Shekhinah, South Africa’s Pop and RnB Icon by Frank Njugi In modern times, much has been said of how genre feels increasingly irrelevant to the way we think about, create, and consume art. In terms of music, American music journalist, Amanda Petrusich, once explained that few contemporary music stars pride themselves on a pure or traditional approach to form, and most pull purposefully from assorted histories and practices. But sometimes, there comes along an artist who picks up a recognised style/genre and vigorously defends its superiority through a prowess that intermingles with their identities. South Africa’s Pop and RnB artist, Shekhinah Thandi Donnell, mononymously known as Shekhinah, is a prime example of an African act that has displayed…
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The Continuing Rise Of Kenyan Songstress Nikita Kering by Frank Njugi_ english/german
When Kenyan musician and songstress, Nikita Kering, released her project The Other Side — a 7 track extended play — on November 11, 2022 ( under Universal Music, South Africa ), the EP struck a primal chord in anyone who has had to relive struggles of trauma. At twenty years old during its release, The Other Side, was a sequel to a 2021 debut project, A side of me – another 7 track EP that had been deluged with exploration of love, relationships and all its entails. The Other Side and A side of me, established Nikita as an artist whose blueprint is using mesmerizing vocals to synthesize self– disclosure, in both romantic and relationships with oneself, as something…
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Chronicling the Kenyan Music Industry – An Interview with John Muchiri by Lorna Likiza // english_deutsch
Kenya has massive talent. The only problem is that many musicians haven’t yet mastered how to market themselves internationally. From the people I have interacted with in the UK in the music scene, Kenya is considered a very prime market for entertainment but we need to get out of our comfort zone. We need to think beyond our comfort zone which is the East African Market. We need to be more strategic. We also need to invest heavily in our music. So to be precise, the three things we need to master are Management, Marketing and Strategy which our Nigerian counterparts have long mastered.
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Bayreuther Klangprojekt: Bayreuth Gathering Brings Sonic Artists Under One Roof – by Tonderai Chiyindiko engl/ger
Hosted by the University of Bayreuth, Germany the Critical: Hope. Exercises in Borderlands is a gathering which will feature multiple offerings conceptualised, curated and hosted by Eylem Camuroglu, Serawit Debele as well as Katharina Fink, who is the founder and director of the Johannesburg based Sophiatown Arts Akademy.
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Uganda’s Queen of Afrosoul: An Interview with Music Star Lilian Mbabazi_english/german
Lilian Mbabazi is a Ugandan artiste of Rwandan descent best remembered for her time in the girl group Blu*3. Now a fully fledged solo artiste, with a new EP out, she recently sat down with Culture Africa Founder, Hans Hofele, with additional questions from Staff Writer, Lorna Likiza, for an interview on her music, style and future plans.
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Music of East Africa 1: Lilian Mbabazi_New EP from the Ugandan Pop Star_engl//ger
In paying tribute to the hard but often overlooked work of East African artistes from the early 2000s in Dem Days, Lilian inevitably reminds us how long she has been in the industry and how much talent we have in the region. As a huge fan, I am looking forward to the music videos to these songs, hoping they are in the works, and possibly, a whole album from the artiste in the near future.
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Europe’s biggest Africa Festival starts again in Wuerzburg – with lots of Female Power_ ger/engl
Ende Mai (26.5.-29.5.) ist es endlich wieder soweit: nach der Corona bedingten Unsicherheit im letzten Jahr, dem Ausfall 2020, steigt Europas größtes afrikanische Musik- und Kulturfestival, das International Africa Festival ganz regulär. Dann ziehen wieder tausende Besucher:innen in die Mainmetropole Würzburg. Die Mainwiesen verwandeln sich wieder an diesen speziellen, faszinierenden Ort, der wie kaum ein anderer für afrikanische Musik steht. Dieses Jahr stehen starke afrikanische Frauen im musikalischen Fokus. FOR ENGLISH VERSION PLEASE SCROLL DOWN Awa Ly (Senegal), Angélique Kidjo, (Benin) Lira (Südafrika), Lura (Kapverden) und Nkulee Dube (Südafrika) sind die weiblichen Headliner der Konzertabende. Aber auch andere, weniger bekannte Frauenacts sind dieses jahr zu erleben: Treesha (Deutschland/Kenya), Amir Kheir (Sudan) oder Fafa Ruffino aus dem Benin. Weitere Highlights…
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I ve got the power! Interview with musician Melane ger/engl
On the first of April her next single "Pona Libela" will be released, the video one day later on Youtube: We are talking about Melane Nkounkolo better known as Melane. She is the power woman and jack-of-all-trades, musically elusive. Definitely influenced by her parents' homeland, which is the Republic of Congo in western Central Africa. Melane stands for many directions in modern pop music, but the traditions are still easy to hear. But Melane stands for much more: music production!blogging!African studies!empowerment!
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10 African Songs of the last Decade you should know_engl/ger
African secular music has always been evolving with new sounds and genres being birthed on a regular. However, it’s in the past decade (2010-2020) when African music has really come into one with lots of inter-country collaborations. Music is indeed powerful if it can get people dancing even though they do not even understand what is being sung. African music has successfully proven this over time. Nowadays, somebody in Ghana could as well be enjoying music from Uganda and vice versa. With music videos being released on YouTube and music streaming services readily available, the rest of the world too gets to discover African music.
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Nina Wateko -From Congo Brazzaville to the World_Interview_fr/engl/ger
Nina Wateko, the singer with the golden voice, is already a star in her home country. She is a welcome guest in the media, on television and radio. And she has already received titles in Brazzaville that other artists have to wait longer for. She is called the "Diva" or "Mama Africa". Her home is Congo-Brazzaville in western Central Africa. Neighbour of the big DR Congo. Nina comes from a family of musicians; her mother is also a singer, she grew up with music. With "The Traveler", her new EP and the whole range of her musical skills, she wants to enchant western listeners in Europe soon.
