SHOW'S OVER

Event Has Passed

Last Show: Friday 2 ^nd March 2018

PizzaExpress Live (Holborn)

Are you ready for the hypnotic grooves, pounding rhythms and soaring melodies of the London Afrobeat Collective? If, as the great Fela Kuti once said, ‘music is the weapon’, then you’ll need to wear armour to withstand the full sonic force of London Afrobeat Collective (LAC) – this politicised party machine are an incendiary live act who channel the spirit of the Afrobeat founder via bass-heavy rhythms guaranteed to make you move. Their name may include the UK’s capital but their sound goes far beyond the British Isles. A line up including members from as far flung as New Zealand and Argentina makes for a unique, global sound sharpened through constant gigging and captured in a self-titled debut album.

“….. a mix of funky highlife and Yoruba, all delivered with aplomb by the 12-piece.”

Time Out

Recorded in 2010 with respected producer Sonny Simpson (Tony Allen, Polar Bear, Portico Quartet), the record cemented their reputation as one of the UK’s most promising new acts and gathered them much love from high places. Glastonbury’s Michael Eavis personally invited the band to perform at the festival while BBC 6 Music’s Craig Charles has since championed their cause.

But it’s in the live arena where they’ve attracted the most attention – they’ve blown away festival audiences at Green Man, Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury and Shambala while connecting with indie stars Bombay Bicycle Club to lend their percussive beats and horns to the rising band’s performances at Latitude, Reading and Glastonbury’s Other Stage.

LAC’s take on Fela’s original blueprint remains traditional but includes modern injections of raw funk, latin and rock, all glued together by bold brass and dancefloor sweat. With a catalogue of new material ready for release, the rise of LAC looks unstoppable – you won’t be able to resist them…

Band Lineup

Klibens Michelet

John Mathews

Lee Crisp

Edmund Swinburn

Juanita Euka

Alex Farrel

Alex Szyjanowicz

Andy Watts

Giuliano Osella