A gig on Friday 23rd February. The event starts at 19:30.
TICEKTS ON THE DOOR.
Local legends Baraka, led by indefatigable octogenarian Ben Badoo of Ghana, performs a blistering set of Afro-Caribbean dance music.
_____
TRULY UNIQUE AND UTTERLY IRRESISTIBLE CARNIVAL MUSIC; SUPERCHARGED WEST AFRICAN HIGH-LIFE, SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP, CARIBBEAN CALYPSO AND JAMAICAN REGGAE.
Ben Badoo: balafon, vocals, djembe
Chris Cobbson: guitar
Rowan Porteous: trumpet
Royston Gage: bass, vocals
Tony Bailey: drums
This tight-knit quintet's exuberant, infectious dance music captures the glorious atmosphere of a carnivalesque Afro-Caribbean street party, dropping kinetic world genres from Ghana to Trinidad to Jamaica into the mix. Virtuoso drummer and veteran star Ben Badoo drives on the cascade of sound with the trademark rich timbre of his traditional balafon, the ancient wooden precursor of the xylophone. This is happy music; the key is entertainment, the message is joy.
_____
Baraka is truly a WORLD music band; it has in its time brought together musicians not only from Ghana, Zambia, The Congo and Senegal, but also Dominica and Trinidad, Germany and Northern and Southern Ireland, each musician contributing a distinctive sound reflective of their culture.
Its hybrid style is a heady mix of Ghanaian high-life's colourful, effervescent sound, calypso's riotous brilliance, township's effortlessly and indestructibly catchy tunes, and reggae's loping rhythms, intertwined with shots of relentlessly upbeat Trinidadian soca, superb hip-swinging soukous and an occasional dash of Deep South blues and Celtic folk.
Band leader, Ghanaian Ben Badoo, is one of the great showmen, an indefatigable phenomenon, on brilliant form and keen to experiment; onstage it's as though he has been plugged directly into a power source. His balafon is a traditional west African instrument, similar in appearance to a xylophone, with keys made of strips of wood that resonate through small calabashes (gourds) tied underneath. The balafon has a unique timbre and vividly buzzes, as there is a rich trail of noise running alongside the notes not dissimilar to the distortion of an electric guitar. A vessel of cultural identity it was originally played by griots or royal African storytellers tasked with chronicling daily life.
The exuberant and often polyrhythmic sound of Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean highlife music was birthed in the 1920s from the indigenous rhythms of Akan music and incorporated western sounds and instrumentation, being played at exclusive gatherings of the upper colonial class - hence the music's name. Calypso captures an event or occasion in a vivid, piquant, creole idiom; the music has a driving, springy, forward-impelled, rolling two-beat. Trinidad and Tobago's soca fuses Indian rhythms with calypso. The guitar-based style of soukous is a traditional music born out of Congolese musicians' interpretation of rumba and has captivated dancers right across Africa and beyond.
Since its formation, Baraka has been thrilling crowds all over the country, with rousing live shows at Glastonbury Festival, WOMAD Festival, The Big Weekend Cardiff and the RHS Flower Show at Hampton Court, as well as on trips to Europe and Ireland. Baraka filmed a cameo for Channel Four/E4's acclaimed teen comedy-drama 'Skins', playing the part of an African band backing a gospel choir, and wrote a song for one of the featured characters to perform.
_____
For further concerts in the 2024 Cotham Club season, visit: hdfst.uk/cotham-club
__________________________________________________
Cotham Club: a brilliant, eclectic, monthly live global music club with a passion for community at its core.
Music, with all its subtlety and spirit, has immense power to unite people. It is the universal language of mankind. The sounds of Africa, America, Eurasia and Oceania have always found a home in Bristol and there are few better examples of the city’s cultural cross-pollination than Cotham Club, a celebration in sound of what unites rather than divides. Each month we showcase some of the most diverse and brilliant musicians from Bristol and beyond, linking audiences to great music and to each other.
'Community-focused gigs welcoming an array of global musicians and gig-goers of all ages, genders, neurotypes and ethnicities.' Bristol 24/7
epic cross-generational gigs (+) grassroots vibes (+) warmest crowds (in) brilliant space (w/) unique atmosphere (+) intimate feel (=) great night out
_____
Venue address:
Cotham Parish Church, Cotham Road ( top of St Michael's Hill ), Cotham, Bristol BS6 6DR
Eat & drink:
choose from a selection of wine, beer, cider, hot drinks, soft drinks and snacks from 30 minutes before performance start and during the interval | free nibbles/ sweet treats available at selected events
Toilets:
accessible toilets available
Travel:
bus: Firstbus service 72 (Bristol Temple Meads Station to UWE Frenchay Campus): firstbus.co.uk
train: 10 minute walk from Clifton Down Train Station: gwr.com | 15 minute walk from Redland Train Station: gwr.com
walking: 15 minute walk up St Michael's Hill from Christmas Steps | 10 minute walk from Everyman Cinema, Whiteladies Road | 15 minute walk from The Arches, Cheltenham Road
Car parking:
on-street parking available | limited on-site accessible parking available for Blue Badge holders
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
Local legends Baraka, led by indefatigable octogenarian Ben Badoo of Ghana, performs a blistering set of Afro-Caribbean dance music.
_____
TRULY UNIQUE AND UTTERLY IRRESISTIBLE CARNIVAL MUSIC; SUPERCHARGED WEST AFRICAN HIGH-LIFE, SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP, CARIBBEAN CALYPSO AND JAMAICAN REGGAE.
Ben Badoo: balafon, vocals, djembe
Chris Cobbson: guitar
Rowan Porteous: trumpet
Royston Gage: bass, vocals
Tony Bailey: drums
This tight-knit quintet's exuberant, infectious dance music captures the glorious atmosphere of a carnivalesque Afro-Caribbean street party, dropping kinetic world genres from Ghana to Trinidad to Jamaica into the mix. Virtuoso drummer and veteran star Ben Badoo drives on the cascade of sound with the trademark rich timbre of his traditional balafon, the ancient wooden precursor of the xylophone. This is happy music; the key is entertainment, the message is joy.
_____
Baraka is truly a WORLD music band; it has in its time brought together musicians not only from Ghana, Zambia, The Congo and Senegal, but also Dominica and Trinidad, Germany and Northern and Southern Ireland, each musician contributing a distinctive sound reflective of their culture.
Its hybrid style is a heady mix of Ghanaian high-life's colourful, effervescent sound, calypso's riotous brilliance, township's effortlessly and indestructibly catchy tunes, and reggae's loping rhythms, intertwined with shots of relentlessly upbeat Trinidadian soca, superb hip-swinging soukous and an occasional dash of Deep South blues and Celtic folk.
Band leader, Ghanaian Ben Badoo, is one of the great showmen, an indefatigable phenomenon, on brilliant form and keen to experiment; onstage it's as though he has been plugged directly into a power source. His balafon is a traditional west African instrument, similar in appearance to a xylophone, with keys made of strips of wood that resonate through small calabashes (gourds) tied underneath. The balafon has a unique timbre and vividly buzzes, as there is a rich trail of noise running alongside the notes not dissimilar to the distortion of an electric guitar. A vessel of cultural identity it was originally played by griots or royal African storytellers tasked with chronicling daily life.
The exuberant and often polyrhythmic sound of Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean highlife music was birthed in the 1920s from the indigenous rhythms of Akan music and incorporated western sounds and instrumentation, being played at exclusive gatherings of the upper colonial class - hence the music's name. Calypso captures an event or occasion in a vivid, piquant, creole idiom; the music has a driving, springy, forward-impelled, rolling two-beat. Trinidad and Tobago's soca fuses Indian rhythms with calypso. The guitar-based style of soukous is a traditional music born out of Congolese musicians' interpretation of rumba and has captivated dancers right across Africa and beyond.
Since its formation, Baraka has been thrilling crowds all over the country, with rousing live shows at Glastonbury Festival, WOMAD Festival, The Big Weekend Cardiff and the RHS Flower Show at Hampton Court, as well as on trips to Europe and Ireland. Baraka filmed a cameo for Channel Four/E4's acclaimed teen comedy-drama 'Skins', playing the part of an African band backing a gospel choir, and wrote a song for one of the featured characters to perform.
_____
For further concerts in the 2024 Cotham Club season, visit: hdfst.uk/cotham-club
__________________________________________________
Cotham Club: a brilliant, eclectic, monthly live global music club with a passion for community at its core.
Music, with all its subtlety and spirit, has immense power to unite people. It is the universal language of mankind. The sounds of Africa, America, Eurasia and Oceania have always found a home in Bristol and there are few better examples of the city’s cultural cross-pollination than Cotham Club, a celebration in sound of what unites rather than divides. Each month we showcase some of the most diverse and brilliant musicians from Bristol and beyond, linking audiences to great music and to each other.
'Community-focused gigs welcoming an array of global musicians and gig-goers of all ages, genders, neurotypes and ethnicities.' Bristol 24/7
epic cross-generational gigs (+) grassroots vibes (+) warmest crowds (in) brilliant space (w/) unique atmosphere (+) intimate feel (=) great night out
_____
Venue address:
Cotham Parish Church, Cotham Road ( top of St Michael's Hill ), Cotham, Bristol BS6 6DR
Eat & drink:
choose from a selection of wine, beer, cider, hot drinks, soft drinks and snacks from 30 minutes before performance start and during the interval | free nibbles/ sweet treats available at selected events
Toilets:
accessible toilets available
Travel:
bus: Firstbus service 72 (Bristol Temple Meads Station to UWE Frenchay Campus): firstbus.co.uk
train: 10 minute walk from Clifton Down Train Station: gwr.com | 15 minute walk from Redland Train Station: gwr.com
walking: 15 minute walk up St Michael's Hill from Christmas Steps | 10 minute walk from Everyman Cinema, Whiteladies Road | 15 minute walk from The Arches, Cheltenham Road
Car parking:
on-street parking available | limited on-site accessible parking available for Blue Badge holders
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
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