15 April 2013. Following the success of the inaugural series, the BBC brings Africa Beats back to its global audiences on TV, radio and online. From Friday 19 April, the new weekly, eight-part series Africa Beats 2 will showcase the continent’s best up-and-coming musical talent – this time drawing on the rich musical traditions of the DRC, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Each of the eight musicians on Africa Beats 2 performs a song which is close to their heart and which acts as a springboard for reflection about their musical influences, motivations and aspirations.
BBC Africa Senior Producer, Catherine Fellows, says: “All the musicians featured in the new Africa Beats series are artists. They are originals who compose their music and write their lyrics. They are conscious about where they come from, where they are going and their influence in the world. We hope our audiences in Africa – and elsewhere in the world – will love them.”
Africa Beats 2 brings:
– Sunday from The Soil, an a cappella cum beatbox harmonised melody, indebted to South Africa’s choral heritage
– Jupiter who has rejected rhumba for which his native DR Congo is famous in favour of a funky sound which mines traditional Congolese rhythms
– Toya De Lazy, rising South African pop star and jazz pianist who delivers an acoustic version of her latest soul/pop hit
– Malawian four piece group Peter Mawanga performing traditional rhythms on guitar, percussion and marimba
– Nigerian Alternative Soul from Bez
– South African Jaak who raps in Afrikaans, accompanied by an opera singer and a violinist
– Mokoomba, a highly energetic afro-fusion band from Zimbabwe
– Krar Collective – a trio who have at the heart of their sound the six-stringed Ethiopian lyre, krar.
Africa Beats 2 will be broadcast on BBC World News TV, including Focus on Africa TV programme, every Friday for eight weeks starting Friday 19 April, and will be available from the same date on bbc.com/news (Africa and Entertainment pages). Radio interviews will also be broadcast on BBC World Service’s flagship daily radio programme for Africa, Focus on Africa, from Thursday 18 April.
Editor’s Note:
For more information and photography, please contact:
Lala Najafova, BBC Global News Communications [email protected]
BBC Africa is part of BBC World Service, an international multimedia broadcaster, delivering a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV, online and via wireless handheld devices. BBC World Service uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 180 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. BBC World Service offers its multilingual radio content to partner FM stations around the world and has numerous partnerships supplying content to news websites, mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices as well as TV channels.
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