NEWS: The Africa Express Musicultural Festival on Wheels

Musical politics on The Africa Express

Today The Africa Express rolls into London, a train carrying musicians from both the African and Western sphere. Having toured Middlesbrough, Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol, Gorillaz and Blur frontman Damon Albarn is leading the crew of over 80 musicians back to Kings Cross.

Kano, Paul McCartney & Damon Albarn

Arriving at the point of multiculturalism, the creatives coming out of their respective genres including Hip Hop, Rock, Afrobeats and Electronic have all mixed, jammed and caboosed in the name of musicianship. Achieving influence from environment including schools, factories and shopping centres, the forged musical assortment has built a platform to display genuine artistry.

Cotching within the festival on wheels are the UK’s own Afrikan Boy and Kano part of the West collective, met by reps of Africa Tony Allen and Nneka. Spontaneity, mash-ups and relentless advertising of diversity are clear. It almost reads like a bunch of musicians re-living their glory days that are too real for this gimmick stuff. Shame it’s sponsored by London 2012. Screams post-racist Britain but makes you wonder if there’s a class system in place among the carriages. But I suppose the point is if Rizzle Kicks can manage to vibe well with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble or land a successful soundcheck with Femi Kuti, then genre crossovers should be a thing not reserved only for remixes and diversity campaigns.

www.africaexpress.co.uk