Kuona Afrika: feel, taste, and experience Africa

(Ebo Taylor)

“Kuona” means “see” in Swahili and that is exactly what the Kuona Afrika festival, the first edition of this African festival in the buildings of Thurn/Tour & Taxis, wants us to do: to see Africa, in all its splendour, in scents, colours, but especially in music. The festival’s complete name is Kuona Afrika: Beats and Styles of Africa. “Beats” refers to the copious quantities of music, “Styles” refers to African culture in the broadest sense of the term, including dance, ballet, theatre, a fashion show, a children’s vision, films, a market, food, and drink – all African of course.

In terms of the music, we are looking forward to the Ghanaian Afrobeat/highlife singer and guitarist Ebo Taylor and the Nigerian Oghene Kologbo, the original guitarist of Fela Kuti who will be accompanied by the Brussels-based afrobeat orchestra World Squad. The singer and guembri player Amazigh Kateb has taken up the thread again with Gnawa Diffusion, the mythical French-Algerian band that will treat its audience to a mix of socially engaged reggae, rap, and gnawa music. The guitar virtuoso Kanda Bongo Man will make us dance to the most wonderful Congolese soukous, while Mamadou Diabaté will entrance us with mellow Malian blues. Brussels will be represented by the Ivorian singer/dancer Dobet Gnahoré and the Mauritian rapper/reggae singer DYnamic. A new name we will probably be seeing more often is the beautiful soul singer Shishani who has come from Namibia via Amsterdam to settle in the Belgian countryside. These days, there are workshops at all festivals, but what’s interesting about the Afrobeat workshop that Oghene Kologbo will present, is that it is aimed at musicians. They can learn to play Afrobeat with someone who learned the tricks of the trade from the very best: Fela Kuti.

KUONA AFRIKA FESTIVAL 31/10 > 2/11, €28/35 (Combi ticket: €65/85), Thurn/Tour & Taxis, Havenlaan 86C avenue du Port, Brussel/Bruxelles, 0486-468.425, www.kuonaafrika.com