Africa Beyond presents Translations

It was standing-room only at the Africa Centre on 1 February for the finale showcase of Africa Beyond’s Translations project, produced by Melanie Abrahams. Three collaborations brought together a diverse group of UK-based artists with a connection to the continent, spanning genres from afro-beat to hip-hop to jazz to spoken word.

The first  piece was led by Dzifa Benson, who created an epic poem tracing a journey of how African mythology left the shores of Africa to find new expressions in the New World.  Centred on the figure of the voodoo trickster god Legba, Benson’s trance-like performance was supported by DJ Zak Akhimien, while a screen projected Craig Dow’s images of landscapes and Ghanaian Adinkra symbols.

The second performance had an all-Nigerian flavour, led by hip-hop artist Breis working with Afro-beat pioneer Dele Sosimi and dance Christina Oshunniyi.  Breis created a humourous and moving romance with Christina Oshunniyi, as a metaphor for the relationship between Africa and the diaspora, with Dele supporting and providing the music backdrop. Critics and audiences were delighted with the result, which was warm, charming, electrifying and hilarious in turns. Breis showed himself to be a secret comic genius with his expressions and mannerisms, and his wry, fond look at African ideals of love.

The final piece brought together renowned Jazz musician Byron Wallen and multi-instrumentalist Tom Diakité, a leading Malian musician from Paris. The titles ‘Time For Change,’ ‘Echo,’ and ‘Remember,’ were springboards for inspired improvision, with Diakate’s donso n’goni guitar and voice dancing with Byron’s trumpet –he even plays a range of conch shells of different sizes. The two have been wanting to work together for some years, and despite the fact they speak almost nothing of each other’s languages, the musical communication was exhilarating.

It was an electrifying evening, and for many of us a vision of what we hope the Africa Centre will be when it re-opens as the leading venue for African arts in the 21st century.

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