afrobeat

Konono N

Lapis Lazuli are a band from Canterbury, UK formed in late 2009 they are 5 people unified by a concept of music unbound by the limits of pigeon-holing, and brought together by the willingness to fuse and transverse genres from across time and place.
Bombastic beats and global grooves are combined with a rich tapestry of texture and melody created by the twin guitars, synth, flute, trumpet and digeredoo sounds, telling ancient stories from the vault of their collective influences.

Read more about lapis lazzuli on Last.fm.

Marcos "Marquitos" Garcia was born into a musical Cuban family, and is currently a member of American Afrobeat pioneers, Antibalas. Armed with his childhood Casio keyboard, in late 2002 he embarked upon an experiment in afrobeat. The outcome was Manifest Tone Vol.1, a collection of raw and dirty, Lo-Fi tracks to make your body move. Encouraged by his Antibalas bandmates to keep exploring, Garcia ventured into the world of 1980's drum machine beats and sounds.

The Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra formed in late 2007 when members of the Kidkanevil live show and First Word stalwarts Homecut began a series of late night afrobeat sessions at Leeds’s Sela Bar. It was out of these jam sessions that The Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra was born, combining their love of afrobeat with their appreciation of the space jazz pioneers of the 70’s and the free jazz trailblazers of the 60’s, coupled with a hefty nod towards James Brown.