City News

BASS Festival, the UK’s only month-long celebration of Black Music and Art, returns this June for a celebration of African music and culture.

BASS Festival (British Arts and Street Sounds) will take place for the fourth consecutive year and see over 25 events take place in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and London.

Every year the festival adopts a thought-provoking theme carried throughout the event, and this year’s theme is ‘Inspired by Africa and Africans’. Punch Records, producers of the festival, will work alongside mainstream and grassroots organisation to deliver a wide range of events across the region.

Some of this year’s highlights include:

•    Nigerian artist Lemi Ghariokwu exhibiting a range of his politically-charged work in ‘Art of the Album Cover’. In his thirty-five year career, he has produced over 200 sleeves for a range of famous musicians, including the late Fela Kuti.
•    Tipped as MTV and RWD Magazine’s ‘About to Blow’ urban artist, T*Magic has been commissioned by BASS Festival to produce new works as part of his ‘Art Is My Hustle’ collection.
•    The Shrine vs Noferatu at Birmingham’s Electric Cinema will see the acclaimed Shrine Synchro System performing an African inspired live soundtrack to the first ever vampire movie.
•    Louis Den Beat Cypher, a group of five UK producers and beatmakers, will be performing their latest musical offering and technical wizardry.
•    Recently voted as one of Flavour Magazine’s ‘Fab 5 Groups to Emerhe from the UK music scene’, Mama Feel Good is made up of female DJ duo Bobbalin’ Hot and Sister 45, who will be performing at the festival.

BASS Festival is produced by Birmingham-based Punch Records, in association with Baby J and 2Funky Arts. In 2009 the festival will play host to new commissions, live performances, art exhibitions, dance and theatre performances, film screenings, and master classes.

For more info on BASS Festival 2009 and to keep up-to-date with line-up announcements, go to www.bassfestival.co.uk.