Music / cumbia
The (Newen Afro)beat goes on …
It seemed too good to be true when Chilean megaband Newen Afrobeat contacted Bristol promoter John Stapleton to say they were touring in Europe and wanted to play in Bristol. They had come here once before in 2022 and John had put them on then. “They were great,” he recalls. “Very much in the school of Fela (Kuti) and the classic Africa 70 line-up but with inevitable influences of their own Latin American heritage.”
The band formed in 2009, inspired not only by Afrobeat’s infectious groove but also by the powerful political commitment in Fela’s lyrics. It was not hard to see similar issues of post-colonial oppression and political corruption in Chile to those he faced in 70s Nigeria, not least in the treatment of the minority Mapuche people. Soon original songs like the cynical No Les Creeré (I Won’t Believe Them) and the defiant Chaltumay (Thanks) were sitting well alongside covers of Fela classics like Zombie and Upside Down.
Now led by vibrant singer and dancer Francisca ‘Fran’ Riquelme the band’s reputation for slamming live performances has been steadily growing across Latin America and they were even invited by Fela’s daughter to play at the Felabration festival in Lagos.
For this summer’s gig John took the opportunity to hook them up with Memo Pimiento, a Mexican producer based in Belgium with a hot electro-cumbia trio, and Bristol’s own Cumbia traditionalists Baila la Cumbia for an all-day event at the Central Warehouse. It promised to be a sizzling tropical party but, sadly, advance sales proved disappointing and reluctantly John had to contemplate cancelling the gig. “It’s the festival season, and people can finally get away for foreign holidays – plus there’s a cost of living crisis.” He explains.
But he couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Chilean band who were really keen to come back to Bristol. They persuaded him to arrange a scaled down event, still involving Memo Pimiento, for an evening at Lost Horizon. Combining the insistence of Afrobeat with the compulsive grooves of electro-Cumbia it should be a satisfyingly exhausting night for anyone who likes to dance.
Newen Afrobeat and Memo Pimiento will be appearing at Lost Horizon on Saturday August 19.
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