(Mango Groove)This year the annual African Renaissance Festival begins with a phenomenal musical celebration on Africa Day, May 25, at the ICC Arena featuring the eclectic musical combination of South African music heavyweights, Ringo, Liquideep and Mango Groove.
The hugely popular Africa Day Concert promises a melting pot of musical inspirations with hot-property mbaqanga artist Ringo Madlingozi, the lovable Mango Groove with their unique blend of African marabi, kwela and pop, and the eclectic electro world-dub outfit Liquideep
The full festival, which is usually held during the last week of May to coincide with Africa Day is the only annual celebration of the African Renaissance principles on the continent. However this year, due to the municipal elections, African Renaissance programme has been pushed out until August with the Youth Conference now being staged on August 2 and the African Renaissance Conference on August 4 and 5.
The Africa Day concert has become an annual calendar highlight for lovers of innovative and iconic South African music.
Ringo Madlingozi is prolific. He has 10 studio albums, two live CD/DVDs and one compilation album, and his concerts are described as “not just performances but are intensely spiritual, rhythmic and healing journeys that take you with him to the heights of One-ness with all that is in the Universe.”
Ringo set the country ablaze when he won the Shell Road to Fame contest with his friends and fellow band members, Peto, back in 1986; the constant crowd-puller at musical events around the country, who remains a firm favourite across the country and the rest of the African continent and the world. He later formed a group called Gecko Moon with Alan Cameron, a fellow Peto member. Since his debut solo album, Vukani, which sold tens of thousands of copies, he has been unstoppable. He has subsequently been nominated for and scooped multiple awards for his albums at the South African Music Awards (SAMA) and the Kora All African Music Awards, where, among others, he won the Best Male Artist in Southern Africa and the African continent Awards.
Mango Groove’s career has spanned a groundbreaking and turbulent time in South Africa’s history. Since its first iconic multi-platinum release in 1989, the band, together with its charismatic lead singer Claire Johnston, has gone on to become a household name in South Africa. To date, Mango Groove has sold over 750,000 albums in South Africa alone, and in terms of its airplay across all radio and TV stations, continues to be an act that truly reaches the hearts of all South Africans.
Many people have tried to define the Mango Groove sound, and have resorted to a host of adjectives and phrases to do this: Kwela/Marabi Pop, SA Pop, Big Band Swing Pop, Eclecto-Pop, and so on. Certainly, the Mango sound is a pop sound, aiming at simple and accessible songs, grooves and melodies and certainly it is eclectic. This eclecticism is primarily reflected in the extent to which Mango Groove has drawn on the rich legacy of South African urban music forms from the ‘40’s and 50’s:
The Liquideep duo is made up of singer/songwriter/producer Ziyon and DJ/producer Ryzor, who “hooked up in 2007 over a mutual love of hook-laden, melodically rich, deep house music”. Just two years after their formation they caught the attention of the entire nation with the track Fairytale, which was play-listed on every major station in SA, played on any dance floor worth its salt and received a SAMA nomination for Song Of The Year and won a Channel O Music Video Award for ‘Most Gifted Dance Video’.
Liquideep released their debut artist album, Fabrics Of The Heart, in the middle of 2010 – and it became a undisputed sensation. In 2010, they shared stages with huge American superstars Akon and Angie Stone.
The Africa Day Concert takes place at 18h30 on May 25 at the Durban’s ICC Arena .Tickets are available to the public and prices have been kept low to ensure as many fans as possible can enjoy the musical feast. Tickets R70 (no concessions) available through Computicket 0839158000 / www.computicket.co.za. Tickets are unreserved.
More information about the full African Renaissance programme on 031 266 9792 or email: reception@wozani.co.za
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