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AFRO FIESTA (Afro-Fiesta)
Label: Blue Pie Productions
Artists Genre: Urban
AFRO-FIESTA
“In the wake of trials and tribulations, it is up to a
person to work towards self-empowerment, using every
God-given talent that he/she has been blessed with”.
This is the philosophy that Mermans Kenkosenki and his
band, Afro- Fiesta, the new group recently signed to
the Vibrations Studio label, have adopted as an
integral part of their lives as musicians.
In 1988, at age 19 and still at school in the
Congolese town of Kinshasa, Mermans secretly began
playing the guitar. He would practice every day in
hiding, not wanting his parents to find out. In those
days being a musician was frowned upon and considered
a career for people with no direction. It was this
negative sentiment that eventually forced him to run
away from home, in order to pursue his first love. His
journey took him from the Congo to Angola where he
hoped his fortunes would change for the better. In
Angola he taught himself to play the drums and joined
a struggling reggae band, but no matter how tough it
got, he stuck to his guns and worked harder to improve
himself as a musician and a person.
In 1995, Mermans met a young man known as Big Sammy in
Luanda town, where he was a Base Guitar player in a
band called Attraction 2000 and they became close
friends. The two musicians decided to relocate to
South Africa as they felt there would be more
opportunities for them as musicians. Sammy arrived in
South Africa first and soon joined a band called the
Young Bakuba Band, (also on the Vibrations label)
later paying for an airticket for Mermans to join him.
Mermans says that this act of generosity changed the
direction of his life and showed to him that musicians
do look out for each other.
On his arrival in South Africa in 1998, Mermans joined
the Young Bakuba Band as a drummer and bass guitar
player, alternating between the two roles. After a
year in the band he found that his independence and
musical style were being limited and he branched out
on his own as a solo artist in 1999. He was soon in
demand, doing solo gigs at various Cape Town venues
including Dizzy’s Jazz Café and the legendary Café
Camissa on Kloof Street. Shortly after this he decided
that he preferred a band set-up and formed a new group
which he called the Brothers’ Band, comprising his
long time friend MC on congas and guitar and Jibriel
Omonga as singer and percussionist.
The new millennium brought more changes for the band
with Papi (Felix Garemua) joining as lead guitarist,
Alfredo as bassist, Junior as drummer and Christian on
keyboards. The band soon became a draw card at various
venues around Cape Town including Mama Afrika,
Chapman’s Peak Hotel, Kennedy’s Cigar Lounge, Africa
Junction, Marco’s African Restaurant, Jazzathon
2004.
In 2004 Mermans knew it was time for the band to
release an album and he was able to sign a deal with
Mohamed Fall of Vibrations Studio. He decided to add a
few more faces to his talented core of musicians and
Chibo, Tentino, Mavakala, Bova and Jason joined the
group. He now had a group of master musicians oozing
talent and enthusiasm. He renamed the group
Afro-Fiesta, to reflect the many countries and
cultures of the band members and after many hours of
hard work in the studio, Mermans knew that he had a
great album, full of potential hits in songs like
“Matinda”, “Tandiswa” and “Bolingo”. The songs are a
fusion of various styles incorporating Makosa, hints
of Latino and Afro-jazz, making this a truly
unforgettable recording.
This Self entitled album has been released. Watch out
for it – this band is going places!
AFRO FIESTA (Afro-Fiesta) are a Blue Pie Productions,
Perfect Pitch and Vibration Studio's artist. They are
available at all leading digital retailers on the
planet.
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