Reeperbahn Festival International brings exciting talent to ACCES in Ghana

Gato Preto, Songhoy Blues and Lúcia de Carvalho will perform at ACCES 2019 on 28, 29 and 30 November in Accra, courtesy of ACCES’ reciprocal partnership with the Reeperbahn Festival – Europe´s largest music platform based in Hamburg, Germany.

The three acts will join an exciting line-up of ACCES showcasing artists that includes Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Arka'n (Togo), Sibusile Xaba (South Africa) and Bholoja (eSwatini), as well as Ghanaians Yaa Yaa, Kyekyeku & Ghanalogue Highlife, FOKN Bois, Cina Soul and FRA!

Performances will take place in the evening at Alliance Française on 28 November, The Gold Coast Hub on 29 November and again at Alliance Française on 30 November. ACCES also offers a robust day programme of conferences, workshops and exhibitions at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The ACCES-Reeperbahn partnership seeks to create a framework for the festival to collaborate with the pan-African music conference in facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories.

Reeperbahn Festival will also present two informative panel discussions titled Navigating the recording and distribution industries in a changing environment and Fostering collaboration between African and European music markets. A strong delegation comprising 30 music industry professionals from eight European countries will also be present at ACCES 2019 curtesy of the festival.

“Music is strongly influenced by the process of digitisation in any form," Reeperbahn Festival director Detlef Schwarte said. "However, the importance of genuine personal encounters on eye-level and the establishment of reliable artistic collaborations and economic networks does not fade into the background, but becomes more important. We are therefore very pleased to have found in ACCES a partner that reflects Reeperbahn Festival as a European platform and stands for a comprehensive approach throughout Africa."

Music In Africa Foundation director Eddie Hatitye said: "Our partnership with Reeperbahn Festival, a global brand that seeks to make constructive connections with Africa, means a new avenue for African artists to present their music in Europe and gain new audiences and exposure to record labels, distributors and talent managers. But this relationships will not only constitute a one-way stream; we will seek to create a reciprocal rapport where the European music market, including the diaspora artists who ply their trade in Europe, can collaborate, find prospects to perform in new cities and forge revenue streams on the African continent."

About the acts

Afrofuturistic Germany-based duo Gato Preto comprises rapper Gata Misteriosa (Mozambique/Portugal) and DJ and producer Lee Bass (Ghana/Germany). The outfit is known for its high-energy performances defined by percussion-driven electronica that harks back to pulsating favela funk, South African kwaito and the exuberant rhythms of kuduro. Gato Preto has collaborated with international artists such as Aero Manyelo, Edu K, Daniel Haaksman, KD Soundsystem and MC Zulu. It has headlined Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda and played at African Futures Festival in South Africa. This will be the first time that the duo travels to Ghana to perform.

Songhoy Blues was formed in Bamako, Mali, after its members were displaced from Timbuktu by conflict and the imposition of Sharia law, which banned music. The band was noticed by Damon Albarn who visited Bamako with his Africa Express project. It released the highly acclaimed debut album Music in Exile in 2015 and Résistance two years later. The four-piece group combines traditional Tuareg sounds with the classic blues and is one of the principal subjects of the documentary film They Will Have To Kill Us First. Songhoy Blues is currently based in the UK.

France-based Angolan singer Lúcia de Carvalho is known for mixing world music with modern rhythms. The talented singer and percussionist spent part of her early years in a children's home in Portugal and was adopted by a French family. He career began in France at the age of 16 when she joined the band Bia de Assis et Som Brasil as a dancer but soon became the group's lead singer. She spent 10 years touring with the band and in 2009 launched her solo career with a sound that fused traditional Brazilian music with pop, funk and reggae. In 2016, she released Kuzola, a 16-track album that bears testament to her musical versatility.

About Reeperbahn Festival International

This year ACCES has a partnership with Reeperbahn Festival – Germany’s largest music platform based in Hamburg. The partnership creates a framework for the festival to collaborate with ACCES in facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories. The Reeperbahn Festival International Programme is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. In 2020, the next Reeperbahn Festival International spin-offs take place in Los Angeles (22-25 March), Beijing (24-26 April), Nashville (11-14 May) and New York (15-18 June). For more information visit the official website.

About ACCES

ACCES is a pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe.

ACCES is organised by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit and pan-African organisation, in partnership and with the support of Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, Reeperbahn Festival International, Alliance Française, BMG, MediaSound Hamburg, the Multimedia Group, Africa Art Lines, Afrikayna, the Gold Coast Hub, the Year of Return, the Prince Claus Fund and the ANT Mobility Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

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