Kasai Masai
Bringing the Traditional Sound of the most remote equatorial villages with a Urban Twist.
- Booking Period
- Generally available
- Forthcoming Tour Dates
- View latest dates
- Biography
- Read biography
- Genre
- World/Roots/Congolese | UK
- Presspack Download
- Download presspack containing hi-res images and latest biography
- Website
- www.kasaimasai.com
- Myspace
- -
- Selected Media Reviews
- fRoots
- YouTube Videos
- 'Womad 2006' - live performance
Touring Dates
2008
| Date | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 29 January | Terry O'Toole Theatre | North Hykeham, England |
| 29 February | St Paul's Centre | Cambridge, England |
Biography
Kasai Masai brings the traditional sound of remote equatorial African villages to London, picking up a contemporary twist on the way. Kasai is a region of Congo that is named after a river, in the heart of the rainforest where many tribes maintain their traditional lifestyles. The Masai are a dignified tribe whose lives still centre around a nomadic existence.
Kasai Masai are a five piece band led by Nickens Nkoso. Playing ancestral music which has been passed on from generation to generation, their sound is rooted in the healing power of percussion and chanting combined with the majestic Congolese folk guitar and jazz saxophone.
At the passionate live shows audiences find it impossible to stand still in the presence of such absorbing African rhythms. Written in Swahili, Lingala and Kimongo, the lyrics reflect the cultural diversity of a region where more than four hundred languages are spoken.
Nickens has previously collaborated with artists such as Koffi Olomide, Papa Wemba, Kanda Bongoman, Mose Fan Fan, Samba Mapangala and many more. He has appeared at Glastonbury, Womad, Weltnacht (Germany), on Andy Kershaw`s World & New, Later with Jools Holland, John Peel Sessions, BBC3 World Music Day and the African Nations Cup.