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"audacious,
in-yer-face
eclecticism"

Songlines Magazine

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End of an Era..

After an incredible decade together, Kabantu are putting on one final gig. Join us in Manchester on Friday 15th November. It's been a blast hasn't it? 
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Friends, where do we start? Ten years of music making - playing, writing, performing, travelling, collaborating, laughing, recording and pushing ourselves to create music which keeps everyone guessing.

 

What started as an escape from our classical studies grew into a project promoting thinking about music differently. What our instruments could do, how they could belong to one genre one minute and another the next. We saw Project Jam Sandwich mature into Kabantu, bringing with it an ethos and identity which reflected the diversity of humble, soulful music making from across the globe.

 

We pushed ourselves to branch out from arranging existing music and began writing original material, lyrics, painting soundscapes and presenting performances “of the people”. Describing Kabantu has always been a challenge. “What sort of music is it?” “Where would you fit in our festival?” Ten years ago, we were worried about fitting into boxes and identifying as something specific.

 

In 2024 and looking back on where we’ve played, we are so proud of our nomadic, wildcard description status which has allowed us to stick it to box ticking and go from playing gigs on the back of carnival floats one night to playing for royalty at the Cadogan Hall the next.

 

However, we would never have made it out of our first rehearsal room, had it not been for the faith and support of our friends, colleagues, promoters, funders and audiences members. There aren’t enough ‘thank yous’ around to express how grateful we are to have been given a platform for our music, both literal and metaphorical. From the backing we had to crowd fund our first album, promote tours and take our tunes into everywhere from concert halls to care homes, it has been our privilege to perform to you all for ten years.

 

Nothing will test your resilience like working in a professional chamber music ensemble!

 

It’s tempting to formulate a ‘Kabantu: Top 10 moments list’ by reeling off our favourite gigs over the years but actually, before any of that, comes a reflection on the friendship and partnership we have fiercely established. Kabantu only works on trust, courage and conviction- it is something which audience members pick up on and mention to us after every gig, without fail. We all have our roles but we’ve shared in vulnerability, tragedy and optimism as a collective, which is where being friends with your colleagues feels very special.

 

Life inevitably takes us on unexpected roads and in true improvisatory style, Kabantu have decided to embrace the unknown and wind down after an incredible decade. There is so much good music going on out there, we can’t help but jump into the next chapter with all the joy, energy and boundary-pushing which Kabantu has taught us.

 

We know we’re leaving behind something special, but it’s time to embrace our ethos and go out looking for new ideas to make us 

"who we are, because of who everyone is”.

 

 

All our love, Kabantu

In lieu of a ticket cost for this gig, we have chosen to put any donations or merchandise sales towards supporting a local music charity close to our hearts. Set up by fellow RNCM alumnus, Jo Yee Cheung, Kabantu have been involved in many of their projects over the years and truly believe they have an incredible vision for the future of music in Manchester. 

Olympias Music Foundation is an award-winning music charity based in Manchester, working to champion diversity in music – from nearly 27,000 free instrumental lessons for children on free-school meals, to community choirs for diverse women and school children, they believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to participate in music. They also run a project called migrant voices, supporting the diverse local from cultures around the world based in Manchester. 

Please give generously!
www.olympiasmusicfoundation.com



F R E E H A N D
 

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freehand; bountiful, giving, openhanded, bighearted, liberal, handsome

freehanded; a sketch done by eye without the use of anything to guide the hand

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Music

MUSIC

ABOUT

A B O U T

"immaculate...a rousing display of fine musicianship"

★★★★

The Guardian

Celebrating the space where different cultures meet

Astonishingly unique. Unorthodox. Progressive. Original. Acoustic. Contemporary. World. Folk.

 

Kabantu is a collective from Manchester, each born in a different country, who unravel new marriages of music in a globalised 21st century. 

 

Kabantu means "of the people" - stemming from the South African philosophy of Ubuntu: "I am who I am because of who we all are". 

Kabantu is a band of virtuosi wielding an expansive sonic arsenal; originally classically trained, they draw on an intricate palette of colours curated from their own wide listening to collaboratively write original music influenced by folk music from around the globe. The sheer musicianship of each member, an exhilarating collective unexpectedness and an infectious joy on stage is mind blowing, cultivated by a shared immediacy of expression forged by total trust.

They released their eponymous debut album "Of the People" in 2018 winning critical acclaim from the Guardian, Songlines Magazine and FRoots and released their second, entirely original album "Freehand" in 2022 with support from the PRS Foundation and Help Musicians UK. 

 

Kabantu have created large-scale works for BBC Singers, Sinfonia Cymru and the Manchester Camerata, won the £10,000 Royal Over-Seas League Competition, performed in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, headlined the English Folk Expo and played most of the UK’s major classical arts festivals (BBC Free Thinking Festival, Deal, Lichfield, Swaledale, Kings Place) and folk festivals (Cambridge, Shrewsbury, Orkney, Shetland, Warwick) and toured internationally to the Luxembourg Philharmonie and Lucerne Festival.

 

They have also given TedX talks, made interactive theatre shows for Lancaster Arts, featured on CBeebies, collaborated with Black Ballet, run creativity in music courses for the National Youth Orchestra and Aldeburgh Young Musicians and worked for Live Music Now (playing in pupil referral units, oncology wards and special needs schools).

 
     Violin, whistling, vocals                                                     Katie Foster
     Guitar                                                                                  Eddie Ogle
     Double bass, didgeridoo, banjo, vocals                            Ali McMath
     Percussion, vocals                                                             Delia Stevens
Releases

R E L E A S E S 


Freehand (2022)

Of The People (2018)

LIVE

PRESS

"Utterly brilliant"
Georgia Mann, BBC Proms

“first-rate musicians..really exhilarating...a very worthwhile and different approach”
FRoots Magazine

"the playing was exceptional from each member"
Bachtrack
 
"an ambitious global range..all sing as well as they play, switching from scat to powerful harmony"
Robin Denselow, World and Folk Critic, The Guardian

"audacious, in-yer-face eclecticism.. a global experimentalism that is both breathtaking and very refreshing"
Songlines Magazine

"cosmopolitan aural cocktail…further catalysed by magpie-minded invention"
Folk Radio UK
press
Live
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Live

COLLABORATION

Rioghnach Connolly - Irish singer and flute


Will Pound - harmonica, melodeon


Sura Susso - kora, vocals


Jason Rebello - piano

Hannah James - accordion and clog dance

ORCHESTRA

SINFONIA CYMRU
12-piece ensemble "Close to Folk" UK tour

 

CHOIR

BBC SINGERS
Cutty Sark live on BBC Radio 3

THEATRE

LANCASTER ARTS COMMISSION
"Sea Hear"
Early Years Show

MAKING MANCHESTER
2nd Generation Immigrant Heritage Stories of Manchester
Collaboration: Vonnegut Collective/4 Actor-Dancers
Commissioned by Olympias Music Foundation

EDUCATION

ALDEBURGH YOUNG MUSICIANS
Reimagining Folk Music
The Creative Musician-Composer

BRITISH MUSEUM
The History of South Africa

CBeebies
YoLanda's Band Jam with Yolanda Brown 

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA GB
Music and Poetry feat. Gabriel Akamo

LIVE MUSIC NOW

Creative music making and performance in special needs, dementia, prison,  pupil referral unit and hospital settings

Kabantu & Sinfonia Cymru Trailer

Kabantu Making Manchester Trailer

Kabantu & BBC Singers Cutty Sark Trailer

Kabantu Sea Hear Trailer

PROJECTS

Projects

CONTACT

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