The Sounds of Brazil and Mali to Meet in London with A Curva Da Cintura

Mali’s kora master Toumani Diabaté, Brazlian musicians Arnaldo Antunes & Edgard Scandurra and Family Atlantica are set to perform on Friday 12 April 2013 at Union Chapel in Compton Terrace.

Toumani Diabaté invited Brazilian songwriter and poet Arnaldo Antunes and guitar-hero Edgard Scandurra to Mali to record with him following a collaboration at the 2010 edition of the Brazilian festival Back2Black in Rio de Janeiro. Arnaldo and Edgard arrived in Mali in April 2011 with a collection of songs they had written together. With the Malian musicians they combined rock, African roots and blues to create an uplifting Afro-Brazilian fusion that celebrates the spirit of collaboration and connects Mali and Brazil in a way that blurs geographical and musical boundaries. The album was titled Curva Da Cintura.

Toumani’s sublime kora playing is the perfect contrast to Arnaldo’s somber almost mechanical voice and adds poignancy to ballads such as ‘Grao de chaos’, ‘Psiu’ and Toumani’s composition ‘Kaira’.

Family Atlantica is led by London born Jack Yglesias, producer, multi-instrumentalist and a veteran of The Heliocentrics, and his wife Luzmira Zerpa, traditional Venezuelan musician, poet and singer with a magical voice acclaimed by Manu Chao. The group features a diverse collection of heavyweight musicians from both sides of the Atlantic. Family Atlantica recently released their debut album Family Atlantica through Soundway Records.

Doors 7pm
Union Chapel
Compton Terrace
London
N1 2XD
unionchapel.org.uk