African Night Fever: BCUC
The 2023 Womex Award winners bring their afro-psychedelic future pop from Soweto to Brighton
African Night Fever are delighted to be featuring the fantastic BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) for their first ever show in Brighton.
'without a doubt the best live act I saw' - Gilles Peterson
'Loved their set, it was one of my highlights of a great weekend' - Nick Dewey, Glastonbury Festival
'guaranteed to touch untapped corners of your soul' - Okayafrica
'the most impressive newcomers this year' - The Guardian
BCUC: Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness bring their mix of indigenous funk, hip-hop consciousness and punk rock energy from Soweto, South Africa.
A stone’s throw from the church where Desmond Tutu organised the escape of the most wanted anti-Apartheid activists of Soweto, BCUC rehearse in a shipping container-turned community restaurant, where their indomitable outspokenness echoes in a whole new way.
Like its elders, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness sees its music as a hedonistic trance, but also as a weapon of political and spiritual liberation.
The seven-piece band has been mesmerising audiences both locally and globally with its indigenous funk and high-energy performances that have fast made it one of South Africa’s most successful musical exports.
Artistic heirs to Philip “Malombo” Tabane and Batsumi, they give contemporary voice to the ancestral traditions of indigenous peoples. Jazz sounds of 1970s and ‘80s productions replaced by hip-hop influences and punk-rock energy, taking the listener on an intriguing epic journey, sharing their controversial yet interesting views on modern Africa. They tackle the harsh realities of the voiceless, especially the plight of the uneducated workers at the bottom of the social food chain. BCUC taps into the elusiveness of the spirit world of ancestors by which they are inspired. The Africa portrayed by BCUC is not poor, but rich in tradition, rituals and beliefs.
