Chicago Afrobeat Project will be at Midcity bar & grill
NO COVER
about CAbP:
Chicago Afrobeat Project (CAbP) is a dynamic musical collective rooted in '70s funk and jazz-infused afrobeat. CAbP mixes traditional afrobeat with other dance-invoking musical motifs such as Chicago’s electronic house music, complex West African percussion rhythms and upbeat funk. At each performance, the polyrhythmic groove and sharp horn lines of CAbP stir up energetic momentum, sweeping listeners directly to the dance floor time and time again.
The group began in late 2002 in a third-story loft on Lake Street in downtown Chicago. What began as a simple experiment turned into sifting through unique and colorful musicians literally from around the world. One by one, at a series of loft rehearsals in downtown Chicago, like-minded musicians joined the project, until members of the current band felt an undeniable chemistry. Today, the ever-morphing 7- to 14-piece CAbP consists of a full percussion section, a full horn section, keys, guitar, bass and African dancers (at select shows) -- and is still growing.
The band's live set consists of originals as well as carefully chosen classic and obscure afrobeat covers -- each embedded with the unique CAbP footprint. In CAbP, each member is a leader, an ensemble player, a percussionist and a soloist. During extended songs, a member of CAbP steps to the forefront to speak his or her musical mind, and then slowly recesses back to the groove. Following this musical burst, another musician will rise and return. And then another. From performance to performance, these musical conversations vary the texture of each song, though one constant remains: The rhythm section pumps an addicting pulse.
About Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a musical genre pioneered by Nigeria’s charismatic political activist, Fela Kuti. Upon his death in 1997, Fela left behind an unheralded legacy of music that spanned four decades and produced 70+ albums. Today, Chicago Afrobeat Project is a project in the truest sense of the word. It evolves, but the mission goes unchanged: To push experimental afrobeat to listeners across the globe.
Don't ever bring a band in that you can't go-off to on the dance floor! Without there being a dancefloor, I went crazy! Anyways, they are a good band, but Fela is crazy doper. To me what Fela wrote his songs about is what gave the song and beat a powerful feeling. Their beats were dope and all but they were missing the essence of their biggest influence(Fela). Other than that, PROPS!
Rick from Moser Woods brought them in. They've played at huge festivals, including Bonnaroo (the biggest around that I know of).
As for Fela, no one will ever be able to replace him. Unfortunately, afrobeat may have died, for the most part, with him. The radical left/ anti-colonialism messages definately were not present at MidCity, but the base musical interpretations were.
