Dele Sosimi, the Nigerian-British Afrobeat Ambassador, Musician and Educator, has been at the heart of the global Afrobeat scene since relocating to the UK in December 1995. Having started his musical career with Fela’s Egypt 80 band in his teens, he then teamed up with childhood friend Fela’s son Femi Kuti (back in the late eighties) to kick-start the Positive Force – touring, recording and performing worldwide. Over forty years later, he remains a tireless ambassador for the unique musical movement all over the world. His blend of complex funk grooves, traditional Nigerian music, African percussion and an underlying sense of jazz combines with his virtuoso keyboard skills and rhythmic singing to make him one of the most respected Afrobeat authorities of his era.
Dele is a master of various live configurations, each offering a truly authentic and powerful Afrobeat sound and keeps him active. These days, his mesmeric performances are mainly with the full eight to fifteen-piece Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra (DSAO), a distilled six or seven-piece Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Experience (DSAE) and the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Sextet, Quintet & Quartet which features the heartbeat of DSAO in a semi acoustic format with Dele on piano alongside Suman Joshi on Double Bass, Afla Sackey on Congas/percussion and Kunle Olofinjana on Drums.
“The love and passion I have for composing, writing, performing and teaching Afrobeat Music is my main motivation,” says Dele, adding; “my aim is to build upon the rich heritage of music worldwide by creating opportunities for young people to learn. I want them to experience Afrobeat forms of music and music-making activities that will expand knowledge and broaden the horizons of the musicians, young or old.
Turbulent Times, the Joaquin Joe Claussell Remixes, were actually created over 10 years ago. But this is not all that surprising if you are one those who have inside knowledge of his production habits; Truth is, Joaquin’s productions are created 5 years ahead of their actual release. What’s most interesting now, however, is the timing of this release. Having recently gone through a few years of extremes, not least of a global pandemic, instigating more confusion and chaos, these series of remixes are right on time, and the original album version is way ahead of its time. And now these eagerly awaited Remixes are here…
