Over the last decade, Leeds world music promoter Lubi Jovanovic (DJ Lubi Presents) has brought some amazing African music artists to the city, both from the continent and the diaspora. He's promoted/co-promoted shows by Santrofi (Ghana), Kokoroko (UK), KOG (UK), Jembaa Groove (Berlin), Femi Kuti (Nigeria), ONIPA (UK), London Afrobeat Collective (UK), Newen Afrobeat (Chile) and Dele Sosimi (UK). Now comes another excellent African music band based in London who fuse together the hypnotic dance grooves of the Democratic Republic Of Congo with the firing solos and rhythms of Cuban music.
Grupo Lokito brings together Congolese, Kenyan, Latin American (Cuban, Colombian, Venezuelan) and UK musicians who blend Central African soukous and highlife with Cuban son music and salsa. They formed in 2006 when top salsa/Cuban music pianist Sara McGuinness (Salsa y Ache/Orquesta Estelar/Sarabanda) began researching the cultural and musical links between the two countries and wanted to feature an ensemble that could play a fusion of these musical styles. And so Grupo Lokito was born.
Their debut album “Esengo Ya Ko Bina” (The Joy of Dancing) was released in 2010 and they have had tracks featured on compilation albums “The Rough Guide To African Street Party “on the World Music Network (2008), "Urban Africa" on Cavendish Music (2010), and "Latin Beat" on Putumayo Records (2011). In 2023, they released their latest album "Bomoko", both digitally and on vinyl.
Grupo Lokito features some of the finest African and Latin American musicians in the capital. These include Congolese vocalists/front men Eugene Makuta and Iddo Donnatella, Kenyan rising star lead guitarist Shama Shah, Congolese veteran rhythm guitarist Ladi Mbala and a rock solid Latin rhythm section of Ernesto Marichales (drums - Venezuela), Jimmy Martinez (bass - Cuba) and Emeris Solis (congas - Colombia). At the heart of the band is the musical director/bandleader and pianist Sara McGuinnes.
Since their formation in 2006 the band have gone from strength to strength, completing several UK tours, appearing at all the best UK world music festivals and building a solid following across the country. They've only ever played Leeds once before - Vamos Leeds Festival 2018 in Millenium Square - when they closed the festival and had 3000 people dancing joyously in the hot Yorkshire summer night. It's great to have Grupo Lokito back in Leeds for the first time in 6 years and making their Brudenell Social Club debut. If you love the music of Central and West Africa alongside the sounds and rhythms of Cuba, this is a "must attend" show.
Here's a few testimonials from 2023 :
'Bomoko is a highly accomplished album that gives a great indication of Grupo Lokito’s joyous live performance' - Martin Sinnock, Songlines Magazine, April 2023
‘We were delighted to welcome Grupo Lokito to our festival in 2023. Not only are the band supremely talented with a perfect sound for our event, but their strong ties to the Congolese community in the UK meant we were able to cater to an audience that we may otherwise not have reached. We look forward to working with them again in the future.’ - Africa Oyé Festival, Liverpool, June 2023
‘The whole show was invigorating. Great entertainers who engage the audience not just with their energetic music but also their personalities which shine from the stage. The dance moves are mesmerising! An all-round fabulous show. - Nottingham Riverside Festival 2023
‘This is the fourth time we have booked Grupo Lokito and the professionalism and the performance were world class.’ – Focus Africa 10th Anniversary Show, July 2023
After his great warm-up for the London Afrobeat Collective Brudenell show last March, DJ Muddy Brown (Sela Bar) returns to heat up the dancefloor before the band with his all-vinyl selection of Pan-African music, past and present. Expect afrobeat, soukous, juju, makossa, highlife, afrofunk, Ethio Jazz and Afro disco all excellent blended together by one of Leeds' finest global beats DJs.
