Sounds of Ghana with Kotoko Brass and Mohanned Alidu in Thetford!
KOTOKO BRASS W/ MOHAMMED ALIDU AT THE TOWN HALL
DEC 14, 2024
SATURDAY / 6:00 PM EST
TO 11:00 PM EST
21+
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Rooted Entertainment and Strange Kloudz bring you the first show of their Global Music Series featuring Kotoko Brass and Mohammed Alidu. On December 14 we gather for a night of West African culture and music as we celebrate the collaboration EP album the two artists have created together
Mohammed Alidu is a celebrated singer and percussionist from Tamale, Ghana, born into the Bizung lineage of talking drum chiefs. Kotoko Brass is a high-energy global music band based in Boston, featuring musicians from Ghana, Antigua, Japan, and the US. The two have joined forces to write and record a new album entitled Aninemni, a groundbreaking presentation of Dagomba music and culture for new audiences.
As the founder of the Bizung School of Music and Dance in Tamale, Alidu is dedicated to preserving and promoting Dagomba heritage. His mission manifests itself on Aninemni, where he partners with instrumentalists Kotoko Brass to present original compositions born from inspiration in traditional Dagomba proverbs, melodies, and talking drum rhythms. Through this album, Alidu shares his generational Dagomba cultural knowledge in a contemporary format to his people in Dagbon, and simultaneously introduces Dagomba music to listeners worldwide in new audiences.
Their debut EP opens with a Dagomba affirmation of life’s design in “Kalam Pini”, an ancient story about an orphaned boy who became chief through an act of divine intervention. “Aninemni” then moves towards human agency, emphasizing the importance of hard work, particularly for the youth of Tamale. The third song, “Keshin Zo,” presents a Dagomba proverb about the value of knowledge, set to a lively fusion of Ghanaian highlife and Caribbean reggae, featuring Alidu and Kotoko percussionists Attah Poku and Kwame Ofori on drum breakdown with the Nyagboli rhythm. The fourth track, “Dinmala Bewurmi”, is a high-energy Sahel-inspired desert rock piece about planting seeds of compassion and understanding for our fellow human beings.
With vocalist Mohammed Alidu as a leading exponent of Dagomba culture, and Kotoko Brass as a US-based powerhouse of Ghanaian instrumental music, this debut collaborative album encapsulates the synergy between these two artists joining forces. Aninemi will be released in 2025, with plans to tour both the US and West Africa.
$20 ADVANCED SALE TICKETS
AGES 12 AND UNDER ARE FREE
DOORS AT 6 PM
The evening will also feature Authentic West African Food by Titi’s African Cuisine!!!
BRING YOUR APPETITES AND DANCING SHOES, THIS WILL BE ONE FOR THE BOOKS!!!
Kotoko Brass melds the beautifully complex traditional drumming of Central Ghana, the sturdy bass and keyboards of the Caribbean, and the joyous horns of New Orleans to forge a sound the Boston Globe has described as “propulsive, infectious party music.” Coming together as Kotoko Brass feels like a superpower. When the traditional Ghanaian percussion and driving drum set grooves meet the steady rhythm section and jubilant horn melodies, we can’t help but dance. Now, after over a year of sharing our sound and energy with audiences across New England, we have seen just how infectious this energy is.
While each member plays an equal and vital role in Kotoko Brass, the drums are at the heart of the band. The tradition of Asante drumming is intimately intertwined with dance in West Africa, and our audiences experience that first-hand. That instinctual link between drumming and dancing exists in nearly all indigenous traditions, and it informs the harmony and melody in all of our music.
At its core, our music is a celebration of tradition, diversity, and unity. While our compositions are influenced by and emerge from the rich culture and heritage of the Asante Kingdom of central Ghana, they are brought to life by a group that spans age, ethnicity, and nationality. The wealth of our varied musical experience serves not only as an endless well of inspiration, but as a vital opportunity to broaden the depths of our communication as humans.
Mohammed Alidu is originally from the town of Tamale in Northern Ghana and now based in Los Angeles, Alidu’s music has one foot in his 1000-year family legacy of earthy and pulsing Bizung rhythms and another in the modern studio sounds heard in the clubs and lounges of New York, London and Paris.
This versatility made him a natural for PFC and he has also played with such diverse artists as Peter Gabriel (on OVO), Baaba Maal, Tinariwen, Michael Franti, Ziggy Marley, Keb Mo’ and countless others in the U.S. and around the world. Recently he’s even hooked up with Benjamin LeBrave of the tastemaker label Akwaaba for a set of remixes. One thing that’s consistent throughout, however, is that he connects with musicians and audiences wherever he goes.
“I think if you open yourself up to others, they will open themselves up to you,” Alidu explains. “What I do I do from my heart, and so far everywhere I’ve traveled people seem to embrace that.”
ORGANIZER
Rooted Entertainment Solutions