Chart

Celebrating Sanctuary is the free annual event which celebrates the art of refugee communities in the UK and launches Refugee Week in London (15 – 21 June). It’s a rare platform for refugees to voice their experiences through music, literature and dance and a chance to connect with the incredible diversity of cultures and traditions the UK is home to. The festival is programmed by the pioneering duo Rita Ray and Max Reinhardt who, as DJs, promoters and curators have long been crucial champions of all kinds of worldwide music, from roots to remixes. Mondomix asked them for a chart inspired by Celebrating Sanctuary - many of the artists they picked here will be appearing in this year’s festival and they all share a blazing talent for using music to fight injustice and intolerance. And that’s definitely something to celebrate.

Celebrating Sanctuary Sunday 14 June 2 - 7pm
Bernie Spain Gardens, South Bank, London SE1
ADMISSION FREE

www.theshrine.uk.com
www.refugeeweek.org.uk
www.myspace.com/celebratingsanctuary

01. Esengo Ya Ko Bina - Bana Etike / Grupo Lokito

The UK is a shelter for many Congolese fleeing persecution and unimaginable hardship including some of the finest and most well-known Congolese musicians. When we tried to book the brilliant Grupo Lokito this year, we found that one member had been put in a detention centre and another repatriated to the Congo, and we came into contact with the inside story of the dire problems that refugees in general, and Congolese refugee artists in particular, have with the UK immigration authorities. Bana Etike (Children Without A Home) are a trio formed by three of the best of the exiled musicians from the Congo who are still here and not so far banged up in detention centres.
www.myspace.com/grupolokito

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

02. Ding Deng Dong - Kal

Articulate and outspoken, Kal are Serbian Gypsy Rebels. These rockin’ Roma have something to say about the plight of the Roma in the Balkans. They tell it like it is and say it loud and proud through their rousing full-blooded punked-up urban gypsy folk music.
www.asphalt-tango.de

Kal - Ding Deng Dong

03. Barefoot Hope - Trenton and Free Radical

Barefoot Hope, by the trio of Trenton (South Africa), Kaz (Uganda), and Marco (Ibiza) has its roots in Africa and branches reaching into the rest of the world. Barefoot Hope is a reggae-rinsed mash up of musical influences with searching, conscious lyrics.
www.myspace.com/trentonandfreeradical

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

04. Regresso - Aziza Brahim and Poetic Pilgrimage

Poetic Pilgrimage is Sukina and Muneera - two outstanding Muslim women rappers from Bristol who are inspired by oppression and injustice, they are a voice for the voiceless. They are passionate about the plight of refugees and have taken up the cause. On Regresso they hook up with phenomenal singer Aziza Brahim, from Western Sahara, in a lament about her desire to return to her homeland.
www.myspace.com/poeticpilgrimage

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

05. Descarga Confusa - Longjon La Flecha

Longjon La Flecha are all trippy psychedelic spoken word over edgy nu skool Latin beats. Tune out and drop into the weird and wonderful world of Descarga Confusa.
www.myspace.com/longjonlaflecha

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

06. Jerusalem - Nobody

Nobody is a fresh hip hop artist out of London. We got in touch with him via MySpace. He won't give up his identity, but we like what he's got to say. Look out for his new video soon.
www.myspace.com/nobodylondon

Nobody – Jerusalem

07. Racenica - Téa Hodžic Trio

Téa Hodzic, the outstanding Bosnian singer-guitarist was once a child star on Yugoslav TV and came to the UK as a refugee. Not only has she made the UK her home but has embedded herself into the British music scene with plays on BBC Radio 2 and 3.
www.myspace.com/teahodzictrio

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

08. Win Ya Galob - SOAS Middle Eastern Music Ensemble

London University’s noted School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) started the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble two years ago as a platform for study/research of traditional Middle Eastern music. The members of this student-led group are drawn from various countries and musical backgrounds. The ensemble features Khyam Allami, the Damascus born virtuoso oud player. Win Ya Galob is a traditional Iraqi folk song.
www.myspace.com/soasmusicdepartment

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Comments