Mohalenyane Phakela
ETHIOPIAN Jazz band, Akalé Wubé, and French Beat Box group, Underkontrol, mesmerised the crowd at the opening of the French Week of Taste at Ouh la la Gardens in Maseru on Tuesday.
The concert, which was made possible by Alliance Française de Maseru, was a spectacular outdoor event despite being held in winter. The breathtaking scenery and ambience at Ouh la la Gardens seemingly chased the evening chill away.
The tables were well arranged for everyone to have a clear view of the performances and the colourful lights dimly lit to give prominence to the beautiful surrounding landscape.
Revelers in Maseruu do not usually stay out long during winter nights but the groups’ outstanding performances compelled them to stay and have a good time. Gas heaters placed around the venue also helped keep the crowd warm.
After Alliance Française de Maseru Director, Camille Pedereau, gave the welcoming remarks, the five-piece band Akalé Wubé stepped onto the stage.
Their sound is different from mainstream Afro Jazz and inspired by the sounds from the different regions of Ethiopia.
Their laid back one-hour performance gave the crowd a glimpse of the striking Ethiopian melodies while they took to the dance-floor on such up-tempo songs as African Pop Session they took to the dance-floor.
Not to be outdone, Underkontrol acquitted themselves well with their performance. The group’s energetic performance will stay on the crowd’s minds for a long time.
Beatbox Underkontrol, comprising of FayaBraz, Funky Lips, Original Tiko and MicFlow, do not use any instruments in their performances but “strictly raw sound from the mouth”, as they describe it. Their only instruments were the microphones.
They opened their performance on a reggae tip, beatboxing as if there were instruments somewhere in the background while MicFlow did the rapping. Original Tiko’s oral skills produced a bass sound seemingly from a base-drum. The group is so versatile it is able to compose beat-box sets of different genres and can imitate quite a number of electronically-produced beats. Underkontrol’s Hip Hop is greatly influenced by jazzy beatsand their rendition of Let us Drive whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
The crowd was on their feet throughout the performance, and would not let Underkontrol leave the stage, compelling them to extend their set by a number of songs, which included solo performances.
