Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra

Rhythm keyboard player for Nigerian Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti and his band Egypt 80 between 1979-1986, Dele Sosimi formed The Positive Force with Fela’s son Femi Kuti. Now based in London and playing with his own Afrobeat Orchestra, expect nothing but the funkiest rhythm guitars, fiery percussion, call and response vocals and blazing horns, faithful to the original blueprint, but also clearly bears Dele’s own DNA.

He has performed worldwide, including at London’s Jazz café and South Bank, Joe Zawinuls Birdland in Vienna, Montreux Jazz Festival, Womad, the Mostly Jazz Festival and leading a large contingent of Jazz Musicians in celebrating the musical legacy of Fela Kuti at the 2011 edition of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. His bi-monthly sessions Afrobeat Vibration have also grown to be London’s top underground event with Fela classics and original tracks from Indentity & Turbulent Times and fresh single T.M.I.

This performance is being presented in conjunction with the Sundance London screening of Finding Fela, which documents the story of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s life, music and the political importance of the creation of the musical movement Afrobeat and its use as a political forum to oppose the Nigerian dictatorship and advocate for the rights of oppressed people.

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]