Bamidele Olatunbosun Sosimi (born 22 February 1963) known as Dele Sosimi, is a

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

musician.

Biography

Sosimi was born in Hackney, London, England. His career began when he joined

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pio ...

's Egypt 80 (1979–86). Sosimi then created Positive Force band with

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's ri ...

, with whom he performed from 1986 to 1994. In both bands he was keyboard player, also musical director taking care of re-orchestrating and arranging music as well as handling the recruiting and training of new musicians. Based on

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

, Dele's music is a blend of complex funk grooves, Nigerian traditional music, African percussion, underpinning the jazz horns and solos from other instruments, as well as rhythmical singing. His keyboard work can be heard on several of Fela's albums, as well as some of Femi's. Dele has also performed often with Tony Allen. Following his first solo album ''Turbulent Times'', he was invited to select the tracks for the 3-CD compilation "Essential Afrobeat" (Universal, 2004). He was producer and co-writer of "Calabash Volume 1: Afrobeat Poems" by Ikwunga, the Afrobeat Poet (2004). He is a central member of the Wahala Project. He has also featured on British rapper TY's album ''Closer'' and his "Turbulent Times" is featured on The Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project (2006). His album ''Identity'' has been described by ''

Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dr ...

'' magazine as “A sizzling set from London’s Afrobeat leader”. His performances include the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, Joe Zawinul's Birdland (Vienna) the Treibhaus (Innsbruck ), Paradiso and Bimhuis in Amsterdam,

Oerol Festival Oerol () is a cultural festival on the island of Terschelling in the Netherlands that is held annually in June. The ten-day festival is focused on live, public theatre as well as music and visual arts. This festival was founded in 1981 by Joop Mul ...

at Terschelling, also in the Netherlands, the Ollin Kan Festival (Mexico City), Canada Afrobeat Summit (Calgary, Canada), Sensommer Int Musikkfestival (Oslo, Norway), Festival Musicas Do Mar and Festival Musicas do Mundo (Portugal), Festival Art des Ville - Arts des Champs (France) & the London African Music Festival, Hot Club in Lyon and Cave à Musique in Mâcon (France). In November 2010, Sosimi was appointed Afrobeat music consultant for the London production of ''

Fela! ''Fela!'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is base ...

'' at the National Theatre, London, in which he also plays keyboard. Based in London, Sosimi is an educator and instructor in

(via his Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Foundation, and as a visiting lecturer in Music and Media,

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City ...

). He performs in one of three formats – a 15-piece Afrobeat Orchestra (featuring a 5-piece horn section and dancers), a 6- to 9-piece band (the most frequently used format) or a trio/quartet (with bass and drums/percussion). The core group of Sosimi's musicians is Femi Elias (bass), Kunle Olofinjana (drums), Phil Dawson (rhythm guitar), Maurizio Ravalico (percussion),

Justin Thurgur Justin Thurgur (born 1974) is a British trombonist and composer/arranger. Biography He is most well known for his work with the English folk group Bellowhead, who he played with from its formation in 2004 until they called it a day in May 2 ...

(trombone), Tom Allan (trumpet) and Eric Rohner (tenor saxophone).

Discography

;Studio albums *''Turbulent Times'' (2002) *''Identity'' (2007) *''You No Fit Touch Am'' (2015) *''Cubafrobeat'' (with Lokkhi Terra) (2018) ;Remix albums *''You No Fit Touch Am In Dub'' (with Prince Fatty and Nostalgia 77) (2016) ;EPs *''Too Much Information (Remixes)'' (2015) *''You No Fit Touch Am Retouched'' (2015) *''You No Fit Touch Am Retouched 2'' (2017) ;Singles *"Too Much Information" (2013) *"Sanctuary" (2014) *"Full Moon" (2020)

References

External links

Dele Sosimi

Dele Sosimi , B i o g r a p h y
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sosimi, Dele Musicians from London 1963 births Living people English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba musicians English male singers English funk musicians British world music musicians Yoruba-language singers