Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (also called Refugee All Stars) is a band from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

which was formed by a group of refugees displaced to Guinea during the

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...

. Since their return to

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

in 2004, the band has toured extensively to raise awareness for humanitarian causes. Their story is documented in the 2005 documentary film '' Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars''. Their debut album, '' Living Like a Refugee'', was released on the label Anti in Europe on September 25, 2006 and in the US on September, 26 2006. Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars' second studio album, '' Rise & Shine'', was released March 23, 2010 by Cumbancha, and earned 2010 Album of the Year on the World Music Charts Europe. The album was produced by

Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fles ...

of Los Lobos, recorded at Piety Street Studio in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and features local guest musicians

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

, Washboard Chaz, and Bonerama. The band's third studio album, ''

Radio Salone ''Radio Salone'' (2012) is the third album from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars. It was produced by artist and producer Victor Axelrod aka "Ticklah," who has worked with Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Amy Winehouse and the Easy Star All Stars, a ...

'', was released on April 24, 2012 by Cumbancha. The album was produced by

Victor Axelrod Victor Axelrod is an American musician, producer, and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked primarily in the genres of reggae, Afrobeat and soul, recording and producing under his own name and using the alias ...

, aka

Ticklah Victor Axelrod is an American musician, producer, and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked primarily in the genres of reggae, Afrobeat and soul, recording and producing under his own name and using the alias ...

and recorded at Dunham Studios in Brooklyn, NY. Marking the band's 10th anniversary, their most recent album ''

Libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substanc ...

'' was released on March 18, 2014. It features elements of highlife and reggae as well as Afro-Latin rhythms. The album was recorded at Lane Gibson Recording & Mastering, produced by Chris Velan, and mixed by

Iestyn Polson Iestyn Polson is an English music producer, engineer, songwriter, musician, and mixer best known for his work with David Gray, Patti Smith and David Bowie. Originally from London, Polson is currently based in New York City. Iestyn Polson gre ...

. The band is formed of musicians Reuben M. Koroma (vocals), Ashade Pearce (vocals, rhythm guitar), Jahson Gbassay Bull (keyboard, organ, rhythm guitar), Alhaji Jeffrey Kamara aka Black Nature (rap, vocals, percussion), Mohamed Kamara aka Makengo (vocals, percussion), Augustine Kobina Valcarcel (lead guitar), Dennis Bakarr Sannoh (bass guitar, vocals), and Christopher Wagbay Davies (drum kit, percussion).

History

In the early years of the civil war,

remained on the outskirts of the most violent areas, but was attacked by rebels in the late 1990s. Among those who fled the country were musicians Reuben Koroma, his wife Grace, and Franco (Francis Langba), friends from the Freetown music scene who reconnected in the Kalia Refugee Camp in Guinea. There they began making music before being transferred to the remote Sembakounya Refugee Camp, where Arahim (Abdul Rahim Kamara), Mohammed Bangura, and Alhadji Jeffrey Kamara ("Black Nature") joined the band. A Canadian relief agency supplied the group with two old electric guitars, a microphone, and a basic sound system. One day in August 2002, American documentary filmmakers Zach Niles and Banker White, and Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Velan encountered the group during rehearsal. They had been searching nearby refugee camps in Guinea for stories like the Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, which could "balance the Western media's focus on the region's violence with a sense of African society's beauty and resilience." At the time, the band was preparing to embark on a tour of Guinean refugee camps with the help of the United Nations refugee agency. The filmmakers followed their tour for three years, recording their joyous receptions, the traumas they faced, and the production of their first album, '' Living Like a Refugee,'' back in Freetown.

International recognition

The 2005 documentary film ''Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars,'' their three albums, and U.S. tours helped expand their following, leading to performances at New York’s Central Park SummerStage, Japan’s

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japa ...

and the

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in ...

. On December 15, 2006 they appeared on

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

. The All Stars also contributed a song to the Blood Diamond film soundtrack, participated in the U2 tribute album in the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, and earned praise and backing from

Sir Paul McCartney ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, Ice Cube (an executive producer for the band's documentary film), and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

. One of "the most surreal moments of their climb to fame" was their performance opening for Aerosmith in November 2006 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Genre and musical style

Although Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars' music has been described as having a reggae feel, it is more directly influenced by the baskeda folk music of Sierra Leone which "is close to reggae in sound and spirit." Writing in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

,'' Andy Morgan describes this similarity as: Other styles evident in their albums include the West African sounds of palm-wine (or maringa), gumbe, and gbute vange, a music of the Mende people. Much of their music features the modern sounds of electric guitars, bass, and drum kits, but in their most recent album ''Libation,'' their "unplugged" style is a "return in a way to the days in the refugee camps when the band had to make do with whatever instruments they could round up or make by hand, and do without amplification and electronics."

Discography

*'' Living Like a Refugee'' (2006) *'' Rise & Shine'' (2010) *''

'' (2012) *''

'' (2014)

Filmography

*'' Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars'' (2005)

External links

Official siteCumbancha artist's pageLive at the Jazz Café, London
Gig review, 6 July 2007

References

{{Authority control Sierra Leonean refugees Sierra Leonean musical groups 2002 establishments in Guinea