Category: Featured News

Project Zulu Choir visit Ujima Radio!

On Friday 2nd June Ujima Radio welcomed the entire force of Project Zulu to the station. After a day of busking and raising vital funds the Project Zulu Choir of 20 school children aged between 8-11 years old came to Ujima Radio and performed live on The Word with Miranda! The Ujima Family were moved to tears by this group of inspirational children and adults who after a long day busking in Broadmead found the energy to come and perform live on the airwaves.  If you missed this incredible performance then catch up on our Listen Again service here:

https://podcasts.canstream.co.uk/ujimaradio/index.php?cat=The%20Word%20with%20Miranda%20Rae

Or even better book your tickets NOW and see them perform live at Clifton College Chapel Friday 9th June, book here.

After a five-year hiatus, the incredibly talented and inspirational Project Zulu children’s choir from the Madadeni Township in South Africa is set to return to the UK in May for a three-week tour.

The 20 schoolchildren, aged from eight to 15-years-old, will be entertaining audiences across Bristol, Bath and the South West, from 20 May until 11 June.  They will perform a range of traditional Zulu songs and dances, including gospel songs and gumboot dances in full Zulu attire.

This will be the first time the nine boys and 11 girls have travelled abroad and they, along with four accompanying adults, will be staying with local host families in Bristol for the duration of the tour.

Money raised during the trip will be split equally between the two schools – Mntimande Primary and Jobstown Primary – and used to build new classrooms to reduce overcrowding.

Sinaye Phakathi, choir member from Jobstown Primary School, said: “I enjoy singing in the choir because it makes me feel comfortable and it gives me hope. My favourite song is ‘Ngiyakuthanda Jesu’ (I love you Jesus). I’m excited to meet my family in Bristol in the UK.”

Ndomiso Zungu works at Mntimande Primary School and says: “I am a music teacher and I am also a choir conductor for Project Zulu Choir. The choir are so, so excited, you can even see that in our rehearsals. They want to go and showcase their talents. They want to go and sing, they want to go and show people there how do we sing, how do we dance. They want to show them our music.”

The choir tour is part of Project Zulu, a UWE Bristol initiative which has been working in partnership with South African township schools to support the delivery of educational development projects since 2012, with the most recent volunteering visit by students and staff taking place in February 2023.

The first Project Zulu choir tour took place in 2013 and continued biennially until it was halted by the pandemic. Now, with a mixture of ticketed and free events including busking which is sure to stop shoppers in their tracks, the children hope to wow audiences with their infectious love of music once again.

Ben Knight, Project Zulu founder and Senior Lecturer at UWE Bristol, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming back the Project Zulu choir to the UK for the fifth time. The 2023 choir tour will have a big focus in and around the South West to ensure all our local supporters have the chance to celebrate their return, 10 years on from the first tour, and attend their outstanding performances.

“There’s no doubt the choir’s extraordinary musical talent will draw in the crowds, but the tour’s success is also vital to the ongoing development of the children’s schools and their education. Both schools currently have in excess of 60+ pupils per classroom making effective learning a challenge.”

In addition to the concerts, the choir will visit eight schools in and around Bristol during the tour, offering cultural exchange opportunities and musical workshops. These schools are all fundraising to support the choir; the money raised by the Bristol school pupils will go directly back to schools in South Africa to help build their classrooms. This is a unique opportunity for these schoolchildren to meet the beneficiaries they are fundraising for.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to see this group of talented young people perform, but it’s also part of a much wider initiative which brings so many benefits to the children and schools in South Africa, as well as Bristol schoolchildren, our students and staff,” added Naomi Steeds, Project Zulu Coordinator.

“Please do give the Project Zulu choir a warm welcome to the South West and get your tickets booked before they sell out.”

To purchase tickets and to view the full list of dates, visit the Project Zulu website.

Highlights include:

Friday 2nd June: LIVE ON THE WORD ON UJIMA RADIO!

Busking day, central Bristol (public spaces) all day. FREE EVENT (location and times to be announced)

Friday 9th June: Finale concert – Clifton College Chapel, 7pm (Ticketed)

Inispired Film Festival is back for 2023 curated by Cables & Cameras!

This year’s Inspired Takeover by Cables & Cameras at Watershed is an action-packed one-day event on Sat 3rd June with screenings, talks and previews to celebrate homegrown filmmakers of colour from across the country.

Featuring contributions from rising stars of the indie film scene the Williams brothers AKA Mandem collective, and Dominique Unsworth from Resource Productions, plus a special preview of new feature film Chevalier – which opens at Watershed on Fri 9 June, a biographical drama about 18th century French-Caribbean musical prodigy Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Whether you are an aspiring filmmaker trying to find your path into the industry, an established creative interested in finding ways to develop your practice, or are interested in discovering films by some of the most exciting creative talent out there, there’s something for everyone.

Gary Thompson, Cables & Cameras Founder and Producer says:

“I set up Cables & Cameras to inspire the next generation of filmmakers of colour and I’m looking forward to this latest Inspired takeover day at Watershed which brings together screenings, discussions, and networking opportunities for emerging creatives in the Southwest.
So don’t miss out – take this opportunity to get involved.“

Watershed will be offering more affordable tickets for those with low incomes by implementing a ‘pay-what-you-can’ format for the daytime events at Inspired.

Book your tickets on the Watershed website.

@cablescameras @w_shed @mandemcollective

#bristol #filmmaking #filmmaker #ujimaradio #inspiredfilmfestival

Accomplished record label Acid Jazz & Other Illicit Grooves celebrate 35 magnificent years of trailblazing music with a series of residencies touring locations across the UK where Acid Jazz was arguably the strongest influence in Birmingham, Leeds, London, Bristol and Luton.

The Exhibition starts Weds 10th May and runs until Sat 13th May with doors open 10am to 6pm and then the evenings come alive with music, Q&A’s and of course Omar on Thursday!

The Music, Arts, Dance & Culture Exhibition will host exclusive Q&As with Acid Jazz stalwarts of the scene, Eddie Piller (Acid Jazz Records/DJ), Dean Rudland (Acid Jazz Records/DJ), Omar (Singer), Snowboy (DJ), John Stapleton (DJ), Perry Louis (Jazzcotech dancer and DJ), Adam Regan (DJ), The Dig Family (DJs and promoters), Adrian Gibson (AGMP), with live performances plus many more guest artists, DJs and dancers TBA.

Expect to see exciting never been seen rare video footage, magazine and radio interviews & features, iconic photography, posters and flyers, record label artworks of the music and musicians from the dance floor archives.

The ground breaking movement unleashed its manifesto of alternative sounds; funk, street-soul, latin, hip hop with jazz, reggae & jazz poetry, disco & acid house in London club land, hosting packed out parties at the notorious Wag in Soho, Dingwalls in Camden and Blue Note in Hoxton, achieving commercial recognition with early signings that became international stars; Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, James Taylor Quartet, Galliano and cult artists such as; Mother Earth, Corduroy, Chris Bands, The Night Trains, The Last Poets, A Man Called Adam, Snowboy & The Latin Section.. All originally performed at the underground venues and warehouse spaces.

Acid Jazz & Other Illicit Grooves Exhibition encapsulates the musical abundance, nostalgia and success of this pioneering label, spanning more than 3.5 decades, documenting the underground scenes to majestic independent status and standing the test of time.

Some fascinating ‘Acid Jazz’ based facts…..

• Acid Jazz was coined in 1987 as a term by DJ Chris Bangs at an Acid House night.

• Acid Jazz record started as a bedroom operation established by Eddie Piller and Gilles Peterson within 3 months of the first 45 release (Frederic Lies Stil by Galliano).

• The label expanded rapidly and re-located to London’s East End in Hoxton Square also headquarters of The Blue Note, Touch Magazine, Straight No Chaser, DJ Bob Jones, Somethin’ Else Productions.

• Acid Jazz and other Illicit Grooves Exhibition successful Launch Party took place at Leake Street, London on Thursday 25th November 2021 featuring Omar (live), Leah Weller (live), DJs Femi Fem (Young Disciples), Eddie Piller, Snowboy, Dean Rudland and lots of celebrities in attendance.

• AGMP have a long & proud history promoting Acid Jazz & Soul Funk artists to date.

Book your tickets now on the Lost Horizon website: https://www.losthorizonlive.com/

Harry Belafonte, Actor, Writer & Activist has sadly passed away.

Robeson opposed not only racial prejudice in the United States but also western colonialism in Africa. Belafonte refused to perform in the American South from 1954 until 1961.

In 1960, Belafonte appeared in a campaign commercial for Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy later named Belafonte cultural advisor to the Peace Corps. Belafonte supported Lyndon B. Johnson for the 1964 United States presidential election.

Belafonte, Castro & Hip Hop:

Belafonte was a longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy. He began making controversial political statements on the subject in the early 1980s. At various times, he made statements opposing the U.S. embargo on Cuba; praising Soviet peace initiatives; attacking the U.S. invasion of Grenada; praising the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; honouring Ethel and Julius Rosenberg; and praising Fidel Castro. Belafonte is also known for his visit to Cuba that helped ensure hip-hop‘s place in Cuban society. According to Geoffrey Baker’s article “Hip hop, Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba”, in 1999, Belafonte met with representatives of the rap community immediately before meeting with Castro. This meeting resulted in Castro’s personal approval of, and hence the government’s involvement in, the incorporation of rap into his country’s culture.