LOCAL PROFILE

SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS

The Shaolin Afronauts are Adelaide’s answer to cutting edge Afrobeats. They give good soul, they are mysterious and they are coming to a venue near you… check them out on Sat Aug 23 at Ed Castle for the Onion and Fringe Benefits SHAM! party. Word.

Shaolin Afronauts sounds like... Man and beast in perfect harmony.
And we stand out because... No one has ever played live Afrobeat this raw in Adelaide before and you’ll never know who we are.
Shaolin Afronauts is called Shaolin Afronauts because... We are kung fu Afro lovers baby.
Our love affair for music all started when... We first heard James Brown and Fela Kuti. Those guys changed everything.
What track of yours is on rotation at Fresh FM? The track is called Kilimanjaro. It is written about a young warrior who must climb the mountain and stay on the top for eight days and eight nights. It documents the climb, the perils of the journey, the extreme cold on the top of the mountain and the warrior spirit he finds in the heavens of Africa.
Best thing about local scene? It’s been a long time coming but the Adelaide soul funk scene is really starting to happen. We supported The Transatlantics at their album launch earlier this year and they were killing it! The best thing about the Adelaide scene is SHIMMY SHIMMY at Rocket Saturday nights, especially when Brother Irwin plays Fela.
If we were a movie we’d be... A Nigerian remake of Fistful Of Dollars.
Do you have an album coming out? We have a four-track 12” coming out in about three months. It features the tracks Kilimanjaro and The Quiet Lion listeners may have heard featured on Fresh as well as two other tracks recorded with a Nigerian Choir.
One musician Shaolin Afronauts would like to collaborate with? Probably Tony Allen, the original drummer in Fela’s band and co-founder of Afrobeat, either that or a mad 18 piece collaboration between us and the Antibalas.
Most underrated music star? Ever checked out that site called Awesome Tapes From Africa? Its all these ‘60s and ‘70s African tapes as MP3s online. Everything on that is underrated and awesome!
Most cherished album? Roforofo Fight.
Where can we see you working your music magic? We are raging the SHAM! stage on Sat Aug 23 and there is talk of an Afrobeat night at Rocket featuring Afrobeats premier Australian DJ, Melbourne’s Chris Gill, sometime in October.
Plans in the pipeline? World domination perhaps? Definitely an album and hopefully some collaborations with some of the founders of Afrobeat. Hopefully a Nigerian tour at some point soon.

 

For more info on Shaolin Afronauts head to <freshfm.com.au> or listen to Fresh Air on 92.7 every Monday from 8pm to 10pm to hear more local talent.