Reinventing global sounds, throwing away the rulebook. 

www.kabantu.com

Kabantu is a collective from Manchester who unravel new marriages of music from around the globe to celebrate the space where different cultures collaborate.

"Kabantu" means "of the people" - stemming from the South African philosophy of Ubuntu - "I am who I am because of who we all are".

Highlights so far include performing at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, live sessions for BBC Free Thinking Festival, BBC Radio 3 In Tune, World on 3 and an array of prestigious festivals and venues including Lucerne Festival, Luxembourg Philharmonie, The Bridgewater Hall, TedX, The Sage Gateshead, Cadogan Hall, Celtic Connections, Musicport, Spitalfields Festival and Warwick, Orkney, Shetland and Cambridge Folk Festivals.

Kabantu are the winners of the Royal Over-Seas League Competition 2017.
In 2018, Kabantu released their debut album "Of the People" to critical acclaim, produced by the Mercury-nominated Gerry Diver and supported by the Hattori Foundation and the PRS Foundation's Open Fund for Music Creators.

2019 saw Kabantu collaborate creatively with the BBC Singers at the Cutty Sark and undertake a tour of England and Wales with Welsh orchestra Sinfonia Cymru. They have recently toured Switzerland and Luxembourg and featured as guest artists in Yolanda Brown's brand-new show for CBeebies.

Upcoming projects for Kabantu include collaborations with the Manchester Camerata at HOME, launching their brand new early years show “Sea Hear” commissioned by Lancaster Arts, showcasing at the English Folk Expo (Manchester Folk Festival), making their debut at Shrewsbury Folk Festival and returning to Lichfield International Festival with a  co-written show featuring the trailblazing clog dancer and English folk musician, Hannah James (Jigdoll).

Kabantu are Folk Alliance International 2019 Official Showcase Artists, Selected Making Music Magazine, Live Music Now and BBC Introducing Artists.

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