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Dele
Sosimi is a top Afrobeat performer who was born in Hackney,
London.
Going back to his school days in Nigeria to find out when he
first took a keen interest in music, he used the school piano
to teach himself to play Fela Kuti’s music. He recalls
his grandfather being a church organist who had a great influence
on his piano-playing. From age 14, Dele also started to play
guitar and was a backing singer in the school band "Hidden
Truth" after picking up a few foundational rudiments from
the music teacher at Igbobi College.
From 1980-1986 Dele was in Fela Kuti’s band Egypt 80.
They toured all over Europe and USA. In the years 1987-1992
Dele was in Femi Kuti’s Jazz Quartet, they toured Benin
Republic, Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
During 1986-1995 Dele toured France, Spain, Austria, Holland,
Belgium, Switzerland, UK, Germany, Denmark, USA, Canada, Ivory
Coast, Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana with Femi Kuti and the
Positive Force [co-founder].
Dele came to be based in Britain at the end of December 1995.
In 1996, he started playing as a resident musician in some of
the London Nigerian venues, initially playing as a duo, then
later on forming Gbedu Resurrection, which he led to several
London venues, such as the Africa Centre, Taylors and The Shrine
He also played for 2 of the Nigerian Independence Day Functions
in 1997 and 1998, held at Hammersmith Palais and Lagoonda Nite
Club respectively.
Top venues in London where Dele has played since 2000 include:
the South Bank Halls (Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room)
and Smollensky’s. Dele started 2003 with a bang that can
only be attributed to the successful release of his album Turbulent
Times at the beginning of 2002. Following this, in 2003
Dele featured his 14-piece strong Afrobeat Orchestra at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, and at the x.trax showcase in
Manchester in March and May repsectively. Dele then went on
to storm and rock the Jazz Café, in June 2003. At this
show he performed several new tracks from his forthcoming CD.
Dele Sosimi now performs in three formats – as the Afrobeat
Acoustic Trio, as a 6-piece group,
called Dele Sosimi’s Gbedu and |
the
other as a minimum 10-piece Afrobeat Orchestra. Some of Dele
Sosimi’s original compositions currently being played
include ‘Gbedu 1’, ‘Big Cat Fat Cat’,
‘Turbulent Tymes’, ‘Di Godfada’ &
‘Phase 2 (What Next?)’. Others include; ‘Wahala
O’, ‘Solid Block’, ‘Stop it Don’t
Do That’, ‘No Place To Be Shy’ and ‘Suru
Ni’.
Dele says that his children are very interested in his music
and are currently learning different instruments. He goes on
to say “I aspire to be great in what I do and this is
a continuous thing. Also to be a role model to other musicians.”
and “Life throws challenges all the time. The ability
to take on the challenges to the best of your current ability
will make you better prepared for the next ones.”
Following a passion and burning desire to evolve Afrobeat to
its next level, and play quite simply but breathlessly Afro
Groove, Dele as a composer, singer and entertainer, has incorporated
the piano into his Afro Groove and is popular for his percussive
style of delivering the block chords first introduced and used
tirelessly by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Dele Sosimi has been dubbed
the King of Afrobeat piano.
A review attesting to the quality of Dele Sosimi’s performance
is included in the inner sleeve of the CD released in 2000 entitled
Afrobeat …No Go Die! Any one who has recently
seen Dele with his band at some of the 2003 summer festivals
in London including Camberwell, and the Respect Festival at
the Millenium Dome in Greenwich (to mention but 2) will confirm
that he is definitely the talk of the town! His
own web site address is www.delesosimi.org |
Dele
Sosimi