SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2pm-6pm
@ Rich Mix
35-47 Bethnal Green Road
London E1 6LA
Entry: Free

London’s only free lunchtime Pan African family adventure chugs on through
with a dazzling experience of Africa and the diaspora!!!!

All aboard the legendary MWALIMU EXPRESS as we pull in to a different African city each month at Rich Mix on Sunday afternoons. And bring you only the finest music from around the continent – balafon, mbira, talking drum, molo, oud and kora are just some of the instruments to be featured live by the amazing musicians we meet at each destination. Plus on the dex spinning the tunes, your hipikatsi hosts Rita Ray and Max Reinhardt . Come listen to the stupendous storytelling sessions, play Oware, the compelling African game of strategy, And on film, ScreenStation take us from London to The Gambia in classic Nollywood Crossover style with The Mirror Boy.

On Sunday 19 February our destination is DAKAR, SENEGAL, the cradle of some of Africa’s most sublime music, from Youssou N’Dour to Orchestra Baobab, from Positive Black Soul to Baba Maal and Cheikh Lo. Today’s  live music session features a solo performance from Kora master and vocalist, DIABEL CISSOKHO . And we end the afternoon delight with our Screen Station film from Gambia.

So join us at the MWALIMU EXPRESS for a fun filled afternoon of live and recorded Senegalese music, Lucy Angell John’s Parent and Toddler dance sessions, Awale Workshop with the Oware Society, plus stalls, a well stocked bar and food close by.Play some great African games, read your young ones a book or browse a magazine while you unwind to wikkid sounds against a backdrop of fab décor and market stalls including books from Brick Lane Bookshop and T Shirts from the Motherland.

And it gets even better! We finish off our Mwalimu Express afternoon with Screen Station’s presentation of an award winning classic from Nollywood cinema – “The Mirror Boy” an enthralling journey through the picturesque terrains of The Gambia, as seen through the eyes of a London-born 12 year old boy, TIJANI. AND…The director of Mirror Boy, Obi Emelonye will be in the house to intro the film!!!

dontcha dare miss it!!!!
MWALIMU EXPRESS is brought to you by The Shrine + Screen Station

For the first time, award winning comedy promoters Knock2Bag head to Shoreditch to present a new bi-monthly night @ The Rich Mix. King of Silent Comedy The Boy With Tape On His Face headlines the bill delivering simple, clever and charming humour aimed at satisfying that hunger of delightful, wry, multi-layered comedy, he transcends the barriers of language and culture. The Boy has created one of the most accessible and enjoyable shows the World has ever seen. “his comic genius speaks for itself” – Sunday Mail

Hold onto your hats for
-Tony Law – “To see Tony Law is to inhale deep breaths of comedy oxygen” The Herald
-Brian Gittins – Pyecombe’s greasiest cafe owner and Ricky Gervais most sought after support act has been described as “Disturbing” by the Guardian. One of the funniest men on the planet – you’re in for a real treat.
-Cardinal Burns – “Favourites on the UK live comedy circuit Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns are endlessly creative and wonderfully funny” – Time Out
-Matt Rees – Welsh unsigned stand up winner.
-Colin Hoult – “Lewis Caroll meets League of Gentlemen…will draw out laughter from the deepest recesses of your soul” – Time Out”

Book Slam prepares all sorts of surprising propositions for the leap year in the company of guests including the new doyen of the short story, JON MCGREGOR, celebrating the publication of his collection ‘This Isn’t The Sort Of Thing That Happens To Someone Like You‘, the contemporary queen of jazz vocalists, HEIDI VOGEL, the warrior princess of live storytelling, RACHEL ROSE REID, and that old stager of performance poetry (it’s OK … we’re friends), FRANCESCA BEARD.

DONG – where Hip-Hop & Comedy collide – electric slides into Spring with a Superstar line-up of dope Comedians, DJs, Dancers, Videos and Hip-Hop Karajoke(y)!

The Line up includes:
The human beatbox genius BEARDYMAN
Chap-Hop superstar MR B GENTLEMAN RHYMER, who’s on a one-man mission to introduce Hip-Hop to the Queen’s English
Ex-rapper, comedian and bloody good entertainer DOC BROWN
Internet phenomena and rising star of the UK’s comedy and improvisation circuits CARIAD LLOYD.

Hosted by MC FERGUS CRAIG who is a regular on BAFTA nominated BBC sketch show Sorry I’ve Got No Head.
“He is a complete natural on stage with a brilliant grasp on observation” – Chortle

Sony Award winning KISS FM radio show presenter BIG TED on the wheels of steel

And there’ll be exclusive videos; performances from the DONG Break Dancers; prizes for the best dressed B-Boy (or Girl) and HIP-HOP KARAOKE so throw on your Phat Gold Chains and get ready to bless the mic and be a Suburban superstar! Word to your Mothers!

BEARDYMAN COMEDY CLIP

DONG – where Hip-Hop & Comedy collide – smashes into 2012 with a stellar line-up of super-dope comedians, DJs, Dancers, Videos and Hip-Hop Karaoke!

Line Up Includes:

Irish super comedian, the multi award winning ANDREW MAXWELL who recently made his debut on BBC 1’s legendary Live At The Apollo!
“One of the best comics around… A consummate raconteur”  – Time Out

Musical comedy double act GINGER & BLACK.
“So sharp they’re in danger of impaling the audience” – The Guardian

Rising star ED GAMBLE who is co-writer and host of the Chortle Award nominated Peacock and Gamble podcast.
“Moments of stupendous invention” – The List

Comedian, writer and social commentator DANE BAPTISTE.
“…engaging, smart and with many a sharp line. This chap is going places” – Tyrone Atkins, Comedy Heat

Hosted by MC FERGUS CRAIG who is a regular on BAFTA nominated BBC sketch show Sorry I’ve Got No Head.
“He is a complete natural on stage with a brilliant grasp on observation” – Chortle

Sony Award winning KISS FM radio show presenter BIG TED on the wheels of steel

And there’ll be exclusive videos; performances from the DONG Break Dancers; prizes for the best dressed B-Boy (or Girl) and HIP-HOP KARAOKE so throw on your Phat Gold Chains and get ready to bless the mic and be a Suburban superstar! Word Big Bird!

Check out the DONG promo video:

Book Slam has teamed up with Canongate Books and XL Recordings to celebrate the life of legendary poet, novelist and hip hop pioneer, Gil Scott-Heron with the launch of his posthumous memoir, ‘The Last Holiday‘, at the sumptuous Clapham Grand. Twenty-one years ago, Gil traversed America with Stevie Wonder to gather popular support for a national holiday for Martin Luther King. This 41 city tour provides the framework for a remarkable tale of a unique life.

A stellar line-up at Book Slam includes host, the inimitable Salena Godden, dynamic young poets Kate Tempest and Ben Mellor, and iconic DJs and tastemakers Jamie XX and Gilles Peterson playing a one-off, back-to-back musical tribute to the great man.

For more on Gil Scott Heron including a short film of part of the last interview he did before he died and to check out exclusive readings from ‘The Last Holiday’ visit Cannongate’s website.

Visit the Book Slam website for more info.

Jamie xx’s stunning remix of Gil Scott Heron’s ‘New York is Killing Me’:

‘I’m New Here’ from Gil Scott Heron’s final album:

1 Night, 30 Gigs, 30 Live Streams

Taking over the unmistakable EDF Energy London Eye on Thursday 13^th October 2011, Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) put on a one-night festival in the sky – ‘Revolutions in Sound’ - filling each of the 30 capsules with influential producers, DJs and bands. Audio from each of the 30 gigs was streamed live on the web via the RBMA website.

The Shrine worked with the RBMA and BigBox Media to programme each of the pods. The line-up that was put together showcased the cream of the capital’s burgeoning underground scenes and included pop stars Professor Green and Ms Dynamite, dubstep trailblazers Skream and Benga with Sergeant Pokes, drum & bass pioneer Goldie - with his Metalheadz collective, Roller Express featuring the Steel City’s Toddla T & Redlight, gentleman rudeboy David Rodigan, and Carnival stalwarts Channel One Sound System.  We also worked with some of London’s top clubs including FabricLive and Deviation who took their own capsules, adding their signature sounds and acts to the mix.

“A unique experience in an amazing setting and one which many will count as their highlight of the year” – Daily Mail online

On top of the 30 capsule gigs, the forecourt at the base of the London Eye played host to a “Silent Disco” with guests being able listen via headphones to feeds from the pods and performances from DJs on the illuminated Thameside. Again, we helped to programme is area and the DJs that appeared included BBC Radio 1’s Tim Westwood, MJ Cole and Goldierocks.

The event was the final stop on a global tour, calling at 10 previous Red Bull Music Academy host cities – Berlin, Detroit, New York, Sao Paolo, Cape Town, Melbourne, Paris, Toronto and Rome – building up to the 14th annual Academy in Madrid in autumn 2011.

Listen to the live recordings and get  more information about the event here.

Read the Daily Mail online’s 5 star review of the night here.

Revolutions In Sound video:

The Mayor’s Thames Festival is London’s largest outdoor arts festival, which takes place over a weekend every September along the River Thames from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge and beyond.

It one of the capital’s most-loved events that brings together Londoners of all ages and from all communities to celebrate their city and the River Thames through a fabulous free weekend of arts, spectacle and entertainment. It transforms outdoor spaces on and around the River Thames with a mixture of music, dancing, street arts, river races, carnival, pyrotechnics, art installations, massed choirs, food and feasting. The finale is a magical illuminated Night Carnival followed by a fireworks display fired from the centre of the river itself.

Main Stage

In 2010 & 2011 The Shrine programmed the Barclaycard Main Stage, which brought the best underground and up & coming music acts to the festival. In 2010 the stage was located under the London Eye in Jubliee Gardens and in 2011 it was outside the Tate Modern overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral.

The 2011 the line-up included the fantastic hip-hop of Mercury Music Prize nominated Ghostpoet, the beautiful soul of Amy Winehouse’s niece Dionne Bromfield, the Afrobeat/grime mash-up of Afrikan Boy, ESKA, Lewis Floyd Henry and many more.

And in 2010 the line-up featured the Mercury Music Prize winning rapper Speech Debelle; cuban party band Ska Cubano; experimental rock band  The Invisible; Hip Hop legend Ty; Kitty, Daisy and Lewis; and many more.

Check out some pictures from 2010 below:

The Horse Box hosted the sexiest line-up of this country’s rising stars ever assembled in a … umm … Horse Box. All genres and styles were represented, all tastes catered for, and all horseplay was positively encouraged by the notorious JW Seasonnaires – the pacesetters who loosed the reins and made light of heavy going all the way to the winning post…

The Horse Box visited Beach Break Live (17th-19th June), The Secret Garden Party (21st-24th July) and Standon Calling (12th-14th August) and the line-ups included Redlight Ft Dread MC, Hervé, Siden, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Zinc, Little Boots, MJ Cole, Jackmaster, Toddla T Ft MC Secrocee and many more!

It was an epic summer and the place to be was most definitely a Horse Box! Check out highlights from the festivals below, and for more info and pictures visit the offical JW Seasonnaires Horse Box page.

Highlights from Beach Break Live

Beach Break Live | JW Seasonnaires Horse Box from Jack Wills on Vimeo.

Highlights from The Secret Garden Party

Secret Garden Party | JW Seasonnaires Horse Box from Jack Wills on Vimeo.

Highlights from Standon Calling

Standon Calling | JW Seasonnaires Horse Box from Jack Wills on Vimeo.

The line-up included lectures and DJs sets from David Rodigan, Rob Da Bank, Norman Jay, and Toddla T. Live music from Speech Debelle, Andreya Triana, The Sound of Rum, and The Drop. Supported by a number of ex-RBMA participants.

We put together a podcast from each event, which you can listen to below. Each one feature highlights from the lectures, interviews with the performers and live tracks!

LISTEN TO THE SHOREDITCH HOUSE SESSIONS [Part IV] PODCAST BELOW