Togo All Stars are ready for their European tour

Togo All Stars warm your cold winter days with funk and afrobeat. They deliver the best of Africa's past and present; from vadou to afrobeat, highlife and funk. With a new single 'Let Them Say', a brand new album 'FA' and after a successful festival summer, including performances at Lowlands and Into The Great Wide Open, they're ready for their European tour. Don't miss them at Ancienne Belgique on February 16th or Cactus Club on February 17th.

Look closely at the map of West Africa and find the city of Lomé, and try to imagine what the music of this area sounds like. A hundred miles to the west is Accra, Ghana, where the highlife movement originated in the 1950s. Another 160 miles to the east is Cotonou, the birthplace of the vaunted Orchestre Poly Rythmo. And another 50 miles further on you enter Lagos, where Fela Kuti pioneered his Afrobeat.

All these aforementioned influences bubble up in the music of one of Lomé's leading bands: Togo All Stars. To this, the group brings out another highly original element of its own: the Togolese sound rooted in voodoo rhythms and afrofunk.

The band combines the best of two generations of musicians Singer Aguey Cudjoe was an afropunk innovator in Accra in the 1970s - a period when West African music was in its creative peak - and became consumed by American jazz and soul. Next to him is Awumakuga Otu Rodrigue, currently Lomé's most talented singer; his mission is to continue the Afrobeat legacy of his idol Fela Kuti. Drummer Agbozo learned his tricks from names like Malian musician Cheikh Tidiane Seck and saxophonist Elga Branco. Before Agbozo moved to France, he played with the legendary Youssou N'Dour.

The heavy-rhythmic clash of smooth guitars and deep horns are the foundation of the All Stars. Over the years, the band has maintained a spectacular live reputation. Shows at festivals like North Sea Jazz, Down The Rabbit Hole and in venues like Paradiso have been met with great enthusiasm.

Since Togo All Stars' 2018 debut, the band has constantly renewed itself. Creative leader Energy Federator (Ekue Leopold Messan) recruited players from abroad to play on the new album FA, which is named after the spiritual teachings that carry the stories, rhythms, songs and time-tested wisdom of ancestors.