Extra Soul Perception

13 November 2019 - Press release

Extra Soul Perception (ESP.) is a creative collaboration that brings together innovative artists from the UK, Kenya and Uganda for a week-long writing camp in Nairobi. The result will be an audio-visual album, documentary and series of events in East Africa and the UK.

· K15, Maxwell Owin, Lynda Dawn, Lex Amor, Karun, Hibotep, Faizal Mostrixx and Labdi spend a week in Nairobi from 24th Nov to make an album (to be released via Waella's Choice)
· All involved artists embark on a UK tour in Feb 2020, stopping off in London, Manchester and Liverpool.
· Music workshop and panel talk in London, followed by film celebrating multi-national collaborations.
· Seed-funded by British Council and Arts Council England

ESP. aims to create new tangents in soul music, inspired by the fusion experiments of American saxophonist Monk Higgins, on his 1968 album of the same name. It’s led by an open-minded approach of harmonising different sounds, techniques and traditions, to celebrate commonality across borders and change perceptions of a long-established genre.

It's been facilitated by newArts new Audiences. Created by the British Council, new Arts new Audiences (nAnA) is an annual open call for 18 to 35-year-old artists, arts organisations and art collectives from the UK and East Africa to create new art together, and to showcase this art to audiences across these countries.