Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures - Linton Kwesi Johnson, Queen Omega & The Royal Souls, Roots Daughters

In the organizer's words:

Linton Kwesi Johnson
Reading

Linton Kwesi Johnson came to London in 1963 at the age of 11, making him one of the first generation of Caribbean immigrants to the UK. He joined the British Black Panthers at secondary school, studied sociology at Goldsmith College and has been active throughout his life as a poet, activist, Grammy-nominated musician, teacher, journalist, publicist and producer. His first collection of poetry, Voices of the Living and the Dead, was published in 1974, and as editor of Race Today magazine from the 1970s onwards, he was responsible for the dissemination of African, African-American and Afro-Caribbean voices in England. He was the first Black author to be included in the Penguin Publishing Group's Modern Classics canon and was awarded the Pinter Prize by British PEN in 2020. Almost 50 years after his debut as a writer, the first collection of his prose works, Time Come, was published in 2023.

His first record Dread Beat an' Blood was released in 1978, and his catalog now includes over a dozen albums, most of them released on his own label LKJ Records, on which he has also been producing fellow artists since 1981. His records are among the best-selling reggae albums worldwide. Extensive concert tours with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band have taken him through Africa, Asia, America and Europe.

Johnson has always seen writing as a political act and poetry and music as a means of cultural struggle. It is no coincidence that he is opening this year's Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures with a reading of his poems.

Queen Omega & The Royal Souls
Queen Omega combines reggae, calypso, soca, jazz and soul. Born in San Fernando in Trinidad, she took part in talent shows at the age of 9, encouraged by her mother, and began writing her own calypsos, which brought her onto television relatively quickly. She came into contact with the reggae and dancehall currents of the Caribbean at an early age through her family of musicians, but also loved soul divas such as Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. Both influenced her, both can be heard in her music, the craft of which she learned from scratch, initially as a backing singer in various soca formations, before becoming an icon of roots reggae, with her own pointed lyrics, deeply rooted in her Rastafarian beliefs and often with a critical, feminist message. After a ten-year break, during which Queen Omega devoted herself primarily to her family, she made a brilliant comeback in 2023. She performed at the Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures together with the band The Royal Souls.

Linton Kwesi Johnson
Poetry Reading

Linton Kwesi Johnson came to London in 1963 as part of the first wave of Caribbean immigrants. He joined the British Black Panthers while still at secondary school, studied Sociology at Goldsmiths College, and he is a poet, activist, and Grammy-nominated musician, alongside his activities as a teacher, journalist, publicist, and producer. His first volume of poetry, Voices of the Living and the Dead, was published in 1974. From the 1970s, as editor of the magazine Race Today, he helped to spread African, Afro-American, and Afro-Caribbean voices in Britain. He was the first Black writer to be included in Penguin's canonical Modern Classics series, and previously was awarded the English PEN's Pinter Prize. In 2023, half a century after his debut as a writer, he published Time Come, the first collection of his prose works.

His first record, Dread Beat an' Blood, came out in 1978 and he has since released more than a dozen albums, many of them on his own LKJ Records label, where he has also been producing fellow artists since 1981. His records are among the best-selling reggae albums worldwide. With the Dennis Bovell Dub Band, he has played concerts throughout Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

Johnson has always understood writing as a political act and poetry and music as tools in a cultural struggle. As part of this year's Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures, he opens with a reading of his poems.

Queen Omega & The Royal Souls

Born in San Fernando, Trinidad, Queen Omega combines reggae, calypso, soca, jazz, and soul. At the age of nine, encouraged by her mother, she started participating in talent shows and writing her own calypsos, and soon made it onto television. Through her musical family, she came into contact with Caribbean reggae and dancehall at an early age, but also loved soul divas like Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, whose influence can be heard in her music. She learned her trade from the ground up, starting out as a back-up singer in various soca bands before becoming an icon of roots reggae with her own pointed lyrics, deeply rooted in her Rastafarian faith and often with a critical, feminist message. In 2023, after a ten-year break devoted mainly to her family, Queen Omega returned to performing. At Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures she performs with the band The Royal Souls.

Price information:

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