Saturday, October 19 8:00 PM Artisphere Arlington, VA

Janka Nabay is the undisputed king of bubu, a frantically-paced dance music with ancient origins in Sierra Leone. Janka radicalized bubu by mixing drum machine kicks and pulsing synths with its traditionally airy hum of blown bamboo shoots and carburetor pipes. Now living DC, Janka has teamed up with the Bubu Gang—the first Bubu band ever in America—featuring members of Brooklyn’s Skeletons and Gang Gang Dance. Together they’ve created a wild, high-octane fusion that blends bubu with extended improvisations, a la 70s Miles Davis, hypnotic Afro-beat rhythms and psychedelic rock.

Tal National is a 13-piece band from Niger that performs a high energy musical fusion of original compositions and modern interpretations of African folk songs using musical traditions of different ethnic Nigerien groups—from Hausa’s Fuji percussion, the Tuareg assouf or “blues” to Songhai’s guitar style. Signed to England’s FatCat Records in April 2013, Tal National is embarking on their first U.S. tour to promote Kaani, their first worldwide release.

www.artisphere.com