AFRO-CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL EXRAVAGANZA: Featuring Sila and the Afrofunk Experience May 25, 2007

Bring your dancing shoes to the hottest San Francisco Carnival Kick-off Party featuring Sila and the Afrofunk Experience (Africa's James Brown) and the exotic, circus, sun-filled music of Rupa and the April Fishes. To top it off, DJ Jeremiah will spin Afro-Brazilian, Afro-house, groove infused jams.

SILA AND THE AFROFUNK EXPERIENCE

Bay Area dance kings Sila and the Afrofunk Experience (http://afrofunk,net ) combine an international vision with dazzling musicianship. Frontman Sila Mutungi rivets audiences with a combination of James Brown's punchy grooves and Fela Kuti's relentless West African swing. Their debut "The Funkiest Man in Africa" blows away listeners with its relentless rhythm and sharp songcraft, but can't prepare you for the band's potent onstage energy. Sila sings of the African experience: the problems he and many others face every day, in a language understood throughout the world. His lyrics and beats reflect the music, the language, the energy, and the spirit of growing up in Africa. James Brown would be proud.
-East Bay Express

"The band reflects the vibrant, exciting soukous and Afro-beat sounds of the musician's homeland in its new, dance-floor-friendly album, "Funkiest Man in Africa." - The San Francisco Chronicle

"Embracing his African roots and his love of funk, Sila channeled James Brown for inspiration and six years later, with the help of his renowned cast of bandmates, he's achieved success without having to compromise his heritage (he sings in both Swahili and English) or his musical tastes." - The San Francisco Examiner

Sila's onstage presence-a combination of charisma, enthusiasm and raw sex appeal-along with the band's infectious dance floor centered grooves have earned him the title "the James Brown of Africa", a moniker he accepts with an ever present smile." - The Oakland Post

RUPA AND THE APRIL FISHES

If local singer Rupa were a movie, she would be Amélie meets Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown meets Latcho Drom meets Do the Right Thing. She'd be set in India and Berkeley...She would be (and, in fact, is) an instant cult classic among the smart, idealistic, international set. San Francisco Weekly

DJ JEREMIAH

s a boy growing up in Liberia, Jeremiah was a music fanatic. He loved to listen and dance to traditional and Afrobeat music blaring from local radios stations.

He learned early that music is supposed to make you feel good. With his passion for world music, Jeremiah has amassed a great collection of dance tunes that has kept the world music fans joyful and grooving — reminiscent of his childhood days.

Official Website: http://afrofunk.net