Cyprus Mail 23 June 2024 - by Eleni Philippou
AFROBANANA FESTIVAL
Lefkara Village, Larnaca District
4-7 July
Four-day music and arts festival with a line-up of international and local bands and DJs. July 4-7. Lefkara village, Larnaca district. Presale tickets at www.afrobanana.com
Lefkara gets ready to host another lively edition of AfroBanana Festival. On July 4, 5, 6 and 7, the village will come to life to the sounds of afro, funk, jazz, Latin, psych folk, techno and more as a line-up of DJs and bands take the stage. Dance floors, art corners, workshops and world music will all come together in the rural, charming village.
Performing on Saturday night is a supergroup from New York, The Budos Band, who will kick off their sold-out European summer tour with this Cyprus performance. Their unique sound knows no musical boundaries and has won fans from Iggy Pop and Madonna, to Charles Bradley and Amy Winehouse, with whom they have collaborated. Their music has become familiar to many from the soundtrack of the popular series The Bear.
The explosive Arp Frique & Family, frequent collaborators of veteran Nigerian musician Orlando Julius, who mesmerised AfroBanana fans in 2016, will bring their dazzling disco from legendary festival stages like Dekmantel and Womad to the AfroBanana stage on Friday July 5.
On Thursday, when the festival begins, the experimental multi-disciplinarian, Larry Gus, joins forces with Sofronis Sofroniou for some onstage alchemy.
More international artists will hit the stages – the explosively danceable Mundial, avant-garde trio MOb, Tonno Disko with his boundless energy, Thabo, NIXXIE with groovy techno from Mykonos and Kornelia who takes audiences for a spin around the Middle East with her Ladies on Records.
The festival will also showcase local acts such as Buzz’ Ayaz, who will unveil new psych folk tracks, Spherical Cow, currently based in the Netherlands, where they usually improvise experimentally, Sonica, who are planning a special performance together with saxophonist Marios Charalampous, as well as, KASSKA, who raps in Cypriot with enchanting lo-fi beats.
On the decks, numerous talents will play together and solo, including AfroBanana veterans Afrofox and Aparapira Parape, and fresh collaborators like n o k x Coach, Raif & Alineat and Not Mature Enough.
Off stage, organisers will create spaces that nurture mind and body, encourage art creation, thinking green and community building.
What’s more, Animafest screenings in specially designed birdhouses will take place alongside installations and interactive workshops for all ages, as well as a new school set-up in the heart of the village by the Forest School Cyprus.
The spirit of cooperation and creativity that prevails at AfroBanana has brought together artists, designers, and socially-engaged organisations, such as the Centre for Social Innovation, OPU Collective, Friends of the Earth, Terra Cypria, λefkart, and ModulAct, complementing the musical lineup with art, games, walks, and some unexpected surprises, like the 3D-printed sphere that illuminates Dome 9 with kinetic energy.
And that’s not all. In the festival plaza, in between domes and stages, visitors will also find an interactive platform by Urban Gorillas, the ever-popular hammock tower, and delicious street food with modern Cypriot offerings from Maeirko, Lizzy’s Kitchen and Pikla, and plant-based noodles from Garden Gourmet, as well as cocktails served by Last Word devised exclusively for AfroBanana. Cyprus’ Pastry Chef and Young Chef of the Year, Marios Karagiorgis and Antriana Efstratiou, will also join, serving up afrobanoffee lokmades created just for the festival.
On the last day of the festival, which is free for all, a celebratory finale will take place where a long-table feast becomes centre-stage, co-starring a handpicked team of ABR selectors, led by the founder of Greece’s epic Synch Festival, Dimitri Papaioannou, playing their most precious finds on vinyl only on the inimitable Funktion One soundsystem.
Treats for the ears, eyes, stomach, mind and heart await then as AfroBanana Festival prepares to open its doors once again.
