Funky Elephant will see Omar, the father of British neo soul and Hugo Mendez, the frontman of the collective Sofrito hit the stage at Helsinki’s Suvilahti in September. Soul star Nicole Willis will also present her new outfit.
Removed to the old factory area of Suvilahti, the Funky Elephant Festival announces the king of British neo soul, Omar, as its headlining artist this year. Despite the fact that Omar Lye-Fook has performed in Finland only once – twelve years ago at the Flow Festival – he has been a major force behind the British neo soul movement since the early 90s. Such artists as D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Pharrell Williams and even Stevie Wonder himself have named Omar as one of their biggest influences.
Born in London but today based in Paris, Hugo Mendez is a producer, DJ and bellwether in the music business. Friends of tropical rhythms will remember him as the co-founder of the label Sofrito. Funky Elephant is proud to host Mendez’s first visit to Finland, and at Funky Elephant he will be heat up the atmosphere with his DJ selections and incredibly comprehensive knowledge of music.
Soul singer Nicole Willis is no doubt best-known as the vocalist for the retro soul and funk group The Soul Investigators. For now, Willis and the group have decided to part ways, and the queen of Finnish soul has taken a new course. Her new outfit carries the name Nicole Willis & Banda Palomita and is stylistically more organic than her previous solo albums, even approaching the realm of neo soul.
Of course, Funky Elephant will also present the best of Finnish funk, soul and related genres. Finnish acts to take the stage at the festival include the Brazil-inspired Maria Gasolina; DJ and producer collective Ivah Sound System; the Balkan Fever Oriental Sound System, hosted by DJ Borzin; and the Tampere-based rap trio Tre-Funk III, formed by three acclaimed rapper-producers Haamu, Hannibal and 6mäki.
The regenerated, inter-artistic boutique of music and culture, Funky Elephant, invades Helsinki’s Suvilahti on 9-10 September. On Saturday 9 September the festival will offer a wide range of funk, soul, afro and related music, without forgetting other programme to gratify all senses; while on Sunday 10 September the festival turns into a cultural carnival for the whole family. A limited number of early bird tickets can be purchased via Tiketti (www.tiketti.fi) and Holvi (https://holvi.com/shop/funkyfamily/) at 18 € (+ service fee 2,50 €) until 7 July. More festival acts and activities will be announced in early July.
Funky Elephant Festival 2017, Helsinki, Suvilahti 9-10 Sep 2017
Omar (UK), DJ Hugo Mendez (UK/FRA), Nicole Willis & Banda Palomita, Tre-Funk III, Maria Gasolina, Ivah Sound System, Balkan Fever Oriental Sound System, Mysterose Garden, Maisa Tikka, Pomppulinnan Kreivi, Circus Johku, Sirkus Magenta and Simon Yearwood
Tickets: Early Bird Tickets at 18€ (+ service fee 2,5€)
www.tiketti.fi and https://holvi.com/shop/funkyfamily/
www.funkyelephantfestival.fi
www.omarmusic.co.uk
https://msnicolewillis.com/
https://soundcloud.com/strut/sofrito-mini-mix
https://www.facebook.com/trefunkthree/
http://www.mariagasolina.net/
https://soundcloud.com/ivah-sound
https://www.facebook.com/balkanfever/
https://soundcloud.com/mysterose-garden
The partners of this year’s Funky Elephant Festival include Lämpö, Radio Helsinki, Studio Magito, Circus Magenta, Pikseliähky, Eestimaja, Nuorten toimintakeskus Happi, Bass Campus ry, The Movement ry and Oranssi ry. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the City of Helsinki and Svenska Kulturfonden.
Funky Elephant Festival is organised by the Funky Amigos ry, which was started in 1999 to further Afro-American musical styles, artists, cultural diversity and tolerance in Finland. The next event by Funky Amigos is the free picnic and music carnival Elephantasy – Funky Family Picnic in Helsinki’s Alppipuisto Park.