It’s one thing to love culture, and it is another thing to understand the intricacies behind its universal exchange. The Sound Café in the bustling Sheffield suburbs, in England, is among this writer’s recent hot finds across the pan-African diaspora, executing one of the most ingenious cultural exchanges between Africa and the West.
Adedoyin Oseni’s thrilling Saxophone riffs opened the last edition, held in June, with a flavourful cover of Ayra Starr’s “Commas”, setting the tone for the cultural extravaganza that Sound Café offers in its monthly showcase of indigenous music, dance, fashion, and food. While the audience’s ovation rose to the roof, Oseni served an anti-climaxing rendition of Burna Boy’s “City Boys”, rousing the audience with his clever trills and grace notes. Behind him on stage was Fope Adeola with his Cajón, backing up the performance with giddy bass tones and ghost notes. Together, they unlocked a groove that might suggest why the original composer, Burna Boy, continues to prioritise performing the song with live instrumentation.
The duo kept the audience spellbound with Oseni’s pure notes on Spyro’s “Who’s Your Guy? (with Tiwa Savage)” cover, closing their medley performance with strong euphoria. Adeola’s slap tones slid in with a rapid cadence that elevated and textured their transitions. Together, they kept that experience ringing as a mouth-watering prelude to their African Roots Carnival, later this month, which is a charity event set to commemorate the International Day for People of African Descent.
The other Sound Cafè experiences held in collaboration with other cultural institutions, including Culture Sheffield, Welcoming Cultures UK, Migration Matters Festival, Cultural Inclusive C.I.C., among others, showcased the same cultural fiesta that lights up the soul of Sound Cafè.
Another notable edition, held with the Culture Club Sheffield, a quarterly concert, showcased Sound Cafè’s captivating inputs from a stellar Nigerian line-up including singer Deborah Lawal’s groovy Afrobeats cover renditions; Julius Obende’s rumbustious percussion; Olajide Gideon’s spirited Banjo strings; Toby Williams’ hearty guitar riffs; and Lawal Oluwasegun’s electrifying pianissimo. It was a buffet of exciting performances that made Sound Cafè feel more like a journey than a destination; its rich rhythms transported the audience into ethno-conscious headspaces that displayed the beauty of culture in motion. African music, English literature, and a multi-cultural audience all standing up within one room in good cheer, and, of course, it felt closer to home.
While this writer argues for a rich representation of such multi-cultural exchanges back in the motherland, especially within Nigeria, it’s also important to remember the few Nigerian culture curators in the diaspora championing such global exchanges like Sound Cafè’s Oluwafemi Akinṣeye Oke. The event producer and community engagement specialist has cut a trail within Sheffield, with his notorious intersection of African music, heritage, and diasporic identity through live art showcases.
Debuting Sound Café UK in June 2024, Oke launched the platform to spotlight emerging and established African musicians through curated pop-up events, artist showcases, and collaborative programming with cultural institutions. Now, they have extended to large-scale festivals, including the Sheffield Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration, where Sound Café performed to thousands of attendees, and community-rooted experiences such as Welcoming Cultures and An Evening of Worship with Adedoyin Oseni.
Oke’s work is salient to the growth of the African music scene, which continues to rely on its diasporic evangelists to preach the gospel of its indigenous music styles and popular expressions to the culturally attuned and progressive Western audience. His work has also showcased several African liberal artists, instrumentalists, and heritage organisations to a wider audience, promoting inclusive programming that bridges cultural gaps. With his thankless work building increased momentum, Sound Cafè UK is thriving as a sanguine space for multi-ethnic cultural expression, especially in music, dramatic and oral arts; and it is poised to become a force majeure within the diaspora, promoting progressive Afro-centric cultural exchanges, one event at a time.
