Issue 6 // March 2014
A Message from THE PRODUCERS It is amazing how time flies! March 21st will mark the 12th edition of Afropolitan Vibes and will be our one-year anniversary for the show. We can’t say it’s all been plain sailing but it has been an exhilarating experience so far and we are very proud of all that we have managed to achieve in that time. We would like to thank several people for helping us make Afropolitan Vibes what is undoubtedly now THE best live music concert series in Lagos. Top of our list of who to thank is the management of Freedom Park. The former Broad Street Prison, which has been transformed by the Architect Theo Lawson, has been our base since our very first show. We thank our hosts for providing us with the space to gather, to express ourselves freely and establish a music platform that is now a fixture at the park every third Friday of the month. We love the cozy feel of the Amphitheatre space where the band and guest artists perform each month and we are happy that over time, we have been able to introduce Freedom Park to thousands of people who now visit the park even on days when they are not there to be a part of Afropolitan Vibes. We wanted to do something special with the magazine cover this month as a dedication to Freedom Park so we decided to ‘rebrand’ the section of the preserved old prison wall with our logo. We thank several other organizations that have sponsored us at various times during the course of the year: MTN and the Goethe Institut who have both played significant roles in helping to move our project along. We hope that our partnership will continue on this year. We thank our original technical partners MSL 360 and Madestics Entertainment who took over the role late last year. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the very talented writers who at various times have helped to interview our guest
artists each month for the magazine - they are Tehr Agbedeh, Sam Umukoro and Adebola Rayo. The very talented Graeme Arendse has been designing Afropolitan Magazine since its second issue (Bibi Ukpo designed the first). We thank them for helping to raise Afropolitan Vibes Magazine to the status of now being something of a collector’s item. We strive to create many more collectable covers in the future. There is a lot of work that goes into producing a live music series such as Afropolitan Vibes – production meetings; negotiations with artists; rehearsals and many hours spent approaching and negotiating with corporate sponsors. We are yet to secure a permanent sponsor but we are confident it won’t be long now before people cotton on to the enormous value of partnering with us. There is huge value in helping to develop a platform, which is at the forefront of reviving the live music scene in Lagos. We want to see a return of the times in Lagos where you didn’t have to search far to find a professional band playing great live music in a club or hotel. We want a return to the old days when the live music culture was an integral part of our great city. We have big plans and we are using this medium to appeal to like-minded people to come on board and join the movement. Our plans extend beyond just a live music show and an accompanying magazine. We have plans to create regular music workshops to encourage young to play musical instruments and to create and perform original material. We also want to tour with the band and collaborate with musicians from all over Africa and beyond. These are very exciting times and we look forward to what 2014 will bring for Afropolitan Vibes. Enjoy our anniversary show! Sending you great vibes.
Ade Bantu and Abby Ogunsanya 11