Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars

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This article is about the band. For the documentary film, see Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (film).
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
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Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars playing at the Festival International de Louisiane
Background information
Origin Sierra Leone
Genres Baskeda, World, African
Years active 2002–present
Website www.sierraleonesrefugeeallstars.com

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (also called Refugee All Stars) is a band from Sierra Leone which was formed by a group of refugees displaced to Guinea during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Since their return to Freetown in 2004, the band has toured extensively to raise awareness for humanitarian causes. Their story is documented in the 2005 documentary film Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.[1]

Their debut album, Living Like a Refugee, was released in Europe on 25 September 2006 and in the US on 26 September 2006.[2][3]

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars' second studio album, Rise & Shine, was released 23 March 2010 by Cumbancha. The disc was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. The album was recorded at Piety Street Studio in New Orleans with local musicians Trombone Shorty, Washboard Chaz and Bonerama all guesting on the album.[4]

The band's third studio album, Radio Salone, was released on 24 April 2012 by Cumbancha. The album was produced by roots reggae, soul and Afrobeat artist Victor Axelrod, aka Ticklah and recorded at Dunham Studios in Brooklyn, NY.[5]

International recognition

The movie, albums and world tours helped expand their following, which resulted in the band performing in front of audiences of tens of thousands at New York’s Central Park SummerStage, Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival and the revered Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. On 15 December 2006 they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[6] The All Stars also contributed a song to the Blood Diamond film soundtrack, participated in the U2 tribute album in the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2,[7] and earned praise and backing from Sir Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Ice Cube (an executive producer for the band's documentary film),[8] Angelina Jolie and others inspired by their life-affirming story and captivating music. In one of the "most surreal moments" of their climb to fame, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars opened for Aerosmith at the 12,000 capacity Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.[9][10]

Genre and musical style

The songs of the band fall into a number of different music styles, with some songs a fusion of more than one style.[3] Their music has been described as having a reggae style[11][12] but others have said this is incorrect and as Sierra Leone's baskeda music has a feel close to reggae, which the bands writer has commented about.[3] Writing in The Independent Andy Morgan describes this similarity as:

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The music . . . sounds to the uneducated ear like classic Studio One reggae, a defiantly warm and good-humoured African throwback to the gorgeous harmony vocals and lilting backbeat of The Heptones, Burning Spear or Carlton and the Shores. But stylistic boundaries and lineages have long been blurred by the criss-crossing migrations of people and cultures across the Atlantic, and what sounds like reggae is in fact an age-old West-African rhythm called baskeda".[13]

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"Baskeda... that's my father's music, I used to love it when I was a kid so when I grew up I just tried to compose songs in that rhythm."

 —Reuben Koroma[13]

Other styles evident in the album include palm-wine and gumbe. The track Kele Mani "is lively gumbe, animated by bottle and hand-drum percussion and an ancient-sounding acoustic guitar."[3] The influence of traditional West African music is present, for example gbute vange a style of music of Mende people in the track Pat Malonthone. These styles are overlaid on a baskeda rhythm and given a modern feel with the use of electric guitars and drums.[13]

Discography

Filmography

External links

References

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