AFRICA ENTSHA

. Biography AFRICA ENTSHA (F.K.A SOWETO ENTSHA)

Morgan, Lwazi, Jabu and Zensele, four guys from Soweto (the biggest township of South Africa), the children of Soweto are the messengers of hope, they are communicating with happiness their love of Africa to the audience.?The Africa Entsha (new Africa in Zulu language) performance is from the South Africa oral tradition, sung a capella in Gospel style. Their repertoire includes a wide variety of songs, sung in Zulu and some in English, such as their very personal version of Shakira's "Waka Waka". But at the very heart of the show are the Zulu songs, full of rhythm, style and spirit that deeply belong to this ethnic group. Hands, feet and the entire body give the rhythm and create the choreography with a crescendo of feelings and joy. From the very first moments of their performances, the quartet completely captivate their audience who by end of the show are left breathless, often deeply moved.

Their story reads like a fairy tale. Less than four years ago, their scene was busking in their township for a few rands, their only antidote to poverty, unemployment, violence, delinquency and boredom was singing.
And then... in July 2008, fate provided an unexpected hand. The French producer Nicolas Ferru, abandoning central Johannesburg curious to discover the reality of South African townships, found the boys in front of him with no other instrument than their vocal cords and their hands.

Three months later after a lot of hard work the four were touring France with African Footprint They had to expand their repertoire, work on their singing skills, and their choreography ... The challenge was phenomenal, but they were a sensation!
Their debut album was recoderd in 2010 in time for their second tour with African Footprint, the reviews led to invitations from festivals all over the world, including The Edinburgh Fringe Festival where they were awarded the much coveted Performance of The Fringe Award 2011 and sold over 11,000 copies of their album.

Right now the band find themselves in the small town of Winsford Cheshire, recording their new album for release at this years Edinburgh fringe where they will be performing 24 straight theatre shows throughout August. In the meantime a few local performances and workshops have created quite a stir, an a capella world music band they may be, but the reaction to their boyish charms and beautiful voices is nothing short of fanatical! Perhaps the freshest and most original boy band to have ever hit this country, a pop sensation?

Watch this space!!

Latest...

Africa Entsha headlined The Middlewich Folk and Boat festival in June and are set to head up World Music Day at Britain's biggest and best Free family festival - Godiva Festival in July 2012 and both the Llangollen Fringe,Edinburgh Fringe and Windsor Fringe festivals this 2012 summer.

Together with story teller and percussionist Usifu Jalloh from Sierra Leone, Africa Entsha are helping to raise money for local children from Winsford to visit and offer aid in Kenya with performances in Winsford on the 14th and 15th July.

Since hearing of the sad loss of Brian Hibbard, front man of 80's band The Flying Picket's, within a day the boys learned, performed and recorded the no.1 hit 'Only You', as a tribute to Britain's most successful a capella band