10 visionary alternative West African artists selected by Asna
Asna is part of a new wave of West African artists who are putting a spin on the traditional sounds of their homes.
Based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, she’s works across many disciplines. Dubbing herself a “sound explorer”, her talents lie not just in DJing and production, but also in visual arts and modelling. She’s also an advocate for the new generation of musicians around her. In Abidjan she’s affiliated with one of the city’s biggest parties and collectives La Sunday, as well as being part of Bôrô D’ENJAILLEMENT, a project created with Ivorian Artist African Diplomate, which is a space for young multi-disciplinary artists.
A meeting of old and new, her DJ sets navigate classic songs from across Africa as well as fresh and forward-thinking sounds rooted in rhythm and bass, from gqom to kuduro and percussive workouts.
It’s on the third instalment of Lyon’s Blanc Manioc compilation series that she sits alongside many African artists who, like her, are pushing musical boundaries and approaching music with a sense of freedom and innovation. Below she highlights some of these contemporaries who are part of the thriving alternative scenes across the region…
Nyamakala Beats n°3 is out now on Blanc Manioc.
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Inga Paula is a multidisciplinary artist born in Abidjan, and raised on the East Coast of the United States. Her musical and visual influences pull from the mosaic of cultures she’s been exposed to, from trips off the south coast of Spain to the shores of Senegal and beyond. Ali Farka Toure, Frank Ocean, Wiki / Ratking, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald and the likes permeate through her music and literary repertoires. Inga seeks to create worlds that will supersede reality (sonically, emotionally and visually), in the hopes of unlocking undisclosed dimensions to her following.
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