Category: news

What’s happening with AfuriKo: new videos, live shows/livestreams, tours, releases (albums, singles), etc.

Categories
news

Jazz au pigeonnier #3: AfuriKo presents traditional Bulgarian tunes

AfuriKo’s third livestream from Saintines (Hauts-de-France). After our recent trip to Bulgaria, we decided to revisit “Sedi Donka” (from our album Style) and “Trace of Peach” (from Tao), and perform them for you algonside a newer arrangement: “Pismo ti e doshlo” (unreleased so far). We hope you enjoy this selection of African infused Bulgarian tunes!

Streamed on October 22, 2022 at 2PM CEST

Program:
🎵 Trace of Peach (Slivenska rūchenitsa) (traditional, arr. by AfuriKo)
🎵 Sedi Donka (traditional, arr. by AfuriKo)
🎵 Pismo ti e doshlo (traditional, arr. by AfuriKo)

Related show

  • Artist: AfuriKo
  • Date: 10/22/22
  • Time: 2:00pm
  • Venue: Jazz au pigeonnier
  • City: Saintines , Hauts-de-France
  • Venue phone: +33658342062
  • Country: France
  • Age restrictions: All Ages
  • More information
  • Notes: Jazz au pigeonnier #3: AfuriKo presents traditional Bulgarian tunes ***Livestream on AfuriKo’s YouTube channel *** For our fans worldwide.
Categories
news

Farewell, New York!

The city has been good to Akiko and I. We’ve certainly lived through a lot over these past four years. And now it’s time to move on. AfuriKo is packing up and getting ready for a new adventure: we’re flying off to Reykjavik, Iceland on Monday!

To say goodbye, kick off the year, and celebrate the beginning of this new chapter, we’re playing two sets from our home in Sunnyside, Queens, today at 3PM and 8PM EST. You can watch them live and/or replay them later on YouTube. Just click on the videos below!

Streamed on January 2, 2021 at 3PM EST

Streamed on January 2, 2021 at 8PM EST

Program (both sets):
🎵 In B Town (AfuriKo) – inspired by Bamaya, a traditional Dagomba rhythm from northern Ghana
🎵 Up in the Air (AfuriKo) – inspired by Agahu, a traditional Ewe rhythm from Ketonu in Benin
🎵 Pismo ti e doshlo (traditional, arr. by AfuriKo) – folk tune from Bulgaria
🎵 Kotedjuga (AfuriKo) – inspired by Kotedjuga, a traditional Malinke rhythm from the border area between Guinea and Mali
🎵 Kassai (Ou Yoshida, Taiji Nakamura, arr. by AfuriKo) – solo section set to Kassa Soro, a traditional Malinke rhythm from Eastern Guinea

Related show

  • Artist: AfuriKo
  • Date: 01/02/21
  • Time: 3:00pm
  • Venue: AfuriKo’s in Sunnyside
  • City: Woodside , NY
  • Venue phone: +19292299250
  • Country: United States
  • Age restrictions: All Ages
  • More information
  • Notes: Farewell, New York! Set 1 ***Livestream on AfuriKo’s YouTube channel *** For our fans in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
  • Artist: AfuriKo
  • Date: 01/02/21
  • Time: 8:00pm
  • Venue: AfuriKo’s in Sunnyside
  • City: Woodside , NY
  • Venue phone: +19292299250
  • Country: United States
  • Age restrictions: All Ages
  • More information
  • Notes: Farewell, New York! Set 2 ***Livestream on AfuriKo’s YouTube channel *** For our fans in Asia-Pacific.
Categories
news

new single: Igneous Alloy by AfuriKo feat. Corey Wallace & Alex B. Smith

frame from Igneous Alloy video

Back in 2019 (May through November) and then again more recently in July and August of 2020, AfuriKo had the pleasure to invite both Corey A. Wallace (on trombone) and Alex Busby Smith (electric bass) as guest artists as part of our monthly residency at Tomi Jazz (a Japanese bar & grill in Midtown Manhattan that features nightly live jazz). The shows in both trio formats were a blast, and Igneous Alloy, a composition of mine first recorded on Spirit of the Snail (2015), was one of the tunes we played almost every time. So we decided to record a quartet version of it (this time with both Alex and Corey featured on the same track!) to document these good times and make a little something available to those of you who weren’t able to make it out to Tomi’s. The arrangement was refined to suit this particular instrumentation, including trombone melodies, synth counterlines, and a new bass line/riff to support Akiko’s percussion solo. Our friend Laure Lang from the Hauts-de-France region added her grain of salt with a magical mix and crafty video editing. Enjoy!

💽 Support us by getting your digital track on Bandcamp 🙂

Corey A. Wallace – trombone
Alex Busby Smith – electric bass
Akiko Horii – percussion
Jim Funnell – keyboards
Laure Lang – mixing, mastering, and video editing

Recorded in New York, NY in August and September 2020.
Mixed and mastered in Betz, FR in September 2020.

Categories
news

AfuriKo’s Tao album release tour 2020 in Uruguay, Europe, and the UK

“Desde 2007, un Encuentro Internacional de Músicos anual, abierto, libre, y de entrada gratuita, con la presencia de alrededor de 140 músicos de diversas procedencias y escuelas musicales enmarcadas en el concepto que distingue el perfil del movimiento. A partir del 7mo Encuentro, hemos mejorado el sistema de sonido e iluminación, ahora de nivel internacional en un escenario central, y pequeños sistemas distribuidos en zona céntrica de la ciudad para toques callejeros de bandas improvisadas. Este evento es único en su tipo por su concepción intelectual, teniendo una alta carga emotiva y cultural para la ciudad y se ha transformado en un espacio de referencia para los músicos, promoviendo la participación y sentido de pertenencia de la población hacia el Movimiento.” (citado de https://www.jazzalacalle.com.uy/encuentro_internacional/index.php)

Related show

  • Artist:
    AfuriKo
  • Tour: Tao CD release tour ’20
  • Date:
    01/12/20
  • Time:
    8:00pm
  • Venue:
    Jazz a la Calle
  • City:
    Mercedes , Soriano
  • Venue phone:
    +598 4532 0605
  • Country:
    Uruguay
  • Age restrictions:
    All Ages
  • Artist:
    AfuriKo
  • Tour: Tao CD release tour ’20
  • Date:
    01/13/20
  • Time:
    2:00pm
  • Venue:
    Jazz a la Calle
  • City:
    Mercedes , Soriano
  • Venue phone:
    +598 4532 0605
  • Country:
    Uruguay
  • Age restrictions:
    All Ages
  • Notes:
    Making Music Without Borders workshop (Tocar música sin fronteras)
  • Artist:
    AfuriKo
  • Tour: Tao CD release tour ’20
  • Date:
    01/19/20
  • Time:
    6:00pm
  • Venue:
    59 Rivoli
  • City:
    Paris , Île-de-France
  • Address:
    59 rue de Rivoli
  • Country:
    France
  • Age restrictions:
    All Ages
  • Artist:
    AfuriKo
  • Tour: Tao CD release tour ’20
  • Date:
    01/24/20
  • Time:
    1:00am
  • Venue:
    Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
  • City:
    Soho , London
  • Address:
    47 Frith Street
  • Venue phone:
    +44 (0)20 7439 0747
  • Country:
    United Kingdom
  • Admission:
    £12/£6
  • Age restrictions:
    All Ages
  • Notes:
    Late Late Show! night of the 24th to the 25th so technically at 1AM on the 25th 🙂

    feat. Ant Law (g)

  • Artist:
    AfuriKo
  • Tour: Tao CD release tour ’20
  • Date:
    01/25/20
  • Time:
    1:00am
  • Venue:
    Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
  • City:
    Soho , London
  • Address:
    47 Frith Street
  • Venue phone:
    +44 (0)20 7439 0747
  • Country:
    United Kingdom
  • Admission:
    £12/£6
  • Age restrictions:
    All Ages
  • Notes:
    Late Late Show! night of the 24th to the 25th so technically at 1AM on the 25th 🙂

    feat. Ant Law (g)

Categories
news

shout out to our Tao backers

A muffled thud, and
the harlequin butterfly
soars into the light.

The haiku above is an image that came to mind when reflecting on the many emotions Akiko and I went through during the first part of the production process for Tao. It is also a celebration of the transformative powers of the butterfly, and is featured on the poster some of you have chosen as a reward.

Once again, AfuriKo would like to thank Laurent Maget, Charles Frossard, Chris Hayward, Margaux Couet, Diana & Ray Xecu, and Andy ‘Hippy’ Baldwin for their invaluable creative, artistic, and technical contributions to this recording and artwork.

Very special thanks also go to our fans, friends, and families, who generously participated in our Kickstarter campaign, joining us on the wonderful journey of making this music tangible. In alphabetical order:

  • Alyse Korn
  • Andre Below
  • Ant Law
  • Benjamin de Roubaix
  • Bruno Wilhelm & Laure Lang
  • Cheryl Suzanne Arnold
  • Chiyomi Hayata
  • Chris T. Armstrong
  • Christèle Oudin & Laurent Naccache
  • Coline Chaumont & Philippe Lopes de Sa
  • Daniel Crease & Yuko Horii
  • Danièle Jullien
  • David Shimamoto
  • Dominic Inferrera
  • Eddie Parker & Elaine Furness
  • Eloise Chadourne
  • Ernezt Kuijpers
  • Erwan Ledoux
  • Etienne Prat
  • Godefroy Dronsart
  • Greg Rawlings
  • Hidetomo Narisawa
  • Hiroko Horii & Christian Weiss
  • Hiroshi & Mieko Machida
  • Homi Faris
  • Isabelle Olivier
  • Jade Choi
  • Jean-Claude Dessein
  • Jean-Nicolas Dumez
  • Jeff Boudreaux & Isabelle Bégué
  • Jenifer Bright
  • Jez Matthews
  • Joscha Gujahr
  • Juan Andrés Ospina
  • Julien Porceddu
  • Kashima Hirotsugu
  • Kevin Funnell
  • Koichi & Yuriko Horii
  • Kumar Chopra
  • Kuniko & Kiyoshi Nakamura
  • Laszlo Gardony
  • Laura Bohn
  • Laurent de Laprade
  • Laurent Maget
  • Marcelo Woloski
  • Martin Vanden Bossche
  • Masayuki Tamura
  • Mathis Plapp
  • Mika Mimura
  • Mike & Hélène Funnell
  • Natsuko Matsuoka
  • Nguyen Lê & Dominique Borker
  • Noah Rott
  • Noor Bseiso
  • Olivier Michel
  • Özgün Forta
  • Pascale Audouze
  • Pedro Goueythieu
  • Peter Bailey
  • Peter Traunmueller
  • Ray & Diana Xecu
  • Robert Kyle
  • Robin Nitram
  • Ron Bozarth
  • Ryoko Yamada
  • Sandy Woodruff
  • Stefan Bornmann
  • Sylvain Moreau
  • Takeo Muramatsu
  • The Creative Fund
  • Tomoko Omura
  • Tomoko Yanagita
  • Tore Velden
  • Tracy Perry
  • Valérie Rozenberg
  • Violette de Bartillat
  • Xavier Hermosin
  • Yann Raineau
  • Yoshiko Oda
  • Yuuka Nakamura
  • Zacharie Abraham