About the acts
Afrofuturistic Germany-based duo Gato Preto comprises rapper Gata Misteriosa (Mozambique/Portugal) and DJ and producer Lee Bass (Ghana/Germany). The outfit is known for its high-energy performances defined by percussion-driven electronica that harks back to pulsating favela funk, South African kwaito and the exuberant rhythms of kuduro. Gato Preto has collaborated with international artists such as Aero Manyelo, Edu K, Daniel Haaksman, KD Soundsystem and MC Zulu. It has headlined Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda and played at African Futures Festival in South Africa. This will be the first time that the duo travels to Ghana to perform.
Songhoy Blues was formed in Bamako, Mali, after its members were displaced from Timbuktu by conflict and the imposition of Sharia law, which banned music. The band was noticed by Damon Albarn who visited Bamako with his Africa Express project. It released the highly acclaimed debut album Music in Exile in 2015 and Résistance two years later. The four-piece group combines traditional Tuareg sounds with the classic blues and is one of the principal subjects of the documentary film They Will Have To Kill Us First. Songhoy Blues is currently based in the UK.
France-based Angolan singer Lúcia de Carvalho is known for mixing world music with modern rhythms. The talented singer and percussionist spent part of her early years in a children’s home in Portugal and was adopted by a French family. Her career began in France at the age of 16 when she joined the band Bia de Assis et Som Brasil as a dancer but soon became the group’s lead singer. She spent 10 years touring with the band and in 2009 launched her solo career with a sound that fused traditional Brazilian music with pop, funk and reggae. In 2016, she released Kuzola, a 16-track album that bears testament to her musical versatility.
About Reeperbahn Festival International
This year ACCES has a partnership with Reeperbahn Festival – Germany’s largest music platform based in Hamburg. The partnership creates a framework for the festival to collaborate with ACCES in facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories. The Reeperbahn Festival International Programme is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. In 2020, the next Reeperbahn Festival International spin-offs take place in Los Angeles (22-25 March), Beijing (24-26 April), Nashville (11-14 May) and New York (15-18 June). For more information visit the official website: https://international.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/index/
About ACCES
ACCES is a pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe.
ACCES is organised by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit and pan-African organisation, in partnership and with the support of Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, Reeperbahn Festival International, Alliance Française, BMG, MediaSound Hamburg, the Multimedia Group, Africa Art Lines, Afrikayna, the Gold Coast Hub, the Year of Return, the Prince Claus Fund and the ANT Mobility Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).