In 2012, Australia’s most dynamic Afrobeat, spiritual jazz group Shaolin Afronauts presented an ambitious one-off concert with an expanded ensemble of 18 musicians at the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Space Theatre.
Immediately following this performance the 18-piece ensemble hit the studio and the resulting album ‘Quest Under Capricorn’ was released on Freestyle Records to wide acclaim.
“In 2012 we were looking to create something unique and something that stepped away from the classic Afrobeat influences of our first album, ‘Flight Of The Ancients’,” Ross McHenry, bass player from the band, explains.
“We came to the idea of expanding the band from 9 to 18 members to allow us to create a larger, more textural and experimental sonic space as well creating a visual spectacle rarely seen in Australia."
Now in 2017, Shaolin Afronauts are excited to announce the return of this epic project for Umbrella: Winter City Sounds. Presenting the original works in their entirety as well as new works that mark the development of the group over the past five years, Quest Under Capricorn Live will be a spectacle to behold.
“We’re excited about presenting these works again alongside new works for the expanded ensemble,” Ross explains.
“A lot of the music from ‘Quest Under Capricorn’ has only been performed once, so it’ll be great to perform this material again for Adelaide audiences. We’ve also grown a lot as a band over the last five years and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to also bring a lot of new repertoire into this concert for the expanded ensemble.
“Obviously doing something on this scale is a huge undertaking, so it really takes something like Umbrella to make it viable. We’re thankful to the festival for understanding our vision and can’t wait to share this body of work with our fans again."
