DOORS 7:00PM

Early in 2020, the music community was forced to close its doors, not only to the outside world, but to each other. Creative partnerships were lost, performances canceled, studio sessions scrapped.

In response to these limitations, as is often the case, innovation and cooperation blossomed.

Melbourne’s Music in Exile label, a not-for-profit aimed at profiling musicians from refugee and migrant backgrounds that give the city its world-class reputation in the arts, started the Building Bridges series, a collection of recordings aimed at keeping individuals connected and inspired during lockdown.

One such project was a match made somewhere in musical heaven. The minds behind Ausecuma Beats, a nine-piece, Melbourne-based ensemble comprised of members from Senegal, Mali, Cuba and Guinea, spent weeks recording and sharing material remotely with the Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, also known as  Z*F*E*X.

Themselves a semi-improvised collective, or ensemble of sorts, Z*F*E*X comprises drummer Zeke ‘Ziggy’ Zeitgeist, keyboardist and producer Lewis Moody, bassist Matthew Hayes, and a rotating cast of guests, all prolific musicians with weighty credentials across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

And so from a backyard shed in Dandenong North, Australia, some of West Africa’s finest would record simple percussive tracks, when then surfed the airwaves via studios in Melbourne, Berlin and London, to finally land back on our doorsteps as Deep Heat / Tropical Storm.

Add to this heady brew two guest vocalists who are some of the most invigorating in their respective scenes, Latin America via Berlin star Gotopo, and Melbourne’s own Rara Zulu, and all of sudden what began as an exercise in  percussive exploration has transformed into a hands-down banger of a record.

Music in Exile is a not-for-profit record label supporting artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds working in the music industry. Our vision is to build a music scene that is  equally  accessible to all, and represents  the myriad voices and viewpoints found in our community today.

TICKETING INFO

This is an 18+ event. 

Do not attend if you are feeling unwell.

Photo ID is essential, acceptable ID is a current and valid Australian Photo Drivers Licence, State Approved ‘Proof of Age’ card or Passport.

We acknowledge that this event is held on the stolen lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.