Rocksteady is EVERY SUnday

And it's almost always FREE entry!!! more info at www.theshrinechicago.com

FELABRATION - Friday, Oct. 14th

On Friday, October 14th we cordially invite you to the Third Annual FELAbration.

RSVP now for FREE entry @ http://theshrinechicago.com

FELABRATION!: A Celebration of the Legacy of Fela Kuti (featuring DJ Ron Trent & DJ New Life).

Doors open @ 9pm, party til 2am.

The party will be in the Coup d'Etat Lounge!

A Little about FELA KUTI:
Fela's musical revolution was fueled by the fusion of Jazz, Funk, Ghanian/Nigerian High-life, psychedelic rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms to create a new hybrid that ultimately became Afrobeat.

To pay proper tribute to Fela, The Shrine will host a special FELABRATION! that will cover his musical career and artists who have worked collaboratively with him (Roy Ayers, Ginger Baker, Tony Allen) and all those who presently carry his musical message further. There is no cover for the event.

(Click here for video by ?uestlove *of The Roots* on Fela Kuti)

Doors open @ 9pm. Get ready for the 3rd Annual FELAbration!!

RSVP now at http://theshrinechicago.com

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Coup d'état is the intimate lounge inside The Shrine nightclub. So quite literally, it is a blow against the current state of lounge and nightlife culture in Chicago. Comfortable, chic and most definitely sexy, it combines rustic charm and modern design. Primitive futurism maybe? Yes it looks good in magazines, but it feels even better. Think Marvin Gaye or Raheem DeVaughn...smooth & soulful, but with some grit.

It's the perfect spot to relax, sip a well made cocktail and chill with friends. Cozy up to the bar or lounge on a banquette. You know how certain records just make you feel sexy? The right room has the same power.

Coup d'état Lounge
2109 S. Wabash
(312) 753-5700

The Influence of Fela: DJ ?uestlove

The The Influence of afrobeat legend Fela Kuti is examined as Drummer/Producer/DJ of the Legendary Roots Crew ?uestlove visit the Shrine in Chicago.

Included interview segments with Femi Kuti son of Fela

A Camovement

Video By:
Cam Be
Jamaar J

Interview By:
Jeff Baraka

?uestlove On Fela

It's no secret Fela Kuti has had an a huge impact on music, especially Hip Hop. His beats have been sampled and his attitude was the original swagga. Roots bandleader ?uestlove talks about why the man continues to be vital today.

FELAbration: A musical tribute to the life & music of Fela Kuti

On Oct. 13th we are having a celebration called "FELAbration". If you love Afrobeat and Fela's music, or just plain ol' curious please join us on Wednesday, Oct. 13th.

Buy your tix here!

Featuring live music by the CHICAGO AFROBEAT PROJECT!

And the DJ's of the night are Joe Bryl and Tone B. Nimble!

FELA! on Broadway "Dance of the Orisas" from Shilo on Vimeo.

"Water No Get Enemy" from FELA! Original Broadway Cast Recording from Fela Kuti on Vimeo.

AFRO TREAT: FELA IN HIP HOP - THE SAMPLES

LIFTED FROM OKAYPLAYER

Yes, Fela is everywhere these days, you might even say it's a Fela revival, or a Fela-olution. But historically speaking, espesh in the hip-hop world, worshipping Fela is nothing new. Check out this mixtape from NY based producer and DJ Dhundee. Afrotreats traces some of hip-hop's best tracks that sampled Fela over the years, from Jay-Z to Mos Def and many more.


DOWNLOAD: HERE

( Intro taken from Fela's "Music Is The Weapon" )
1. I Will Not Appologize (Featuring Porn & Dice Raw) - The Roots
2. Smithzonian Institute Of Rhyme - Blackalicious
3. Colonial Mentality - Fela Kuti
4. Whatcha Gon' Do F. Timbaland - Missy Elliot
5. Roc Boys (Mike Love's Nigerian Gangster remix ft. Fela Kuti) - Jay-Z
6. Water No Get Enemy - D'Angelo, Femi Kuti & Macy Gray Feat. Roy Hargrove, Nile Rodgers
7. This Is Sad - Fela Ransome Kuti & Nigeria 70
8. Fela - Lukid
9. By Your Side (Cottonbelly's Fola Mix) [Edit] - Sade
10. No Agreement - Res, Tony Allen, Ray Lema, Baaba Maal, Positive Black Soul & Archi
11. Heat - Common
12. Let's Start (Fela Kuti Tribute) - J.Period & K'NAAN
13. Fear Not of Man - Fela Kuti
14. Fear Not of Man - Mos Def
15. Upside Down - Fela Kuti
16. Upside Down - The Daktaris
17. Tears + Sorrow - Common, Me'Shell Ndeg�Ocello & Djelimady Tounkara
18. Shuffering And Shmiling - Fela Kuti
19. Pass That Dutch (PTA MIX) - Missy Elliot
20. MAW Expensive (A Tribute To Fela) - Masters At Work Feat. Wunmi
21. Zombie, Pt. 2 - Roy Hargrove & Money Mark Nile Rodgers
( outro taken from Fela's "Music Is The Weapon" )

FELA BIO BACK IN PRINT!

First published in French and then in English back in 1982, this recently re-issued authorized biography of the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti by Carlos Moore IS FINALLY BACK IN PRINT!

A biography of Fela based many hours of first-hand conversation with the Afrobeat superstar and firebrand political presence -- written by Carlos Moore and featuring a forward by Gilberto Gil! It's an authorized biography of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti -- the fearless international musical figure whose legend has only increased since his passing and rightly so -- and it's essentially told in his own voice! Paperback, 290 pages. Available at Dusty Groove.

The Master in the House, Mr Tony Allen!

We were truly blessed Monday night by the presence of Tony Allen and his entire band! No secret The Shrine is named after Fela's original Lagos nightclub, so to have Tony in the building was an honor and sort of brings it full circle. The Shrine hosted the official after-party and the crowd and the band were on the dance floor getting down! Of course the battery died on the camera...! Hopefully we can dig up a few more shots.

Lagos to Chicago - Shrine 101

Now lots of people are already in the know, but some folks may not be aware that The Shrine owes its name to Fela Kuti, or simply Fela as he is known to millions of fans worldwide. Fela (1938-1997) was a Nigerian born multi-instumentalist, composer, political and human rights activist. He was a pioneer of Afrobeat music, a fusion of African rhythms with jazz and funk. Fela regularly performed with his band, Nigeria '70 at his personal nightclub, The Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos to Chicago. The name is in homage to The Original Black President, Mr. Fela Kuti.

Fela kicked out the jams in his all too short lifetime. Here is a short list of essential Fela or Fela related albums.... In no particular order.

Fela Kuti - Expensive Sh*t (1975) Contains 'Water No Get Enemy' This will cause a riot on the dance floor - ask Timbuck2

Fela Kuti - He Miss Road (1975) Produced by Cream drummer Ginger Baker. (Who also recorded two records with Fela worth checking. One under each man's name respectively.)

Fela Kuti - Zombi (1977) Fela rips the Nigerian army for brainwashing its soldiers..."Music is the weapon"

Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers - Music of Many Colors (1980) Contains '2000 Black'. Afrobeat meets Ayers funky jazz vibes - classic!

Fela Kuti - Lagos Baby 1963-69 (2008) Compilation shows the evolution of sound from Highlife to Afrobeat with his original Koola Lobitos band.

Fela Kuti - Shakara (1971) With 'Lady' and 'Shakara', long time fan favorites. The cover is worth price alone.

Tony Allen - No Discrimination (1979) Fela's funky drummer and band leader for twelve years. (He was relpaced with FOUR drummers.) Contains 'Love Is A Natural Thing'. Afrobeat with some squishy synth lines ala Parliament.

Tony Allen - Black Voices (1999) Tony comes back with a modern dubbed out sound with bits of electronics and Parliament's Mike 'Cop' Payne & Gary 'Mudbone' Cooper, too.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80 (2008) Fela's son continues the Afrobeat sound with his father's band. He is monster live too, just like dad!

Femi Kuti - African Shrine (2004) Femi cooks on this live set with both originals and a cover of his father's 'Water get No Enemy'!

Bottle Service: RSVP@TheShrineChicago.com

2109 S. Wabash Chicago IL 60616 (Valet Available)
Red line to Cermak.

21+

Site: http://theshrinechicago.com
Blog: http://theshrinechi.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/theshrinechi
Myspace: http://myspace.com/TheShrineChi
Going: http://going.com/TheShrineChicago
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/channels/theshrinechicago
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/theShrineChicago

THE FUNKY DRUMMER (THE BEAT IN AFROBEAT)

You can't talk about Fela or The Shrine without talking about Fela's original drummer and band leader Tony Allen! Of course we have to go back to the crates and pull out the records... Besides crucial recordings with Fela, Allen has released a grip of his own records dating from the mid-70s to two brand new albums dropping this past year. His beats have been continuously sending ripples through the music world for forty years. Masters of Work, Bobbito, Spinna & Ron Trent are just a few who have offered up re-mixes or edits of Fela/Tony Allen material from the 70s. J Dilla only went back a year when he sampled Allen's 'Asiko' (1999) for Common on the cut 'Heat' on his 2000 album LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE.


His first four records (1975-79) are available as a double CD entitled AFRO DISCO BEAT from Spain's Vampi Soul label. As powerful as any of the Fela records, this is Afro Beat straight, no chaser. Long jams with low end rumble, blazing horns and funky keys all riding atop Tony snaking drums. In the 80s he continued playing and touring and appearing sporadically on albums by various artists from Randy Weston to Grace Jones.


In 1999 Allen re-emerged with the BLACK VOICES album. Produced in Paris, where he now lives, the album saw Allen branching out and embracing new styles, most notably Electronica and Dub. (Well not all new, he'd already recorded with Jamaican saxophone giant Cedric 'IM' Brooks) The album brought him a new generation of listeners, who may have been unaware of his roots with Fela. Re-mixes followed as well as the Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble - a series of a 12" singles based on Allen's drum patterns produced by a host of young beat makers and producers.


He seems to be making up for lost time, releasing a handful of records of his own and appearing on countless records by other artists. After mixing funk & hip hop on 2002's HOME COOKING he has gone back to playing more traditional Afro Beat but continues to push the boundaries collaborating with and recording with divergent groups like Awa Band, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (represent Chicago!), The Good The Bad & The Queen & Charlotte Gainsbourg to name a few.


Tony is bringing more heat this year with his own 'Secret Agent Man' album as well as 'Inspiration Information Vol. 4' with Jimi Tenor. If you have not seen the man play live, check the promo film for his newest album below...

Wax Poetics - AFRICA issue!

Wax Poetics just released its first ever edition dedicated soley to African Music! Serendipitously, it's the first time The Shrine has advertised in the magazine. Yeah, this is a bit of a shameless plug, but we don't care, as Wax Poetics is easily the coolest music magazine going.

In the Tony Allen piece, a mention is made of a song by Chris Ajilo, a Nigerian musician who recorded Highlife in the 40s and 50s. Seems lots of folks took liberties lifting melodies from the older generation of musicians, retro-fit the songs with new lyrics and claimed it as their own, or claimed it was "traditional African music". Sound familiar?

Of course I was curious about the song, so I went looking for it on the internet. I found it on a great blog called World Service. It's on a Highlife compilation called 'Catchy Nigerian Rhythms' from 1956. (There is also a volume 2.) You can download both, awesome stuff! The article says Osibisa lifted the cut, but to me it sounds like Fela's "Water No Get Enemy". You be the judge...

LISTEN: CHRIS AJILO - ARIWO




Bottle Service: RSVP@TheShrineChicago.com

2109 S. Wabash Chicago IL 60616 (Valet Available)
Red line to Cermak.

21+

Site: http://theshrinechicago.com
Blog: http://theshrinechi.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/theshrinechi
Myspace: http://myspace.com/TheShrineChi
Going: http://going.com/TheShrineChicago
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/channels/theshrinechicago
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/theShrineChicago

Tough Jazz One!

Tough Jazz One - Sound Tracks Real & Imagined (A Mix by 'Cosmic' Clark)

I was thinkin' about jazz and the movies (And a mix made a while back) and most of my favorite films have killer sound tracks. A great sound track can lift a seemingly banal scene or film into the stratosphere and inject it with emotion, context and meaning. Jazz, at it's best (or uh, cosmic), can create films inside your imagination, literally 'taking you on a trip'. Sometimes you gotta' go deep...

Buddy Collette opens with 'My Funny Valentine', from a rare LP recorded in Italy with the Basso/Valdambrini Quintet. (Sublime flute work by Collette.) Next up is the Clarke-Bolland Big Band with 'Un Graso de Areia', featuring Sahib Shihab. (What's the latin phrase for "chase scene"?) Remo Usai follows with 'Tema de Boca de Ouro', the theme to the classic Brazilian fillm BOCA DE OURO by Nelson Rodrirues. Sinister and dark to match the film. Mario Schiano takes us back to Italy and the vanguard for 'Supra Monte'. More Brazilian obscurities follow, one via Nigeria. Afrocult's 'Tema de Deusa Negra' is the title track to the the film DEUSA NEGRA. The film featured an all Brazilian cast, but was directed by Nigerian director, Ola Balogun. Afrocult is made up of members of Fela Kuti's band and Monomono! Deep, spirtitual Afro jazz. Next is Tribo Masahi's 'Walk By Jungle' Trippy. Beatnicks in Rio de Janeiro?! The mix closes with some funky fusion from Argentina (Chivo Barraro's 'Mi Amigo Tarzan') and brings it back home to Chicago with The Awakening's 'Kera's Dance'. ENJOY.

Tough Jazz One - 'Cosmic' Clark

Welcome To The Shrine

Greetings and salutations, positive people! Whether you have stumbled onto this page by chance, direction, or fate, you are definitely in the right place. The Shrine is finally here; Chicago's most innovative nightlife destination and live entertainment venue, geared towards the open-minded music lover, and the uncommon dance floor dynamo alike. Within just the past few weeks, The Shrine has already seen, heard, and created countless monumental moments in the history of Chicago's music scene, and there is so much more to come. Stay tuned to The Shrine's official website and blog site for information and in-depth coverage of special events and features, and be sure to add The Shrine to your personal networks on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and Going. Thanks to those that have already come out to repeatedly fill the venue with smiles and good vibes while sweating to a massive groove; and to those that have not yet felt the total experience that is The Shrine, we hope to see you very soon!

Bottle Service: RSVP@TheShrineChicago.com

2109 S. Wabash Chicago IL 60616 (Valet Available)
Red line to Cermak.

21+

Site: http://theshrinechicago.com
Blog: http://theshrinechi.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/theshrinechi
Myspace: http://myspace.com/TheShrineChi
Going: http://going.com/TheShrineChicago
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/channels/theshrinechicago
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/theShrineChicago