18:00–18:45 Lecture Nii Noi Nortey (free entry) 19:00–20:00 The Berlin Afrobeat Company 20:30–22:00 Santrofi
Every year on 15 October, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) celebrates the life and work of Fela Kuti, one of the most significant musicians of the 20th century. The title of the initiative, ‘A Felasophical Gathering’, highlights the fact that Fela was not merely a musician, but equally an activist, a politically engaged individual and a philosopher.
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Santrofi
The annual gathering brings together musicians, academics, activists, storytellers and other followers of Fela Kuti to pay tribute to his music and his teachings.
7.00 pm The Berlin Afrobeat Company
As in the past two years, the concert programme will open with a performance by the Berlin Afrobeat Company (BAC), which was founded in West Berlin in 1978 following a legendary performance by Fela Kuti & Africa 70 at the Berlin Jazz Days. Following that concert, many of the ensemble’s key members decided to stay in Berlin. Today, the BAC consists of international musicians of various generations based in Berlin, who are dedicated to preserving and developing Fela Kuti’s music through live concerts and various initiatives.
8.30 pm Santrofi
Santrofi, the evening’s headline act, is a supergroup from Accra that combines its passion for classic highlife grooves with the energy of hip hop. Santrofi was founded in 2019 by a group of enthusiastic young musicians with a shared love of classic highlife – the music of their parents and their childhood, drawn from vintage vinyl records and radio hits that live on in their memories. They honed their craft in the bands of famous Ghanaian musicians, including Ebo Taylor, Ambolley, Pat Thomas and highlife pioneer AB Crentsil, with whom they were in the studio shortly before his death. But they have also played with today’s popular stars such as Kidi Yaw Tog, Arathe Jay, Black Sheriff and many others.
Their debut album *Alewa*, released in 2020, was already internationally acclaimed: it was said that they were reviving the Golden Age of highlife. In 2023, Santrofi teamed up with Berlin’s Omniversal Earkestra for a spectacular concert and the resulting live album. In 2025, their latest studio album, *Making Moves*, was released on the Outhere Records label. The album celebrates the tradition of highlife whilst simultaneously carrying it into the future: perfectly orchestrated with an Afrobeat horn section and highlife claves, it lends the reflective songs about everyday themes a funky dancefloor vibe.
- Part of the programme: “A felasophical gathering”
Venue: Miriam Makeba Auditorium
A Felasophical Gathering | HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt
Additional information
Dates
October 2026
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