Culture Shock, one off charity gig and brain child of fourth-year University of Manchester student Ajibola Omokanye, brought world music and people of different ethnic backgrounds and ages together for a highly energised and successful night at the Contact Theatre.
“I wanted to put on a night that celebrated diversity, even if that sounds cliché. There exists a wealth of talented musicians in the North West, with musical styles spanning the globe. You rarely see or hear much about them, so the idea of Culture Shock was to bring them into the limelight” he told Student Direct.
The money raised will be donated to UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Grange School, Manchester’s specialist educational centre for children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Both UNICEF Manchester and Manchester Friends of MSF were newly set up this academic year. “I thought this would be an excellent way to celebrate their arrival to the Students’ Union. Grange School does such wonderful work; I felt that they more than deserve their share of the spoils” says Ajibola, who volunteers at the school.
Culture Shock showered the crowd with a wide range of musical genres from dancehall, reggae and hip-hop to African live music and a Brazilian samba band. All the performers and djs are Manchester based, giving it a truly local feel yet undoubtedly international musical flavour.
Glowing performances came from Arun Ghosh who enchanted the crowd with his avant-garde jazz infused clarinet harmonies and swirling body movements and Republic of Swing, a fast Rio samba band complete with traditionally dressed carnival dancers who the crowd went wild for. To wind the night down, Hotmilk’s The Riddim Master, a classic on the local reggae scene got the crowd happily swaying.
“I’m hoping to organise bigger and better events in the future (although these may not be under the name Culture Shock). The events will be of the same ilk, raising money for good causes and supporting the local community. So, watch this space…” Ajibola tells SD.
9/10
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