Bossaphonik is firmly established as Oxford's hub for live jazz-dance and world-dance.
Established in October 2004 by Dan Ofer and Gil Karpas, it has blossomed into a celebratory night and has played host to over 125 different great bands.
It has become something of a movement and community of people passionate about quality of live music, and of course, dancing the night away.
So come on down and chill with your friends for the first hour while the DJs play nourishing music for the mind and soul, experience the energy of a wicked live band, then dance your socks off to the most tasteful jazz dance and global beats till the early hours!
FORTHCOMING...
Friday 19th May, 8pm-1.30am
Live music starts at 9.30pm
*** DOUBLE BILL***
The May Bossaphonik event takes place on Friday 19th and features an eclectic double-bill of two differing and superb, musically rich world jazz dance acts - Vipertime and The Mambo Panthers.
Vipertime birthed as a free-improvising group of musicians in the basements of Leeds house parties and grew into a steady unit who explore the borders of high energy modal jazz, dub, afrobeat, ethiojazz and post punk. They settled on a highly unusual line up featuring two drum kits wielding a dense web of percussive energy with thunderous in-your-face bass guitar and lyrically dexterous tenor saxopone. Since their earliest material, they were inspired and excited by the flavours of the Ethiopiques compilation series and their hard-hitting grooves contain the fingerprints of ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, alongside the influence of their UK jazz peers such as Sons of Kemet, Nubya Garcia and Melt Yourself Down.
They have concocted a driving sound that is simultaneously unique to the band and also a microcosm of the current thriving UK scene. A sound that has been described as a maelstrom of impassioned saxophone rising out of a mass of seething drums and bass, moving between driving riffs and agile improvisation, and swiftly from voodoo fury to tender introspection with their audience at their heals with every move.
The Vipertime core members also feature in renowned northern-based outfits such as K.O.G. (previously featured at Bossaphonik), Wandering Monster, Jasmine Myra, Roller Trio and WorldService Project. Their 2019 debut LP Shakedown and subsequent singles have received airplay by Gilles Peterson on BBC 6 Music and by Colin Curtis on Worldwide FM and also on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Introducing. The band have made a series of incendiary appearances at venues and festivals across the UK including Lancaster Jazz Festival, Smugglers Festival and Band On The Wall in Manchester, all whilst at the same time honing their craft to its sonic limits.
At this Bossaphonik performance, Vipertime will be into the latter half of a 10 date UK tour promoting their new second album, Arise. An album that seees the band embrace the studio after the pandemic period allowed time for them to develop as composers. Their punk edge is sharper than ever with great depth and maturity to the tunes and a richness of texture to the album as a whole.
“They harness the sweatiness, chaos and the musical nous of the legendary Leeds nightlife and replicate it with undeniable gripping swagger”
Jazz Revelations
“Dance floor ready” - Jamie Cullum
“Technically outstanding and phenomenally imaginative” - Louder Than War
Check out the Viperime catalogue on their Bandcamp page:
vipertime.bandcamp.com
Check out past single, Beatviper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iXoBi_5Hpc
Check out a live Vipertime performance at a Sofar London session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd8ZWx2xDBY
Kicking off proceedings in this eagerly awaited double bill are The Mambo Panthers - an Oxford-based band who are fast winning the hearts of music lovers in our city and are becoming something of a Latino music institution here. The band first came together through a shared love of Cuban music, and now play a variety of danceable music from all over the Latin American world and the Caribbean. They take audiences on a musical journey from the Salsa of New York to the Creole Swing of New Orleans, from Cuban Son to Colombian Cumbia and even Argentinian Rock – all bound together by a playful attitude and a dedication to groove.
Their line-up includes trombone, Cuban trés, piano, upright bass and a drum kit built around timbales topped off with female and male vocals.
The band’s members come from three continents and a variety of musical backgrounds, having variously studied music in Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Senegal and elsewhere. They have worked with UK outfits including Yaaba Funk, Aswad and Maxi Priest, along with Oxford-based bands including Ran Kan Kan, Mambo Tropical and Papa Nui.
Check out two vids of The Mambo Panthers performing at Tap Social in Oxford:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BaSXOOhgI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMHqbzkhKnU
After the pleasures of the two live bands will be a Bossaphonik club session with guest DJ Boomshank - an Oxford based DJ and musician with his night "Homework" having regularly ran at The Library pub and The Bullingdon. Also a splendid saxophonist, playing in the formidable jazz-grime-hip hop Dutty Moonshine Big Band and Oxford's own brass band funksters Temple Funk Collective, he was also previously part of Oxford's live drum 'n' bass outfit - Confidential Collective. Together with Bossaphonik resident DJ Dan Ofer, they will treat the dancefloor til 1:30am to the sounds of…
Jazz Funk * Afrobeat * Afro Jazz * Brazilica * Latin Jazz * Cumbia * Global Hip Hop * Balkan Beats * Soul Jazz * Electro Swing * Global Grooves * Nu Jazz Bizniz!
Friday 19th May
Bossaphonik presents Vipertime + The Mambo Panthers + DJ Boomshank
Cowley Workers Social Club, Between Towns Road. OX4 3LZ (Near Templars Square Shopping Centre. Regular buses 1,5,10 go from City Centre up Cowley Road til 3am, stopping directly outside venue)
8pm – 1:30am, live music starts at 9:30pm. Please arrive early - beat the queue!
£12 advance (wegottickets.com) / £12 student ID on door / £15 door
Hope to see ya!
BUY TICKETS
Bossaphonik events Jan-June 2023:
