The return of the legend of Burning Spear intersects with dub poetry in two voices by the hand of Mutabaruka and Mad Professor in an evening, the third of Rototom Sunsplash 2023, which will also bring together this Friday, August 18, two different faces of contemporary African sound, those of Yemi Alade and Gultrah Sound System, or the acclaimed Protoje from Jamaica.
Thus begins the sound staging of the referent reggae festival in Europe that, in the extra-musical area, adds other highlights: from the session in defense of peace of the Social Forum to workshops to defuse racism in the area for adolescents the Teen Yard or the puppets to take care of the Earth in Pachamama.
On the musical area of the festival, after his incredible concert in the 2022 edition after years of silence, Burning Spear returns to the festival with a desire for more. From the same generation as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer and, like them, he started out in rural Jamaica and the ghettos of Kingston and went on to achieve worldwide fame. He is surely the most iconic living reggae artist and his hieratic style has always been a celebration of what Africa represents to the Rastafarian mystique. His show at Rototom on Friday 18 at 00.30 am, coincides with the release of his new album, ‘No destroyer’.
Spear will bring down the curtain on a Main Stage that will kick off at 8 pm with a unique moment: two legendary figures sharing the stage. On the one hand, the English dubmaster and producer Mad Professor, along with The Robotiks, a band from his label Ariwa. And on the other hand, the poet and cultural agitator Mutabaruka, leading exponent of the Dub Poetry movement, the poetry in reggae that descends from the tradition of African griots, and a strong activist of black social and spiritual pride. The result of the collaboration between Mad Professor and Mutabaruka is the album ‘Black Attack’, released this year.
The nickname Mama Africa that people have given Nigerian Yemi Alade speaks about her impact on the continent and around the world. Singer, actress and social activist, she is the second Afrobeats artist to surpass 100,000 views in a single video on YouTube after her compatriot Davido. Her mode of expression knows no boundaries: Yemi Alade is fluent in English, several African languages such as Yoruba, Igbo and Swahili, as well as French and Portuguese, which she expresses in her lyrics. She will take the Main Stage at 9.30 pm, but before that she will participate in the ‘African Baddie’ session of the Reggae University (5 pm).
Protoje, one of the main protagonists of the recent wave of Jamaican music, will take over from the queen of Afrobeats at 11pm. His career in progression totals eight albums and a Grammy nomination with ‘Third Time’s The Charm‘, his latest work, released in 2022.
The Rototom Sunsplash 2023 line-up is a list that goes on and on. Also in premieres, such as that of the Australian Dub FX, the only one of his kind. Embodying a legendary independent status like few others, sculpted in his street shows, with which he has revolutionized the concept of ‘one-man band’, and the traditional live production, Dub FX embodies with the spontaneity of his poetics the innovative spirit of another of the great sound platforms of the festival, the Lion Stage (2.15 am).
Gultrah Sound System are true pioneers of the Tunisian underground scene. Born in 2006, among the elements that distinguish the band’s sound are Wissem Ziadi’s violin and Malek Halim’s percussion. Their eclectic reggae is enriched since their beginnings with Afrobeat, jazz and funk, and over the years hip hop has also become a key influence. They will premiere the evening on a Lion Stage that will also add the Italians Dangeroots (10.15 pm), who move with ease between roots reggae and dancehall sounding lyrics that tell everyday stories and fight against indifference and racism.
The Akabu Queens concert will undoubtedly be another special moment for the Lion Stage (11.45 pm). The English band is the world’s first all-female reggae group. With a solid career, the band was born in 1981 and their vital vision of roots reggae has always alternated with pop episodes, although always from the perspective of female creativity.
The Dancehall area will have its own name this Friday, August 18, one strongly linked to the festival: Freddy Krueger, as Green Light from Barcelona in the case of the Dub Academy, of which they have been promoters and in which they will sound again this summer.
‘Who is defending peace?’ to be debated at the Social Forum
The second session of the Social Forum, ‘Who defends peace’ (August 18, 6 pm) will delve into the central theme of this edition with the aim of collectively seeking an answer to the many questions that arise around the war in Ukraine. “In a context in which it seems that the dialogue for peace does not prevail, but rather the need for more weapons, can we still bet on a culture of peace when pacifism is branded as naivety?”, the Rototom Sunsplash claims.
This talk will provide a critical but proactive look at one of the most urgent challenges of our times, in order to avoid simplifications and seek strong alternatives through the international experience of advocates of dialogue, coexistence, solidarity and respect. A three-way debate that will include, via videoconference, Francesco Vignarca, coordinator of the Italian Disarmament Network and promoter of campaigns such as Control Arms. They will be joined by Teresa Aranguren, from Benicàssim, journalist specialized in conflict zones and writer of ‘Palestina: el hilo de la memoria’; and Tica Font, researcher at the Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau.
Defusing racism in the Teen Yard
An intense day will be also experienced in the Teen Yardparticularly in the new parkour zone created by the Valencian collective R-evolution School in which different parkour athletes from Madrid’s parkour collective will be invited on a daily basis as guests. Maddwill host the 2019 world champion in this discipline, Alberto Gómezand Aaron Vivar, champion of Spain 2022. In the part of awareness-raising activities for teenagers the ‘Songs of change’will start, a workshop of songs to deactivate racism and change the world (17.00 hours), with KungFu Ras and Cepaim Foundation.
Pachamama innovates this year in its agenda with the incorporation of the performing arts by Hydra Teatre and its puppet show ‘La tierra cuenta‘, which can also be seen on Saturday 19 at 4.30 pm in Magicomundo.