Popular Music

Dan is also a featured artist with Lee Oskar Harmonicas, pioneering his own style of beatbox harmonica playing which has seen him perform on television in Japan, Ireland, France, the U.K. and the U.S. 

Dan is lead singer of Irish band Hermitage Green, which he founded with his brother in 2010. Hermitage Green signed to Sony in 2015 and have been releasing music and touring internationally since. To date, they’ve released three studio albums and their music has been streamed over 40 million times on Spotify. 

The band tour extensively in Europe, North America, Australia, and the Middle East. In the Summer of 2022, they joined Paloma Faith on her UK tour before heading to Australia and the Middle East in the Autumn on their own headline tour.  

In 1986 Dele and Femi left Egypt 80 to form their own band called Femi Anikulapo-Kuti and the Positive Force of which Dele was the musical director and bandleader, he was again responsible for recruiting and training the new band members. He was also the rhythm keyboard player and keyboard soloist. They toured the world extensively and played in several of the major jazz festivals, from Montreux to the North Sea Jazz Festival to the Montreal Jazz festival. They band produced the followin albums – No Cause for Alarm POLYGRAM, NIGERIA,1989, Mind Your Own Business (MELODIE, FRANCE 1991) and Wonder Wonder (TABU/MOTOWN USA, 1995). The Positive Force was also invited to perform at the Jazz Club of Nigeria Festival alongside other renowned musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Weston, Toshiko Akiosu and Didier Lockwood.

Dele at this time also developed his other musical influences and interests by working and playing with an Afro Jazz Quartet/Quintet and by working in collaboration with a French Bassoon Player called Alex Ouzounoff, to produce a CD titled Made In Nigeria (European music productions 1993) courtesy of the French Cultural Centre, Lagos, Nigeria.

Dele left Femi Anikulapo-Kuti and the Positive Force in December 1995 and moved to London.

In London Dele set about forming a new group, and the resulting projects reflect London’s multicultural environment, with a strong influence of jazz and shades of deep funk and latin music, but all underpinned by the heavy grooves of Afrobeat’s Yoruba rhythm with Dele’s vocals very strongly in the Afrobeat tradition.

In 1996, he started playing as a resident musician in some of the London Nigerian venues, initially playing as a duo, then later on forming Gbedu Resurrection, which he led to several London venues, such as the Africa Centre, (Covent Garden) and The Shrine (then held at the Brixton Fridge). By this time Dele had honed his skills as a composer, singer and entertainer, incorporating the piano into Afrobeat. Dele’s collaborations in this period included working as lead pianist with The African Jazz Explosion All Stars, lead by Claude Deppa and featuring Toni Kofi, Jason Yarde, Byron Wallen, Fayaz Virgi, Jean Tousaint, Thomas Dyani, Harry Brown, Sam Djengue, Francis Fuster to name a few; and also with Lucky Ranku and the African All Stars, lead by the legendary Lucky Ranku and featuring Claude Deppa, Fayaz Virgi, Bukky Leo, Frank Tontoh to name a few.

Following his first solo album Turbulent Times (Eko Star 2002), he was invited to select the tracks for the 3-CD compilation entitled Essential Afrobeat (Universal/Family Recordings, 2004). He was producer and co-writer of Calabash Volume 1: Afrobeat Poems by Ikwunga, the Afrobeat Poet (Rebisihut 2004). He is a central member of the Wahala Project, whose single Wahala appears on Puma’s 2006 Soccer World Cup Compilation CD (Wea/Beacuse 2006). He has also featured on British rapper TY’s recent album Closer (on the track Sweating for your Salary Big Dada 2006), and his track Turbulent Times is featured on Nu Afrobeat Experience (Shanachie 2002), Essential Afrobeat (Universal/Family Recordings, 2004) Sound Affects Africa (Paul Oakenfold Remix Malmaison 2005) and Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project (Modiba 2006). The Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project (2006). His new album Identity out on limited edition pre-release (22 June 2007) is in the final stages for Official release in November 2007 (Helico Records).

His live shows are ALWAYS electric, and the crowd response is ALWAYS massive. He has performed all over the world (for example, the Montreux Jazz Festival, Joe Zawinul’s Birdland (Vienna Dele was invited to perform as a guest alongside the late great Joe Zawinul at his Charity Event for survivors of Hurricane Katrina), the Treibhaus (Innsbruck), Paradiso, (Amsterdam), Bimhuis (Amsterdam) Oerol Festival (Terschelling, Holland), the Ollin Kan Festival (Mexico City), Afrikadey! Canada Afrobeat Summit in Calgary, Canada (August 2007), Sensommer Int Musikkfestival 2007 Oslo, Norway (August 2007) and in London (frequent appearances at the Jazz Cafe, The Kemia Bar at Momo’s. The Shrine, and the South Bank Centre (Queen Elizabeth Hall & Purcell Room), to name a few.

Currently based in London, Dele is an educator and instructor in Afrobeat (via his Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Foundation, and as a Visiting Lecturer in Music and Media, London Metropolitan University). Dele performs in one of three formats, each as compelling and funky as the others, a 15-piece Afrobeat Orchestra (featuring a 5-piece horn section and dancers), a 6-9 piece band (the most frequently used format) or a trio/quartet (with bass and drums/percussion.

Sosimi is abetted by a group of musicians, most of whom have either played with him on previous records or have gigged with him on the live circuit. They all have chops to spare and the communication between them is near telepathic. Afrobeat is lovingly given the virtuoso treatment by a combination of Femi Elias, whose Bass growls, twists, turns, pulsates & grooves, Kunle Olofinjana on drums who meshes perfectly with Elias and like a dream machine the groove never lets up. The gear changes are seamless, no accent or punctuation is missed, Phil Dawson who delivers tasty, funky rhythm guitars and some truly exquisite solos from a wide range of angles, again revealing the endless possibilities of what can be done with this music, Maurizio Ravalico on percussion adding colour and The horns – delivered with laser-like precision by Justin Thurgur on Trombone, Tom Allan on Trumpet & Eric Rohner on Tenor Saxophone.

His most recent work is as the composer, guitar player and producer of the death metal band Amid the Barren and Lost, who released their album ‘Shadow Self Psalms’ in January 2018. Metal Hammer magazine described the album as “a new British metal gospel“, concluding the band “show they’re more than just merchants of taut yet malicious metal that aims straight for the most exposed body part“.

In 2006 he founded the heavy metal band Beneath Dead Waves, which was described by Kerrang! as “so talented it’s like they’re taking the mick”. The band released their album ‘Inertia’ in 2014, which Metal Hammer praised as delivering “metal anthems executed with brainbursting technicality“. The band played shows in support of the album throughout most of 2014, supporting established acts including Monuments, Intronaut and Scale the Summit before disbanding in the spring of 2015.

Asides from producing the Amid the Barren and Lost and Beneath Dead Waves records he has also recorded and mixed numerous other independent projects. His mixes have been featured on Kerrang! radio, Total Rock radio, BBC Radio and ITV’s ‘Take Me Out’ amongst many others. Doug has also created and recorded music for theatre productions, independent films, music libraries and professional wrestling shows.

Doug runs a busy private guitar teaching business from his home studio, specialising in modern rock technique, improvisation vocabulary and contemporary style studies. He is currently in the process of writing and recording a solo album of instrumental guitar music.

As a session musician Johnny has performed with Mica Paris, Hamish Stuart, Errol Brown, Tito Jackson, Gary Barlow, While/Matthews, Fred Wesley, Eric Marienthal, Donny Osmond, Pat Lewis and JD73 amongst many others.

Current musical output includes being a member of original band ‘The Deccan Traps’, working with Grammy award winning composer Eliot Kennedy, and freelance recording / touring work.

Johnny is also a Performance tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Lecturing and teaching

Paul’s teaching career includes:

• London College of Music at the University of West London (2008 to date)
  Jazz and Popular Music: bass guitar BMus (Hons), MMus Performance

• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (2002 to date)
  Jazz: bass guitar BMus (Hons), MMus Performance

• Morley College (1997 to date)
  Bass guitar and Jazz workshops: beginners to advanced level.
• Royal Academy of Music (1994-2007)
  Jazz: bass guitar BMus (Hons) Performance.
  Media & Applied Music: recording, composition & performance BMus.

Research projects

• Elizabethan music: Experiments with early 17th century English melodies, melding with Turkish rhythm and harmony of the times.
• Henry Purcell: Late 17th century songs and their influence on 20th century jazz and Motown.
• Turkish music: The Maqam harmonic system and ethnic percussion influences on European music.
• Moroccan and Andalusian music: A journey through regional variations of the music.
• Sir Thomas Brown: The relevance of 17th century numerology, cosmology and alchemy in contemporary music.
• John Coltrane: Spirituality, symbolism and structure used in 20th century ‘free-form’ jazz.
• World Music: Contemporary developments in digital and analogue bass guitars and their use in performance.

Composition and Performance

Jazz

Paul Westwood’s Jazz FX.
Compositions for his own group include: Jaguarisms, The Earth Born, El Rif, Storm Watcher, The Art of Snake Charming, Arabethan Tales, The Garden of Cyrus, Musical Souls.

Performance

Commercial recording, composition and studio work (1978 to date)
Paul has composed, arranged and recorded 16 albums of media music, which have been used extensively by KPM Ltd, De Wolfe Ltd, ITV, BBC and Sky for signature tunes, incidental music and advertising jingles.

Albums

Paul has been a top London session musician, working on albums for many artists including Warren Bernhardt, David Bowie, Jose Carreras, Larry Coryell, Steve Gadd, Peter Green, Elton John, Nik Kershaw, Leiber & Stoller, Andrew Lloyd Webber, London Symphony Orchestra, Madonna, George Martin, George Michael, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Phil Ramone, Tim Rice, Cliff Richard, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Shadows, Wayne Shorter, Rod Stewart, Barbara Thompson and John Williams (gtr).

Film Soundtracks

He has performed on numerous film soundtracks for composers who include John Altman, John Barry, David Bowie, Carl Davis, George Fenton, Ron Goodwin, Trevor Jones, Peter Knight, Michel Le Grand, Henry Mancini, Paul McCartney, The Sex Pistols, Debbie Wiseman and Hans Zimmer. In 2018, Paul was bass guitar coach to actor Joe Mazzello, who played the part of John Deacon in the Academy Award-winning movie Bohemian Rhapsody.

Television Shows

Paul has performed on many TV shows with artists such as George Benson, Chuck Berry, Joe Cocker, Randy Crawford, Gloria Estefan, James Galway, Janet Jackson, Al Jarreau, Tom Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, The Temptations, Dionne Warwick and Barry White.

International Tours and Concerts

Paul has also toured in over 25 countries worldwide.

Output / Publications

(Forthcoming publication Autumn 2020) ‘Bass and Korean Percussion Bible’, AMA Verlag, Germany.
Bass guitar and percussion tuition book: Asian traditional percussion and its influences on contemporary western bass lines. Suitable for beginners to advanced level. Styles featured compliment rock, pop, funk, jazz and Latin music. Includes 3 CDs of examples of playing styles.

(Forthcoming publication Spring 2020) ‘Bass Bible 2’, AMA Verlag, Germany.
Bass guitar tuition book: a world history of traditional and contemporary bass lines. Suitable for beginners to advanced level. A sequel to the original Bass Bible, BB2 explores further examples of rock, pop, funk, jazz and world music. Includes 3 CDs of examples of playing styles.

‘A-Z of Bass Guitar’, Music Sales Ltd. 2011, ISBN 978-1-84938-865-8
Tuition and demonstration DVD of contemporary bass guitar styles and techniques.

‘Bass Bible’, AMA Verlag, Germany, revised 3rd edition, 2011.
English, ISBN 3-927190-67-5; French, ISBN 3-932587-30-8; German, ISBN 3-927190-84-5; Japanese, ISBN 4-7549-3481-4; Chinese, ISRC CN-Q06-04-0031-0/A.G4.

‘Bass Bible’, AMA Verlag, Germany, revised 2nd edition, 2004.

‘The Bassist’, Bass Player Magazine, 2002.
A series of magazine articles about the music business.

‘Bass Bible’, AMA Verlag, Germany, 1st edition, 1997.
Bass guitar tuition book: a world history of traditional and contemporary bass lines, featuring styles that include rock, pop, funk, jazz Latin and world music. Suitable for beginners to advanced level. Translations in English, French and German. Includes 2 CDs of examples of playing styles.

‘The Complete Bass Guitar Player’, Music Sales Ltd. 1991. Omnibus OV10267.
Tuition and demonstration video of contemporary bass guitar styles and techniques.

Beginning her training with The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Lucy went on to graduate from The University of Southampton with a BA Hons in Music in 2007. She then spent three years as a member of the international a cappella group, The Swingle Singers. With the group, she travelled the world singing in famous concert venues including the iconic Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Whilst providing backing vocals for Florence & The Machine on their 2015/16 World Tour, Lucy appeared on prime time TV shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, The Graham Norton Show, Later…with Jools Holland and The Ellen Show. Lucy has performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Hollywood Bowl and the steps of The Sydney Opera House. With the band, she has also headlined numerous iconic music festivals such as the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and Coachella.

Lucy regularly records for studio sessions at the world famous Abbey Road and AIR studios and can be heard on numerous Hollywood movie soundtracks, including Wonder Woman 1984, Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Dumbo, Beauty And The Beast, and The Hobbit.

As a vocal coach, Lucy has been a part of the team for prime time ITV show ‘The Voice UK’ for a number of years, and has most recently coached on the BBC hit show Little Mix: The Search.

In 2007 Paola was awarded a Yamaha Jazz Award for outstanding young Jazz musicians in association with Jazzwize magazine. She has since gone on to receive several awards as a singer and accompanist, including winning 2nd place in the Jazz Voices International competition in Lithuania in 2011 and first place for Improvisation. She has performed alongside many greats of the international jazz scene including Bobby McFerrin, Liz Wright, Norma Winstone, Kenny Wheeler etc.. She has released and toured several albums of her own original songs and continues to works on multiple cowriting projects in many different genres.
Paola’s live performances have been seen on the most prestigious festival stages, concert halls and jazz clubs worldwide including Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club (London), The 606 club (London), Pizza Express Dean Street (London), The New Morning (Paris) Nardis (Istanbul), also having toured multiple festival stages across France, Europe and the United States.

Paola currently works with several higher-education institutions across Europe and the UK including as Professor for Jazz and Pop Voice at the Conservatoire of Bordeaux and Assistant professor of Jazz Voice at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels. Paola is also a certified Estill Master Trainer (EMT) and is among few bilingual French speaking coaches delivering Estill courses in French and English across Europe. She also organises The International Singing and Songwriting Retreat, a residential Songwriting course held in France, teaching alongside esteemed educator and singer pianist Pete Churchill.

SAHRA has a range of enviable career highlights including performing at; London Jazz Festival, Dimensions, WOMAD, We Out Here as well as receiving co-signs from the likes of; BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Worldwide and Rinse FM. After a brief hiatus throughout the lockdowns, SAHRA is back for good and her recent single ‘Sorry’ confirms why, gaining support from; COLORS, BBC Introducing, BBC 1’s Victoria Jane, Worldwide FM, The Line Of Best Fit, and Wonderland to name a few. Exuberating mysticism, she is able to express her individuality through stories, commanding attention with her rich and faultless voice.

Yolanda has been teaching singing for many years and balances her teaching and performing with her family life as a wife and mum. Gaining a PGCE, her teaching has extended from the classroom to colleges. Yolanda was Head of Singing for Redbridge Music Service for several years until performing opportunities took her back to the operatic stage. Yolanda has been invited regularly by Mary King on the teaching team of Vocal Workshops at the Royal Academy of Music and more recently on the audition panel and teaching team for Glyndebourne Academy.

Yolanda continues to enjoy balancing her performing and teaching commitments.

As a performer, Lilli has toured the UK to Jazz Festivals in Cheltenham and Manchester, and venues including Birmingham Symphony Hall Foyer. Other performances include Ronnie Scott’s, Southbank Centre, Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, Shambala Festival UK, 55 Bar in New York, Rotterdam’s A Festival Downtown, and Brainchild Festival. Lilli was one of 14 artists to be selected for a residency with Mercury Prize-nominated artist ESKA.

As part of the acclaimed choir London Vocal Project, she performed in the world première of Jon Hendricks’ Miles Ahead in New York, produced by Quincy Jones, as well as performances with Dave Holland, Norma Winstone, Nikki Illes, New York Voices, and the Swingle Singers.

In addition to writing, performing, recording, and collaborating, Lilli’s educational work is vast; including vocal coaching, choir leading & workshop facilitation. Clients include community members in her choir Our Voice Choir to professional singer songwriters. Alongside graduating from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, with a TCM Trust Silver Medal in Jazz, Lilli undertakes regular training and professional development including courses in Kodály, production & Vocal Health First Aid accreditation. Her approach is about unlocking the potential she sees in others, building skills, and enabling them to find their vocal/creative freedom.

Composing and arranging work includes: BBC, Born to Perform foundation, Capital Radio, How sweet it is (Motown show), Katy Setterfield & North Star Music amongst many others…

Theatre work: Anything Goes, Chess, Dames at Sea (Monaco), Grease, Joseph, Kingdom of Song, Me & My Girl, Peter Pan, Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story. Musical director for Newpalm Productions including 16 years (1993 – 2007) as their musical director at the Civic Theatre in Chelmsford.

Sam graduated with a First in Jazz and Contemporary music in 1991 from the City of Leeds College of Music.

Yolanda’s more recent work includes performing live with composer Hans Zimmer and working on various film soundtracks including “A Knight’s Tale” “Alfie” “Home” “Boss Baby” I & II and most recently Dune. Between 2017 and 2019 she recorded and toured with British band Squeeze.

Her current work includes writing and performing as leader of funk/RnB band – PROJECT PH. She runs a mentoring and music business consultancy, whilst continuing to accept some session work.

In 2020 Yolanda was a recipient of an MBE for services to music.