EMEFE has only one intention: to play music that frees everybody in the audience, everybody listening at home, and everybody in the band. The band was created by drummer Miles Arntzen in 2009 to explore and share the afrobeat music pioneered in the 1970’s and 80’s by Fela Anikulapo Kuti and carried on today by Antibalas. In the same way that Fela used afrobeat music as a confrontation against corrupt politics, EMEFE uses its music to fight the inner authorities that we put on ourselves, each for our own specific reasons. EMEFE draws heavy influence from the funk music of Sly Stone, James Brown and Earth Wind and Fire, as well as hip hop and neo-soul influences. Mixed with a rock and roll edge, the powerful and exciting EMEFE sound never fails to get audiences jumping. EMEFE hopes to spread awareness of the healing power of music, dancing and smiling, which explains their reputation as one of the most exciting and engaging live bands in New York. EMEFE consists of a drummer, a bassist, 2 guitarists, a keyboardist, two percussionists, and a 4-piece horn section.

Members of EMEFE have played with and studied with artists such as Antibalas, Sharon Jones & the Dapkings, Soulive, Charles Bradley, Menahan Street Band, TV on the Radio, Tower of Power, Medeski Martin and Wood, and many more. EMEFE – it’s the way!

The Opposition Party is a ten-piece Chicago musical collective, centered around performance of polyrhythmic music, particularly the cross-pollination of African music, Jamaican reggae and dub, and American funk and jazz. Heavy grooves and high-energy rhythms come alive in a catalog that features music from artists like Mulatu Astatke, Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Thomas Mapfumo, Jackie Mittoo, and originals that stir up all these influences and bake them into something new.

Born and raised in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood DJ Sound Culture has always had a great affinity for world cultures and deep music. His passion for both has to a large extent laid the path in front of him for most of his life. In the dj booth DJ Sound Culture is somewhat of an ethno-musicologist or rhythmic cultural chemist of sorts, exploring the world’s sounds and finding the threads that tie us all together globally. From Bhangra to Balkan Beat, African Soukous to Latin House, he knows how to navigate your auditory senses. His live mixes are both dynamic and cohesive, whether you’re a world music enthusiast or dance floor regular, he keeps things interesting and moving smoothly.