Competition Time – The good people at Festival of World Cultures have given us a pair of tickets to give away for this super headline show at Festival of World Cultures.

What country in Africa do Orchestra Poly Rythmo de Cotonou hail from?

(Answers below in the comments box and we will announce the winner on Friday 16th July)

Now in its tenth year the excellent festival by the sea in County Dublin has comes from strength to strength to deliver some of the best music from around the globe. Usually taking place in towards the end of August in Dun Laoghaire and its surrounding area, organisers have moved the  weekender to July 23 – 25.

Turn up the heat! It’s a night of sweaty, jungle-inspired retro voodoo funk as legendary Benin sensations Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou make their scorching Irish debut. This eleven-piece ensemble has hypnotised audiences for decades with their unstoppable homemade West African madness. Formed in 1969, and still featuring four of the original line-up, the orchestra recently signed to legendary Frankfurt label Analogue and since then it’s been one sell-out performance after another, including a much acclaimed 2009 Barbican concert.

Benin is the birthplace of vodoun (voodoo) – a religion practised to music – and its complex rhythms are hailed as the sonic bridge with the Americas that ultimately influenced blues, jazz, Cuban and Brazilian music. Beating out Sato rhythms on a colossal vertical drum, and offering the Sakpata beat to the voodoo divinity for health; the collective meld traditional percussive tempos with out-of-this-world organ harmonies, big brass sound and psychedelic guitar riffs.

As the New York Times said: “The funk turns into hypnosis and the rest is unstoppable dance music.” Mix it up and get down, for a night of sizzling beats and spiritual soul.

Also, don’t forget our show on Friday 23rd with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble in the Purty Kitchen..!