Monday, July 23, 2007








What a great man ......

I have loved him long ...... he has toured with my team ...... he has shared many a stage with me ..... including Prague in 2003
..... and now he has a new album out ....

MONDAY
JULY 23rd 2007 is the release of his brand new album::

Ben Okafor
“CHILD OF BIAFRA”



Songs from the stage production. Featuring the CJAM Choir

Available on-line from www.planktonrecords.co.uk
Price: £11.99 (price includes postage to anywhere in the world)

'Child of Biafra' is the stage dramatisation in words and music of Ben Okafor's own childhood experiences of the Nigeria-Biafra War, during which he was a child soldier.

The play was co-written and is directed by Justin Butcher another Greenbelter.
The play, a multi-media show starring Ben, receives it's premiere performance in the Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK on Thursday 19th July. It is being performed over 3 evenings as part of the ‘War and our World’ seminar.
Hope ...... he can be at Greenbelt Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend - rain or shine.

The CD features songs from the stage production and reflect the origins of Ben's musical career, his early childhood and his early journey through the fields and fortunes of war, and the influences of these experiences on his artistic and spiritual vocation to date.
The musical arrangements and performances are poignant, earthy and acoustic based and truly reflect the African heritage from which they draw. The CJAM Choir (conducted by Segun Gilbert) add a further dimension to the CD in both their wonderful augmentation of Ben's songs and in their performances of traditional Igbo pieces.

Track Listing: (CD running time 58 minutes)

1. Oke Na Ngwele
2. Victoria
3. Ol' Back Yard
4. Nigeria We Hail Thee
5. Raise Your Conscience (mp3 excerpt attached to this email)
6. You'll Be Fine
7. Obin Di Alo
8. Land Of The Rising Sun
9. Hail Biafra!
10. Medley Of Igbo Choruses
11. Jehovah Bi' N' Igbe
12. Mgbe En' Igwe N' Uwa Nka G' Agafe
13. Africa Will Be
14. Love Train

For more information on the ‘War and our World’ seminar: www.manchester.ac.uk/warandourworld

To order your copy/copies of the Child of Biafra CD via our secure on-line shop using visa/mastercard: www.planktonrecords.co.uk
See also::
www.benokafor.com
www.myspace.com/childofbiafra



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