Kobèna Aquaa Harrison profile picture

Kobèna Aquaa Harrison

About Me

Ko - bè - na (pronounced: kaw-ben-nah?!) Needs an agent! - international/eec/usa/aus/asia . . . . . . . . . Kobè WRITES, PERFORMS & PRODUCES EVERYTHING HEARD ON THESE SAMPLE TRACKS. He SINGS, BUILDS & PLAYS GUITARS, BASS, DRUM KIT, KEYS, GYIL & BALAFON, DJEMBE, APENTOMA, TAMA, DONDO, " except for steel pan. "i'm like www.africa." all the audio & graphic work on this site is by kobèna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Music. Kobè is a creative catalyst. Back in high school, HIS MUSIC TEACHER CALLED HIM AN ENIGMA. He responded, "a nig-what?" he has since become a MULTI-MEDIA MAVEN IN CANADA where he is based for half of each year. The consumate performer is the founder and artistic director of MICHÈZO! INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL (www.michezofestival.com or myspace.com/michezo), an annual island celebration of african games and culture. It is fitting the he was recently made music director of the TORONTO AFRICAN FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL (2009). His work in MUSIC (performance, production, promo), FILM (music & acting), RADIO (host), PRINT (writer), TELEVISION (jingles) and THEATRE (music) makes him renoun as a multi-talented specialist - "IT'S ALL THE SAME TO ME - SPIRIT, SPACE, ENERGY, TEXTURE, WORD, SOUND..... VIBES" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kobè is the ACCOMPANIST OF CHOICE for AWARD-WINNING ARTISTS like ANDREA HENRY (sugar jones), RUBY GORALIA (ruby), CHEKA KATENEN & SNOWGRIOTS (guinea), LIZIWE MAHASHE (s. Africa), COBA dance company, RUTH MATHIANG (sudan-kenya), DRUM CAFE and others.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kobè's band features toronto's top african musicians: KWANZA MSINGWANA (tanzania), SULIMAN HASABALA (sudan), KOFI ACKAH (ghana), RICH BROWN (usa), ANDREW CRAIG (can), LIZZI MAHASHE (s. Africa), WALEED ABDULHAMID (sudan), ZOE ACKAH, AMINA ALFRED, DJENABOU.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kobè is producing HIS FIRST DOCUMENTARY FILM and a music video shot in ghana jan2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kobè receives AN AWARD ALMOST EVERY OTHER YEAR for arts, media, music or just being a wonderful guy, "but... The greatest reward is in heaven - so i got a long way to go." he's SPICED 2 JUNO AWARD-WINNING CDS by jack grunsky "WHEN KOBÈ STEPS INTO YOUR MUSIC, EVERYTHING TRANSFORMS" ; kaleefah feat./S'AIDA SHAKURA (juno nom.); the play ANOWA (DORA). His band "panafrotix" improvised DWAYNE MORGAN'S 2003 UMAC/CUMA AWARDED ALBUM "SOUL SEARCHING," live. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Occasionally aquaa makes time to co-host SOUNDS OF AFRICA (www.ckln.fm) as the veteran host of 15 years. Through his community work he was appointed & TWICE ELECTED AS PRESIDENT/ARTISTIC Director. Of AfroFest /MusicAfrica. ............................................................ ............................................................ ........... Between here & youtube, who else is going to program a African drummer/ balafonist who plays rock guitar and gospel, raps on djembe, and sings R&B?

Ice Hut Production is the 1 African music house in Canada

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 04/08/2006
Band Members: THIS IS WHAT I DO! AFRICAN MULTI-MEDIA MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT. . . . BUILD INSTRUMENTS, WRITE RECORD & PRODUCE MUSIC, CREATE SHOWS, GRAPHICS, MARKET, PROMOTE then INVITE EVERYONE FOR the PARTY! ...i'm passive impatient... I scratch an idea & it looks like carving.

BIG UP to my crew NAWA, SEBRINA, DJENABOU, AFROSA, BENZ, DARLENE, MICHAEL, EARL, WIDI, Eddie da Original One, OLGA, FOGAH, SHERYL, LIZIWE, DEE, NNEKA, DENTON, RICARDO, HENRIETTA, SNOWGRIOTS, www.ckln.fm, www.chry.fm, www.ciut.fm My band is called JBOrchestra & features my 1 & only super-talented brother, KOJO bass, guitar, keys, atenteba (bamboo flute), gyil, voice; KWANZA Msingwana congas, djembe, percussion; SULIMAN Hasabala saxophone, percussion; KOFI Ackah drum kit, percussion, keys; DJANGO steel pan, keyboards, voice, percussion; LIZIWE Mahashe voice, dance; ZOE Ackah voice, percussion; ANDREW Craig Keyboards, drums, bass, voice; RICH Brown bass, percussion. Other members have included Osei 'Booker T', Aron Niyitunga, Daniel Janke, Zelma Badu, Eli, Ian deSouza, Etric Lyons, Amina Rahjudah, KJAS, Michael McLarty, Tony Rabalao, Roger Williams, Israel Okeyafor...





Influences: Saka Acquaye, African Ensemble, Baba Olatunji, mostly un-named African traditional musicians/music from Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Zimbabwe, S.Africa, Sudan, Guinee, Tanzania, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Cote D'Ivoire, Zambia, Tchad, Algeria, Congo, Angola, Tunisia, HIGHLIFE oldies, GOSPEL, JAZZ, BLUES, AVANTE Garde, Euro-classical, SAMBA, Ghazals, Qawwali, Bhangra, ROCK, Debussy, Weather Report, Rush, Thin Lizzy, ELO, Fleetwood Mac, The Carpenters (OK.. my close friends are really crying by now, seek oxygen lads) Cheap Trick, The Cars, Judas Priest, Stravinsky, Brand X, Heart, Parliament Funkadelic, the Nutcracker Suite, UK (the band), Claire de Lune... the original CFNY incl. Doctor Demento show, Monty Python etc, WBLK Buffalo 1980, In Living Colour, Arsenio Hall Show, Basil Davidson Remembers, Ali Masrui, ROOTS, Watermelon Man, Porgy and Bess, Sarafina (the play), Saraouina (the film), Heritage, Sounder, Taj Mahal...tbc I jazzed my profile using Freeweblayouts.net Be an original


Sounds Like: Going Home

"Kobe's FRETLESS JAZZ BASS SLICE" Cheka Katenen performs Djarabi w/ kora, Camera & editing by Kobèna


Record Label: M5
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

May 13 2009

I've be off of this piece of technology for quite a while so I will update y'all on my most recent latest wassup...I'm performing onstage in a play called "The Marriage of Anansewa"written by Ghana's ...
Posted by on Wed, 13 May 2009 08:20:00 GMT

Looking for change & finding big bills...

This was my response inspired by a piece by "the Birth of Music"  It goes like this....."The most intense extension of a secondsparkling jeweled moments, treasure, a challenge a new level of open...
Posted by on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:43:00 GMT

on Nov 4: Sankofa Musique - Kobè Aquaa-Harrison

Hosted By: Caliban Arts Theatre & Trane StudioWhen: 04/11/2007Where: Trane Studio964 Bathurst AveToronto, Ontario CanadaDescription: Kobèna conducts another trademark night of artistic mayhem bef...
Posted by on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:31:00 GMT

Fruit Punch is NOT Juice

Ah, I'm on a rant & roll trip. I was fishing for real news on YouTube. George Galloway vs everybody. How does he not get tired of re-educating the same bunch of idiot-puppets everywhere he goes? I...
Posted by on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:58:00 GMT

MORE JUICE for your donkey

Another scam that annoys me is the 'health check' [various] menu signs on some foods. These 'consumables' substitute sugar with aspartame or other Frankenfood concoctions... Equal, splenda, phenylala...
Posted by on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 01:51:00 GMT

Moms - stop calling your sons underwear "panties"

You think I'm kidding? This is a serious crime. This is gender identity theft and emotional treachery. I have heard many single-mom friends refer to their son's undies, gotchies, as "panties" and fran...
Posted by on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:18:00 GMT

4 out of 5 Toothpastes prefer idiots

Written by me in Graph Nobel's blog OCT 12/07 The topic was tootpaste and the various issues with the way it, issues. You know, the messy no-matter-what cap. To cap or not to cap.. And we all know, n...
Posted by on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:00:00 GMT

CRACK’d

Not written from any experience but love is a drug. And this is not a love song.CRACK'D was my first studio demo recording in the legendary Wellesley Studios, Toronto. What you hear is not even mixed ...
Posted by on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:51:00 GMT

Back to Africa where I came from...

Hello folks, longo longo longo time-ohPeople are asking where's Kobe like my name is Waldo. I have to admit I've been behaving like the Wizard of Oz, behind the curtain pulling levers and talking thr...
Posted by on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:44:00 GMT

5th annual Michezo! International Festival SAT AUG 18th

MiCHEZO! International Festival is an annual, interactive celebration of traditional African games and culture. Michezo! showcases African folk music, dance, drumming, food, storytelling and ancient ...
Posted by on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:25:00 GMT