The Reeperbahn Festival – Europe´s largest music platform based in Hamburg, Germany reciprocal partnership with the Music In Africa Conference for Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES) will host three acts from the diaspora to perform at the music industry trade event in Accra, Ghana 28-30 November.

The acts hosted by Reeperbahn Festival include Afrofuturistic Germany-based duo, Gato Preto (Mozambique),  acclaimed band Songhoy Blues (Mali) and France-based Angolan singer Lúcia de Carvalho (Angola) who will join an exciting line-up of  showcasing artists at ACCES featuring Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Arka’n (Togo), Sibusile Xaba (South Africa), Bholoja (eSwatini), as well as Ghanaian performers Yaa Yaa, Kyekyeku & Ghanalogue Highlife, FOKN Bois, Cina Soul and FRA!

Performances during ACCES will take place at Alliance Française and The Gold Coast Hub in addition to the robust day programme of conferences, workshops and exhibitions at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences led by artists and facilitators such as  Akon , Sarkodie,  Efya,  Samini, Chocolate City Vice-President Aibee Abidoye (Nigeria), Ditto Music founder and CEO Lee Parsons (UK),  Airforce1 Records managing director Joe Chialo (Germany), TRUE Africa founder and editor-in-chief Claude Grunitzky (Togo/UK), and Grammy-nominated musician, author and rights activist Mark Levine (US), among many others.

“Music is strongly influenced by the process of digitisation in any form, however, the importance of genuine personal encounters on eye-level and the establishment of reliable artistic collaborations and economic networks does not fade into the background, but becomes more important. We are therefore very pleased to have found in ACCES a partner that reflects Reeperbahn Festival as a European platform and stands for a comprehensive approach throughout Africa,”  says Reeperbahn Festival director Detlef Schwarte.

The ACCES-Reeperbahn partnership seeks to create a framework for the festival to collaborate with the pan-African music conference in facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories.

Reeperbahn Festival will also present two informative panel discussions titled “Navigating the Recording and Distribution Industries in a Changing Environment” and “Fostering Collaboration Between African and European Music Markets”. A strong delegation comprising 30 music industry professionals from eight European countries will also be present at ACCES 2019 courtesy of the festival.

“Our partnership with Reeperbahn Festival, a global brand that seeks to make constructive connections with Africa, means a new avenue for African artists to present their music in Europe and gain new audiences and exposure to record labels, distributors and talent managers. But this relationships will not only constitute a one-way stream; we will seek to create a reciprocal rapport where the European music market, including the diaspora artists who ply their trade in Europe, can collaborate, find prospects to perform in new cities and forge revenue streams on the African continent,” says Music In Africa Foundation Director, Eddie Hatitye.

View the full ACCES 2019 programme  and register at www.musicinafrica.net/acces