On Friday 22nd May we are teaming up with our long time collaborators ,“Digbeth’s best kept secret”, Club PST,  to bring an exclusive event to Birmingham, a one off screening of the unreleased documentary ‘Congo Beat The Drum’ and a 90 minute live performance from the film’s director and musician, Kalbata (Tru Thoughts, Freestyle, Soul Jazz Records, Greenmoney, Tel- Aviv).

Congo Beat the Drum’s official trailer:

‘Congo Beat The Drum’ is a feature length documentary recording the production of Kalbata and Mixmonster’s album also titled, ‘Congo Beat The Drum’ (Freestyle Records). Originally recording a purely analogue album straight to tape using traditional Jamaican techniques, Kalbata and Mixmonster decided to embark on a journey to Jamaica to truly capture the spirit of the dancehalls. The film has been officially selected for three film festivals including the Pan African Film Festival held in Cannes, France.

The event will run between 21:00 to 03:00 with the documentary screening being shown from 23:45 to 00:45 followed by a DJ set from Kalbata.

Support will be provided by upcoming Reggae/Dub producer Sticky Joe who will be joined by the vocal veteran Chesire Cat (Leftfield), Birmingham’s Reggae institution Jam Jah Sound’s Bongo Damo and Future Dub producers and DJs, Jeph1 (Mindstep) and Goosensei (Dubs Alive Records). There will also be an “open decks” session that will run from 21:00 – 22:00 and a stall from Screams Africa selling sculptures and clothes made by African artists.

Documentary Synopsis by Freestyle Records: “Two years ago, Ariel (Kalbata) and Uri (Mixmonster) went into their Tel Aviv studio with the purpose of recording a 100% analogue reggae/dub album, combining the spirit of the late King Tubby and the early dancehall era of the late 70’s and early 80’s. They insisted on not using any computers in the process, whilst blending in elements of techno, psychedelic funk, African tribal music. They then travelled to Kingston, Jamaica and began tracking down their favourite singers and deejays, such legends as Jah Thomas, Little John, Trinity, Echo Minott, Mutabaruka, Major Mackerel, Puddy Roots and the sadly, recently departed Prince Jazzbo.”

£7 entrance all night.