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| Asa Bantan | |
|---|---|
| Name | Asa Bantan |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth date | 1970s |
| Origin | Ibadan, Nigeria |
| Genres | Afrobeat; World music; Contemporary jazz |
| Occupations | Singer; songwriter; composer; arranger |
| Instruments | Voice; piano; percussion |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Labels | Independent; LagosSound Records |
Asa Bantan is a Nigerian singer, composer, and arranger noted for blending traditional Yoruba vocal forms with Afrobeat, contemporary jazz, and popular West African styles. Emerging from the Lagos live-music scene in the 1990s, Bantan has worked with leading Nigerian and international artists while releasing several acclaimed recordings and scoring for film and theater. His work connects regional performance practices with diasporic networks spanning London, New York, and Paris.
Bantan was born in Ibadan and raised in a household steeped in Yoruba performance and church music, studying piano and choral arranging before moving to Lagos to pursue professional music. He trained at the University of Ibadan music department and later attended workshops at the Peabody Institute and summer programs associated with the Royal Academy of Music and Berklee College of Music. Early mentorship came from figures associated with the Nigerian highlife and Afrobeat scenes, including practitioners linked to Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé, and the Lagos club circuit that featured ensembles influenced by Tony Allen and Babatunde Olatunji.
Bantan's early career included session work for Lagos studios, arranging horn charts and vocal harmonies for established acts on labels connected to EMI Records and Island Records. He released his debut album in the late 1990s on an independent imprint, followed by critically noticed records in the 2000s that received airplay on stations affiliated with BBC Radio 3, NPR Music, and RFI Musique. Notable projects include a concept album inspired by Yoruba oral epics and a collaborative record integrating Afrobeat grooves with modern jazz improvisation. Bantan also composed scores for productions staged at the National Theatre, Lagos and contributed music for films screened at the Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
Bantan's music synthesizes elements from Yoruba praise-singing, highlife guitar patterns, Afrobeat polyrhythms, and modal jazz harmony associated with artists such as John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis. He cites traditional drumming lineages from practitioners linked to Eyo masquerade processions and ritual performance, as well as the contemporary urban idioms propagated by musicians linked to Lagbaja and Seun Kuti. His arrangements often feature horn voicings reminiscent of big-band charts used by ensembles connected to Count Basie and Duke Ellington, while his vocal phrasing references techniques taught in conservatories like the Juilliard School and community choirs affiliated with St. Luke's Church, Chelsea.
Bantan has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists across continents, collaborating with musicians associated with Miriam Makeba, Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita, and contemporary producers linked to Nicolas Jaar and Burna Boy. He has appeared at festivals including WOMAD, Afropunk Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and venues in networks connected to Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. In studio sessions, he worked alongside instrumentalists from ensembles tied to Orchestra Baobab and session networks used by Paul Simon on world-music projects. Bantan's theater collaborations involved directors associated with Wole Soyinka-linked theatre companies and playwrights whose work premiered at institutions like the Globe Theatre and the National Theatre, London.
His albums and scores earned nominations and awards from institutions associated with The Headies and pan-African music prizes aligned with organizations similar to BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music and festivals granting honors like the Montreux Jazz Festival juried prizes. Bantan received fellowships and commissions from arts councils linked to the British Council and the Ford Foundation and was awarded residencies at artist centers comparable to Banff Centre and MacDowell Colony. Critics in outlets associated with The Guardian, The New York Times, and Le Monde have featured his work in year-end lists highlighting global and jazz releases.
Bantan lives between Lagos and London and is active in cultural advocacy networks tied to organizations such as African Artists' Foundation and NGOs working with partners like UNESCO on intangible heritage preservation. He mentors emerging musicians through programs connected to Red Bull Music Academy-style workshops and serves on panels organized by institutions like the Africa Centre and the Royal Society of Arts. His advocacy addresses artists' rights and cultural heritage protection in forums convened by bodies similar to World Intellectual Property Organization and regional initiatives linked to the African Union.
Category:Nigerian musicians Category:Afrobeat musicians Category:Living people