Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Introduction: Paris, Africa in a week Studio Sessions featuring Anti-Choc & Viva la Musica Bozi Boziana live at the Hoogstraten Festival The Paris stadium show Koffi Olomide's Birthday Fete

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"Paris, Africa" in a Week - The Hoogstraten Antilliaanse Festival 

Featuring Bozi Boziana, Deesse & Anti Choc

By Martin Sinnock "Muana Machete"

Friday, 11 August

We are scheduled to take the 0955 train from Paris to Antwerp Berchem but Charlie and I have to collect our friend Ethan Bloomberg, broadcaster and African music authority from Afrika Kabisa on radio station WMBR Cambridge.  His flight arrival from Boston means he will arrive in Paris at noon so we leave the band to travel to Belgium alone.  Ethan arrives for his first visit to Paris and we have enough time to grab a few cds before we pick up our train to Belgium.  The Antilliaanse Festival arranges a taxi to take us direct to the festival site near the town of Hoogstraten which is way out in the countryside near the Dutch border.  

We are greeted by our hosts Louis and Johan who tell us that there will be 20,000 people at the festival.  They immediately make us feel welcome with ample refreshment (Charlie has already warned me of his passion for Belgian beer and Ethan and I are never slow to accept hospitality of an alcoholic nature).  Bozi and the band are resting back at our hotel after completing their sound-check so I take the opportunity to discuss with the promoter and stage manager the plans for the performance.  

 

The Hoogstraten Antilliaanse Festival brochure
The festival is getting busy and by the time Bozi and co. arrive for dinner the atmosphere is buzzing.  After introducing Ethan to the band we all eat, and then Bozi and I discuss the running order for the chosen songs.  The band need to find their caravan dressing room in order to change and prepare for the show.  “Suivez le guide!” I cry as I hold my hand in the air.  Simultaneously they all raise a hand in the air and shout “Suivez le guide!”.  We all fall about laughing.  

The atmosphere is buzzing at the Jocker Tent at the Hoogstraten Antilliaanse Festival (Photo by Ethan Bloomberg)

 
Charlie, Ethan and I head-off to the stage area where I am due to DJ from 0030 until 0130 immediately prior to Bozi who is the final act of the night on the “Joker Stage”.  This is the slightly smaller of the two stages.  Toward the end of the highly percussive set from Aruban group Tok Rhythm and Brass I mount my DJ rostrum which towers above the crowd.

The band finish and there is a ten minute break to allow engineers to clear the stage: This allows the audience to disperse to the refreshment areas or to the other, larger, stage area.  At 00.30 I start playing some punchy upbeat Congo Rumba followed by some hard-core sapeur music, and gradually the crowd drifts back in readiness for Bozi.  By 01.30 we have approximately 7000 people in the area and I make my way around to the stage to ensure that the band are OK.  

Martin Sinnock spinning some hard-core sapeur music at the Hoogstraten Antilliaanse Festival  (Photo by Ethan Bloomberg)
From the stage I make a big introduction in which I try to hype-up the crowd so that Bozi will feel welcome and enthusiastic.  The wonderful festival crowd respond magnificently and the band pumps out a sebene as the two dancing girls start the show spectacularly.  I then introduce Bozi himself and the audience erupts.  I’ve rarely seen him look so happy.  He embraces me and then quite uncharacteristically he leaps into a dance sequence with the girls. 

Martin Sinnock announces Bozi Boziana & Anti Choc (Photo by Ethan Bloomberg)
Bozi and Déesse perform well but after the opening song the guitarists seem to go out of tune and the rest of the set is a little bit of a disappointment.  The audience, most of whom have probably never seen a Kinshasa band, seem thrilled by the show and for two hours the atmosphere is on a high.  Déesse and I are disappointed about the poor show and together we sit at the side of the stage complaining to each other.  

Bozi Boziana and Deesse with Anti Choc performing at the Hoogstraten Antillaanse Festival (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

Deesse thrilling the crowd (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

(Photo by Martin Sinnock)

(Photo by Martin Sinnock)
During the performance our Belgian friend, another broadcaster and music expert, Frank Wouters arrives.  After the show Frank, Charlie, Ethan and I spend the rest of the night talking and drinking beer.  Frank kindly transports us back to our hotel where the band are already sleeping.

Anti Choc at Hoogstraten (Photo by Ethan Bloomberg)

 
Click here to continue to Part 4: The Paris stadium show