5 things to know about Kinetika Bloco

Kinetika Bloco are a vibrant South London arts collective that, for more than 25 years, has merged music, performance, and community spirit to produce something incredibly special.

Embodying and promoting a positive representation of youth in London, they continue to offer a creative outlet for young brass and woodwind and steel pan players, drummers, vocalists and dancers. And here’s a little bit more about what makes Kinetika Bloco so special.

It all began at the turn of the millennium

Although Kinetika Bloco are all about the music, their origins are actually in the more visual side of carnival. From a background in the banners and placards made in organised protests, via involvement in theatre groups in India, in the mid 1990s artist Ali Petty began working with Trinidadian Carnival artist Peter Minshall, painting costume silks for carnival. Inspired by this, and the community spirit of large-scale performance events, in 1998 Petty founded her own arts company Kinetika.

Two years later Petty recruited the musician and bandleader Mat Fox, a popular South London music teacher. Leaning on his experience with organisations such as Jazz Warriors and Musicworks in London, and also what he’d seen on a visit to experience the Brazilian carnival bloc group Cortejo Afro in Salvador, Fox formed the musical wing of Kinetika’s carnival productions, and Kinetika Bloco was born.

They’ve forged a sound of their own

Though Fox sadly passed away in 2014, his influence on Kinetika Bloco’s musical direction remains in what BBC Radio 2 termed a ‘unique new British Carnival sound with a decidedly London edge’. Bloco’s high-energy sound is an exuberant, brass-heavy fusion of Caribbean steel pan and Brazilian drums, but also New Orleans second line, tied together by woodwind and brass. It’s a fearless fusion of genres that results in performances which blend vibrant samba with soulful reggae and energetic hip-hop, creating a soundscape that’s as diverse as London itself, making every performance a celebration of unity through diversity.

They can boast some notable alumni

Since their foundation in 2000 Kinetika Bloco have offered a valuable opportunity, platform and encouragement for a host of budding musicians from South London, many of whom have gone on to achieve notable music careers of their own. Among the ever-increasing list of Bloco alumni are singer Reuben James, saxophonist Ruben Fox, bandleader Mark Kvuma, Sons of Kemet tuba player Theon Cross, Kokoroko trumpeter Sheila Maurice Gray, multi-instrumentalist and part of Blue lab Beats, David Mrakporof and two fifths of Ezra Collective; trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi and drummer Femi Koleoso.

And they’ve played some big gigs

Throughout their existence Kinetika Bloco have maintained the carnival connection that sparked their journey, returning regularly to perform at Notting Hill Carnival. But they’re not the only London streets they’ve trodden, having also led the Team GB Victory Parade through the capital after the London 2012 Olympic Games. They’ve also brought their distinct sounds to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and the London Jazz Festival, as well as performing in front of Nelson Mandela (‘enchanting’ was the great man’s verdict).

And in recent years they’ve been offered a leg up onto some notable stages from some familiar faces, accompanying Ezra Collective at Glastonbury, the Royal Albert Hall, BBC’s 6Music festival in Manchester, and the BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena.

But they’ve never forgotten their community roots

Though they’ve trodden big stages, and many of their members have gone onto bigger and brighter things, Kinetika Blocco has always stayed true to its original mission; empowering young people through arts and community. As their website states, ‘we want to help young people achieve their potential and participate in society as mature and responsible individuals,’ and nobody is achieving that aim more vibrantly and joyously than Kinetika Bloco.