Songø

Songø is a group from Bristol and Rennes. They represented Burkina Faso at the ninth edition of the Own Africavision Song Contest with the song "Guide". This was the first time Burkina Faso sent an entry with partial lyrics in Xhosa. Burkina Faso was not automatically qualified this edition, which meant that they what to compete via the semi finals.

Songø is a group of 4 musicians from very different backgrounds, with very different cultures Sisanda Myataza from South Africa (vocals), Yoann Minkoff from UK (guitar, bass and vocals) Loeiz from France (keyboards, electronics and vocals) and Petit Piment from Burkina Faso (drums, Ngoni and vocals).

In summer 2018, the team gathered in Rennes and Bristol to work on their ideas, and intertwine their various influences, and explore new sounds and blends. They did a lot of studio work as well as live setup. Quickly the band started to find its very unique sound, drawing on Pop, Soul, Trance and Afro-psychedelic music. This international gathering goes with great variety of languages, highlighted by Sisanda’s virtuose vocals in English and Xhosa, and also in French and Mooré (Petit Piment’s native tongue) In December 2019, SONGØ headlined the Transmusicales festival in France. The audience of 5000 would not let them leave the stage. In January 2020 the band began touring France, playing at Radio Nova’s Nuits Zebrées and Arte (France’s main cultural TV network) Live in Paris.

4 is SONGØ's first EP release. 5 songs foreground each of the four musicians in both their diversity and their unity. The songs are written and performed in 3 different languages (English, Xhosa and Mooré). The linguistic range is mirrored by the very wide range of musical influences. The result is an extremely warm, organic sound which highlights each of the 4 musicians’ musical personality.