Page 45 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2021

MW: How did you get involved with K.O.G. & The Zongo
Brigade?

FV: I met Kweku (K.O.G) through the gig circuit in Sheffield around
2008. We were both playing with different bands at the time.
Around 2013, we met up, coincidentally at a jam session, and he
told me about this idea for his new band and asked if I'd be up for
fronting it with him. It's been a mad crazy journey since.

MW: What have you been working on since your 2018 release
‘Escapism?’

FV: Since the 2018 release of ‘Escapism,’ I've been busy gigging
around the UK playing some solo gigs, some with my live hip hop
jazz fuelled band, but mostly touring around Europe with K.O.G &
The Zongo Brigade. I started working on my next project around
the beginning of 2019, but it was a slow process due to being so
busy touring. I've managed to use all this lockdown time to really
focus and get into reflecting and writing for this new project. It's a
6-track EP titled 'PEOPLE DI POWA.’ The EP features artists
Nicola Newman, K.O.G, Mark Stoney, Cortney Dixon, James
Atasharoo, Producers Tom Excell, Lucian Oniell (The Colonel)
based in Manchester, Labo Klandestino based in Marseille, Toni
Smoke based in Scotland, and Chris Malpass (Cyber Ninja) based
in Cambodia. I've used this EP to focus on issues around power.
It's an attempt to address the systemic oppression that a lot of us
experience and how it can lead to a sense of disempowerment.
The EP touches on the way we are governed, the power
imbalances in society, and the different types of power that we can
access. For example, spiritual, political, economic, and mental
power. The sound is very energetic and hopeful. I want the listener
to feel a strong sense of empowerment. It's a reminder that we are
powerful as individuals but more so as a community; as a
collective.

“I want the listener to feel a strong sense of empowerment.”