Church of Sound comes South of the river for the first time to The Albany in Deptford as part of London Borough of Culture 2022. 

For this special occasion, we are blessed to present Lewisham’s very own Giles Kwakeulati King-Ashong aka Kwake Bass, who has enlisted some of the Borough’s finest musical talent to create a live, spontaneous response to Babylon, the hard-hitting chronicle of South London's sound system culture in the 1980's.

For this special commissioned performance, KWAKE has curated an exceptional line up of musicians including Dave Okumu, Joe Armon-Jones + more to be announced.

A jewel in the crown of South London's musical and artistic legacy, Babylon is a portrait of racial tension and police brutality set in ‘80s Brixton. Focusing on sound system culture and themes of racism, poverty, disillusionment & lack of opportunity, the film is underpinned by a deep soundtrack curated & frequently composed by none other than the legendary Dennis Bovell - by whose false imprisonment Babylon is partly inspired.

Drummer, producer and all-around musical genius, KWAKE BASS is the musical director for both Sampha and Kae Tempest’s latest tours and has played with the likes of Lianne La Havas, Mica Levi, Joey Bada$$, MF Doom, Roots Manuva, Shabaka Hutchings and Novelist. As a producer he explores mysteries that lie between the cracks of structured programming with live electronic improvisation.

The show will be a live cinematic experience, with musicians improvising a score, in some instances recreating the intensity of a 1980’s sound clash and crossing genre boundaries to defying category. The performance will also be recorded

Please note this is a standing performance which emphasises the screening of the film over the on stage performance. The content is improvised and as such unpredictable, and some haze and lighting effects will be used.