Tunde Jegede // NEW WORLDS: Visions of a Traveller

Tunde Jegede - kora / cello / voice

Rafael Guel - vihuela / flute / percussion

Sunara Begum - performance / multimedia 

New Worlds: Visions of a Traveller is a musical theatre show that follows the journey of two legendary travellers, from two very different epochs of history; DH Lawrence in Mexico and Ibn Battuta in Medieval Africa. They were both unique in their alternative perspectives and discourses and the way they challenge the mainstream historical interpretation of travel, discovery and connections between ‘old’ and ‘new’ civilisations. Weaving the narrative of these two travellers with multimedia visuals, the show is a meeting of worlds. It is a journey through time from the Pre-Columbian music of South America to the medieval Malian Royal Court music of the griots and the kora.

Tunde Jegede and Rafael Guel are two of the most established artists in their distinct traditions and together they combine to find a new, common musical language of transcendence. Tunde Jegede is a world-renowned composer, renaissance man, kora player and multi-instrumentalist who has brought his particular concept of African Classical Music to a wide international audience. His music represents an innovative synthesis of African and Western art-forms. His reflective and meditative music draws us into a bygone era. Rafael Guel is a celebrated Mexican artist and multi-instrumentalist who plays an array of traditional flutes, vihuela (baroque guitar) and percussion. His music carries the essence of the Pre-Columbian musical heartbeat. Sunara Begum brings a visual and live performance component to the show infusing archival imagery, paintings, text and poetry to express a timeless narrative.