Space Afrika: PPL Momentum Music Fund
OPERA OMNIA: A FILM BY VALENTIN NOUJAÏM & SPACE AFRIKA
Producers, contemporary composers, visual artists, performers and NTS Radio hosts, Space Afrika, are pioneers of electronic music encompassing UK Dance, Ambient, Alternative, Trip-hop, Pop, Modern Classical and Experimental. To date they have released two critically acclaimed albums, with their debut, Somewhere Decent To Live, released in 2018, followed by Honest Labour, released in 2021 on Dais Records. The latter went on to receive international praise and became one of the standout albums of 2021, topping Resident Advisor’s Album of the Year and earning Space Afrika two nominations for DJ Mag’s Best Live Act and Best Album.
In spring 2021, Space Afrika stepped into film by releasing Untitled (To Describe You), a collaboration with photographer, filmmaker and poet Tibyan Mahawah Sanoh, creating what has been described as “a living, breathing study of the duo’s Northern working-class Black British reality”. Expanding on their work into film and cinema, the duo provided music for Pacific Club, a short-film documentary directed by Valentin Noujaïm, going on to win the Jury Special Mention at CPH: DOX, Lichter FF and Videoex. In September 2023, the film was nominated for a César award.
The PPL Momentum fund will support Space Afrika in their next exploration into sound and cinema, co-funding the production of their next music video, a short-film directed by Valentin Noujaïm that aims to blur the lines between art and music video. The hybrid work will take viewers on an immersive journey through the streets of Manchester during the winter of 2023/24.