Ikobe Music Group

IKOBE, in Kinyarwanda, is the cry of rejoicing shouted by "Intore", young chosen warriors, before stepping onto the arena of song and dance... Ikobe Muzik Group is made up of 4 passionate music accomplices, all singers and instrumentalists. Born in 2006 from the "Body and Voice" workshop of The University Center for Arts and Drama of the National University of Rwanda, the group has patiently enriched through contact with local and international artists from Uganda, Burkina Faso, France and England. As such, the group participated in the 2006 Francophonie Day organized by the French Institute of Rwanda (Alliance Franco-Rwandaise). As time flies, Ikobe is recognized to be the leading acoustic music group at the national level by being invited to perform on international cultural events such as the second Azimuts Arts Festival in 2009, the Pan-African Festival of Dance (FESPAD) in 2010 where the group stage along prestigious artists such as Lokua kanza, Lauryn Hill, etc. 2009 is a turning point in the career of Ikobe because, first, it wins second prize of the first Edition of the Afro-Pepites Contest - Central Africa Category (10 countries) - organized by the cultural association Le Reve Africain (The African Dream.)

Then, second, Ikobe is called upon to create the theme music for the contemporary dance show "Ngwino Ubeho"("Come to live" Writing by Katese Odile, Direction by Flora Théfaine, Musical Direction by Alif Naaba). The creation of this show that will take Ikobe on European stages (Nantes-Onyx Theatre, Theatre-Mayenne) will amount in collaboration with Alif Naaba, a renowned artist from Burkina Faso. 
 This collaboration will permeate the music of Ikobe with sounds of West Africa, resulting in a unique blend of Rwanda musical tradition and West Africa griots.

This acclaimed show will bring back Ikobe on European stages in February 2011, to meet the public of Nantes (France), under the co-production of the company Kossiwa (Théfaine Flora) and the City of Nantes.

In October 2011, invited to perform in the concert of Maurice Kirya, winner of the 2010 Radio France International Music Contest (Concours RFI Decouvertes 2010), Ikobe rich and colorful sounds seduce and captivate the audience, contributing to the success of this promotional event organized by the French Institute of Rwanda. In residence in the Ishyo Arts Center since August 2011, Ikobe has begun a process of reflection on memory and transmission, at the crossroad between tradition and modernity, the" inanga" and acoustic guitar, the need to tap into the attic of the heritage and the freedom to explore other possible...