On Record: In Conversation with Mykal Brown MBE

Tuesday 10th May

Steel Pulse bassist Amlak Tafari and broadcaster Satnam Rana present twenty-two conversations with Birmingham musicians, promoters, managers, venue owners and entrepreneurs who have all contributed to local, national, and international music culture.

Join us and our special guests for conversations about their lives in music, their connections to the city, and how Birmingham has inspired or influenced them, personally and musically.

Selected dates also feature free live performances from the artists appearing On Record. The first of its kind, On Record is a multi-artist, multi-genre concept album forming a sonic love letter to the city of Birmingham. Produced as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, the eleven-track album will be available on a limited vinyl release and across all streaming platforms.

Founder, selector, and front man Mykal ‘Wassifa’ Brown uses music as a platform to uplift, motivate and empower communities. He was still a teenager when he set up the Wassifa sound system in Handsworth in 1972. In this conversation, we’ll find out about Mykal’s journey in music, and what Birmingham means to him.

Since its beginnings on Stamford Road in Handsworth in the seventies Wassifa has become one of the UK’s most famous inner city sound systems. Mykal Brown also became a college lecturer, charity worker and community activist, receiving an MBE for his services to the community in 2019.

Produced in partnership with B:Music

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