Spanning the breadth of international urban bass music, Maga Bo's work makes connections between the organic and the electronic, the traditional and the avant-garde and the local with the global. In his live performances, original productions and remixes from his far reaching creative collaborations take new forms mixed live, often with the participation of MCs and live musicians.
Direct, in-person, on-location collaboration with other artists has been paramount in his work, having participated in artistic residencies in Morocco, India, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zanzibar, South Africa to name a few. There are no canned samples here - all instruments and vocals come straight from the source.
His studio work and live performances are informed by the philosophies of hip hop and dub on a fundamental level. Adding and subtracting elements dub-wise in the same way that as artist might work with positive and negative space. Inspired by hip hop and sound system culture, the recontextualizion of riddims and sounds is enriched by the presence of live vocalists and percussion. Working with layers of sounds, it's not only rhythm or harmony, but juxtapositions and textures that give this work a depth rarely seen in electronic music today.
Maga Bo has performed in India to Ethiopia to Brazil to major summer festivals across Europe to touring North America and Australia. He has performed at the Sydney Festival, an o¬cial showcase at WOMEX, Club Transmediale and Mundial. On the road nearly constantly, he still manages to keep up up on the production front - having collaborated with Mulatu Astatke, Issa Bagayogo, Bollywood star Shilpa Rao, BaianaSystem as well as releasing critically acclaimed remixes for Poirier, Luisa Maita, Filastine, Blick Bassy and Bomba Estéreo.
His critically acclaimed debut full length album, recorded in Senegal, Tanzania, Morocco and South Africa with heavyweight local rappers and musicians, Archipelagoes, was released on DJ /Rupture's Soot Records. He later released an EP on Senseless Records from his work with traditional musicians in Ethiopia.