Gonsofus & Medial Banana
We are happy to announce hungarian-russian duo Gonsofus, or slovak Medial Banana.
15. April 2015
The young Russian artist Sasha Mamaev is the leader of the project Gonsofus. He has been performing under this name with various musicians or giving one-man-shows since his student days in Boston, and that is why many fans do not recognize him under his own name, but they do when they hear the name of the project. In this band, there is no danger of a singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, or saxophone player leaving, as all of these positions are covered by Sasha himself, using a variety of effects and loop boxes. Drums and percussion are played by Gábor Tokar from Hungary.
Gonsofus produce multilingual and dance mix of reggae, dub, hip hop, funk, folk, and Afrobeat. Apparently, there are no language, genre or state borders for these young men. Their production so far includes 3 independent albums and 5 successful tours across Europe. Slovak fans can also enjoy the fact that Gonsofus currently operate in Bratislava. By the way, they recently recorded a nice video in the streets of our capital which shows that art is not for the elected (in the video, passers-by are asked to draw a picture for a song). The band Gonsofus and their energetic and positive show is just way too cool to be absent at Bažant Pohoda.
Medial Banana say that what brought them together was their desire to express their dissatisfaction and opinions, and it was also tolerance, chill, love for nature and sun. The basis of Bananas’ music is reggae that combines their passions and beliefs, but they often add dancehall, hip-hop, jazz, funk, dub or ska elements to it. The band formed in 2009. They soon released EP Naturally lifted and a debut album Uplifted. Two songs from the album were mixed in the legendary Jamaican Tuff Gong studio founded by Bob Marley. Currently, they’re working on their next album, due out later this year. The band played several prestigious festivals such as Sziget and Outlook. Currently, they are on the road with their big Czech-Slovakian tour organized at the occasion of their 5th anniversary, which is slowly coming to an end. They win favor with their fans thanks to fun lyrics and performances full of energy. The four of their most known songs alone have more than million views on YouTube. But reggae on the screen is like a banana in a peel. To enjoy it most, you need to listen and jump to it live.