Brussels, Belgium - Tikhu Vibrations, the winners of the 4th Interregional Music Crossroads Festival held in Tanzania in January 2003, will be touring in Sweden, the UK and Norway this autumn- their first tour beyond the African continent.

The band emerged from Music Crossroads, the biggest musical event organized across Southern Africa which combines music workshops, competitions and festivals. Initiated by Jeunesses Musicales International, the world's leading youth and music network, Music Crossroads acts as a platform to help launch the careers of Africa's most talented young musicians aged between 15 and 27 years old. It was at the last Interregional Festival that Tikhu Vibrations were unanimously declared the winners of the grand prize - a 3-week tour in Sweden, which has since then been extended to a month, and will be followed by extra shows in the UK and Norway.

Tikhu Vibrations are from the northern province of Malawi and perform an impressive mix of gospel, traditional Malawi sound and dance and contemporary music. Their live performances capture all audiences, with their amusing dance routines and costume changes, traditional and modern instruments, African and Western rhythms and vocals.

The Swedish tour will take the band to 27 venues across Sweden between the 21st September and the 26th October and includes public concerts, workshops and school concerts. Tikhu Vibrations will notably perform at the international conference and festival on young audiences "New Earports" (3 October) and at the "World Mix" Festival (8,9,13,14 October).

To thank friends for their support (mostly instrument donations) and to raise funds for charities in Malawi, the band will thereafter give several concerts at schools and churches in the UK. Dates in Norway will follow.

The band is currently recording its first album in Blantyre, Malawi, in collaboration with the Malawi singer Wambali Mkandawire. It will be available throughout the European tour with an official launch planned for November in Mzuzu, Malawi, when they will give a special performance with Wambali.

The 5th Interregional Music Crossroads Festival will be held in January 2004, in Tanzania (in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam).