Paris, France - In town for the Byron Bay East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival (April 8-9) the legendary Femi Kuti and his dangerously sexy 13-piece band, the Positive Force, bring an exotic blend of Afro-dance beats.

Fusing soul, jazz and driving percussion, Femi spices the Afro-beat tradition up with socio-political lyrics, American hip-hop and electronica to produce pulsating dance rhythms that have been delivering him sell-out tours across Europe, UK and Africa.

On August 2, 1997, Fela, Femi's father and legendary Nigerian Afro-Beat pioneer, died of AIDS. Over a million people watched the funeral procession. Femi remains an outspoken advocate of AIDS awareness and on his latest album, Fight to Win, he has written "Stop Aids" a song he hopes will promote contraception in a country where AIDS has reached catastrophic proportions.

Femi is a worthy successor to his father and has added a new dimension to the polyrhythmic sound in which his father specialized. Femi has added the exuberance of young Lagos as well as the sounds of American dance music such as house. This element has been enhanced by the fondness for his music by several noteworthy DJs and producers such as François Kevorkian, Ashley Beedle, Masters At Work, Kerry Chandler and Joe Claussell. Sat April 3 The Metro Theatre Sydney, Sun April 4 Prince Of Wales Melbourne Thur 8th/Fri 9th Byron Bay Blues Festival.