{"id":168438,"date":"2026-11-15T08:51:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T13:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/interviews-panm360\/mundial-mtl-2026-melafrique-interview\/"},"modified":"2026-11-15T08:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T13:53:04","slug":"mundial-mtl-2026-melafrique-interview","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/mundial-mtl-2026-melafrique-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Mundial MTL 2026 | Melafrique: Africa for Everyone and by Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2026 edition of Mundial Montr\u00e9al is about to take off on November 17th (and until the 21st). On the starting platform, numerous groups and artists from Quebec, Canada, and beyond will come to showcase what they are capable of and the type of music they practice. PanM360 is covering the event, of course, and has chosen to present in more detail some of the ensembles that will be present. Here, Melafrique, a pan-African Afro-Soul\/Fusion group based in Edmonton, whose members come from Kenya, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Canada. I spoke with Aristoteles Canga, producer and keyboardist.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MELAFRIQUE WILL BE ON STAGE ON NOVEMBER 19, AT LES FOUFOUNES \u00c9LECTRIQUES.<\/strong> INFO AND TICKETS HERE.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PanM360: Hello. The group was formed in Edmonton in 2016. How and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristoteles Canga:<\/strong> The initial idea, in fact, was that three young people met in Edmonton. We were all students at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta. And it was a first experience of a very cold winter. It was extremely cold in 2015-2016. And we needed something to… calm our minds. And also because the engineering faculty’s curriculum was very difficult. We thought we needed something to calm our minds. It’s music that gave us that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PanM360: You called yourselves Melafrique, which comes from “melanin” (skin colour) and “Africa,” with the finishing in French. A specific reason?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristoteles Canga:<\/strong> Because we have group members who are French speakers, including me. We have Enoch, who is originally from Ivory Coast. We wanted to create this mix and, let’s say, bring inclusion starting from the name of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PanM360: In Alberta, you are a doubly minority… But overall, it’s very Pan-African…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristoteles Canga:<\/strong> That’s right. Our bassist, who is also one of the founders of the band, he comes from Kenya. Riwo, who is our lead singer, she comes from Nigeria. Me, I come from Angola, a Portuguese-speaking country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PanM360: French becomes a binding agent. Nice idea. Here in Montreal, we appreciate it! How would you describe the fusion you create? When listening, one can sense a predominance of soul and R’n’B, less so the traditional sounds…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristoteles Canga:<\/strong> It wasn’t intended from the beginning. In fact, it has always been a challenge for Melafrique to define our sound because we have so many influences. I grew up with Lusophone music (Brazil, Portugal). And even music from Romania because I lived with a Romanian family. Leshan, he lived with Indian music, English-speaking music, and Rewo, the same thing. Every time we made arrangements, they were always mixed influences. \u2018\u2019Ah, me, I’m going to add that to the group’s arrangement\u2019\u2019. \u2018\u2019Me, I’m going to add that\u2026\u2019\u2019 I also have a Francophone background. We talk about C\u00e9line Dion, we also talk about music, for example, Haitian music like Konpa. It has always been a blend of cultures and it has always been difficult to give a name to Melafrique’s music. People often say that you have to be there at a Melafrique show to know exactly how not to define Melafrique’s music. But here, I think I would summarise by saying that our music is defined as Afro-soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s Afrofusion and Afro-soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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