African Head Charge: Open Air Show

African Head Charge is a pioneering dub and experimental percussion project founded in 1981 by percussionist and sonic visionary Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah.

Formed in the UK but rooted in deep Jamaican and West African rhythmic traditions, the group became a cornerstone of the post-punk dub movement through its long-standing collaboration with producer Adrian Sherwood of On-U Sound.

Blending Nyabinghi drumming, reggae basslines, industrial textures and avant-garde studio experimentation, African Head Charge developed a distinctive, immersive sound that bridges ritual percussion and radical studio alchemy. Their early albums, including My Life in a Hole in the Ground and Environmental Studies, helped define the outer edges of dub in the 1980s, influencing generations of producers and experimental musicians.

Across four decades, African Head Charge has remained an evolving collective centred around Bonjo’s hypnotic percussion, continuing to tour internationally and release critically acclaimed recordings that fuse ancestral rhythm with forward-thinking sonic exploration.