An Interview with Victor Sila

Recently, Conscious Dancer had the opportunity to sit down with Victor Sila, lead singer and musical architect of San Francisco–based Sila and the AfroFunk Experience. AfroFunk represents Sila’s personal journey through music, starting as a child in Kenya when he devoured music from African heroes such as Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade, to western superstars like James Brown and the Beatles. The current permutation of AfroFunk (best experienced live, of course) includes aspects of all of these … and it really gets you moving.

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“The first act to peace is real community.”

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For Sila and his bandmates, creating music is an opportunity to honor all the best aspects of the human experience. They strive to create a space in which the differences among people are not only accepted, but celebrated.

“Whenever you have a chance to bring different groups together, different races, age groups … to enjoy something as an audience, something deepens. The whole idea about making music is really bringing in different aspects of people’s lives, their cultures, and having them embrace and appreciate music that they never grew up with… it moves you in different ways. It’s really a way to live in harmony. It’s the beginning of peace, I think. It’s a love affair you create—a two-hour love affair with the crowd.”

An integral part of the energy Sila is trying to spread around the globe is the idea of acting in your local community. Sila focuses much of his time and energy trying to heal the deep rifts tearing apart his own homeland, both in Southern Africa and other war-torn areas of the continent. He puts on a yearly festival that raises money for UNICEF; this year, its main focus was the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. He hopes that by setting a positive example, other people will follow his lead.

“You say, ‘I want peace, I want peace; you’d better live it. You better be real. Once people see that, they can learn from your actions and of course from your words. It’s an opportunity to say, ‘I can do it, we can do it together. Everyone can do it.’”

Through his music, his voice, and his actions, Victor Sila sets an example for everyone. We can create a better world, starting at home. Music and dance are natural expressions of peace. We all have joy to express, if we listen to our hearts. Sila wants people to act on a very local level: give locally first in a small way—whether through time, energy, or money—and then grow from that. “Don’t wait to do something. The first act to peace is real community.”

For more information on Victor Sila, his work in

Africa, and his band Sila and the AfroFunk

Experience, visit: www.victorsila.com