The Shaolin Afronauts are an Adelaide-based afrobeat band that is styled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Sun Ra. Their music incorporates elements of avant-garde jazz, soul and traditional African and Cuban percussive rhythms.
Founded in 2009 out of a fascination with african jazz and soul, the band began their life as a support for The Transatlantics before branching out to play their own shows. Over the course of the next few months, the group solidified with a core of twelve band members and expanded their repertoire of original songs. Over the next few years, the band's presence grew; in 2011, they were booked to play the Womadelaide festival in South Australia and had already seen extensive touring throughout the country.
Later in the same year, they were signed to Freestyle records and saw the release of their debut album, 'flight of the ancients.' The album was featured on Radio National Breakfast and garnered considerable attention on community radio, streetpress and Triple J.