The Shaolin Afronauts are an Adelaide-based instrumental 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 2008 out of a fascination with Afrobeat and creative improvised music 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.