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. 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.