MUSIC REVIEWS
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| Forensics Exile EP (Digital Sin) |
DLX/Breakage Matter of Fact (SMOG) |
Djunya/DJG & Antiserum NarcoHz 012 |
Cocoa Tea Yes We Can (Roaring Lion) |
MATTY G Take You Back (Argon) |
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| The Bug London Zoo (Ninja Tune) |
DZ A1 - Old Timers A2 - Eardrumz (Black Acre) |
Alborosie Soul Pirate (Forward Recordings) |
FEATURED PROFILE - AFROBEAT
Afrobeat is a truly modern style, combining elements
of funk and jazz with African percussion, melodies and
vocals. Afrobeat bands are typically made up of a large
horn section, a large rhythm section, and several singers
and dancers. The music is characterized by an “endless
groove”, in which a base groove played by the drums,
percussion, bass guitar and interweaving muted guitar
lines repeat throughout the song. Singers and horns,
often in a call and response style, perform the melodies.
Of particular interest are the bass lines, which are both
rhythmic and melodic.
Afrobeat’s primary founder was the Nigerian multiinstrumentalist
and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave the
style its name, shaped the musical structure, and infused
the music with it’s political message. The styles’ creation
took place in southern Nigeria in 1970.
Fela had previously been spending time in Los Angeles,
where he encountered two things that influenced him:
the black power movement and the music of James
Brown. Upon his return to Nigeria, Fela created his band,
the “Nigeria 70” and began playing afrobeat. Afrobeat
went on to become a global style, championed by Fela
until his death in 1997 from and AIDS related illness.
Some of the highlights of his catalog are “Zombie” and
“Expensive Shit”.
Many afrobeat bands still perform today worldwide. They
include:
- Seun Kuti (one of Fela’s sons)
- Femi Kuti and the Positive Force (Fela’s oldest son and
saxophonist)
- Antibalas (Brooklyn based Afrofunk band)
- Albino (Bay Area afrobeat band)
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