CD Review: Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu's 'Life On The Street'

Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu
Life On The Street
Ghetto Lounge

The UK-based Afro-funk band, Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu, brings us a heavy, African-inspired mix of catchy beats, groovy melodies, and hot rhythms ripe with African spirit and charisma on their latest release, Life On The Street. The eight-track release combines funky rhythms rich with jazzy textures and horn-driven melodies throughout. Led by Ghanaian singer, songwriter, composer, and master percussionist, Afla Sackey, Life On The Street is an excellent example of tribal melodies and global beats coming together in happy unison. The vocal parts are in a Ghanaian language of Ga, while at other times, English rules the tracks. However, the album contains more instrumental segments over vocal medleys. Anyone familiar with contemporary Afro-funk and classic music styles from the 1960's and 1970's will appreciate Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu's musical madness. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: See-I's 'Knowledge Shine Bright'

See-I
Knowledge Shine Bright
Fort Knox Recordings

Washington, DC's Afro-funk band, See-I, releases a new album that continues in their funk, house, trance, hip hop, and rock paths with Knowledge Shine Bright. The opening anthem, "Never Give Up," is a reggae, funk, and rock-infused medley of luscious sounds and catchy melodies with punchy horns, jingly guitars, and reggae vocals. A dozen tracks round out the album with classic funk rhythms, hip-hop grooves, and urban styles that combine electronica with jazzy horns. The entire collection of songs are especially likable, which is probably due to the catchy and infectious melodies. At any rate, See-I is not afraid of experimenting or mixing styles, instruments, or grooves. Get your soul filled with 'Knowledge', so it can 'Shine Bright.' ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: C.S. Crew's 'Funky Pack'

C.S. Crew
Funky Pack
Cultures of Soul

Funky Pack is a reissued album from the late 1970's group, C.S. Crew, which are based in Nigeria. There are nine tracks in all featuring some of the funkiest funk to ever come out of Nigeria. "Bread Power" is littered with funky beats and raw sounds that get the body moving. The growling vocals are mostly throaty, but some of the vocals are a little lighter. The music is produced from drums, gonga, bass, guitar, alto sax, tenor sax, trombone, trumpet, moog, and string synth. "Doin' The Good Thing" continues in the funky vein with throaty vocals and fluid bass-lines for a truly aural fixation. The ballad-esque, "Living Together," cements the group's reputation for creating reflective tunes with funk, rock, and blues all rolled into one, satisfying concoction. Afro-funk fans will love C.S. Crew's reissue, but anyone with an interest in Nigerian music will love it. African music rules! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: CSC Funk Band's 'Funkincense'

CSC Funk Band
Funkincense
Electric Cowbell Records

Born out of Brooklyn, New York, CSC Funk Band continues to ignite the Afro-beat and funk music charts with scintillating beats, nostalgic horns, and rippling guitar grooves that are impossible to ignore. The sub-forty-minute romp through Afro-funk bliss contains eight tracks and some of them contain vocals. The heady mix of sax, trombone, guitar, percussion, bass, and keyboard provides a pulsating result that is catchy, psychedelic, infectious, and undeniably great. The grooves are layered with fine horns, fluid bass, and Afro-centric nostalgia that cannot be made any better by anyone else. These funkers are without a doubt the best in the biz right now. The whole album wreaks of funkincense from head to toe and track to track. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Nuru Kane's 'Exile'

Nuru Kane
Exile
World Music Network

Hailing from Senegal, Nuru Kane is a splendid musician of the Moroccan guimbri, guitar, kora, and calabash. Nuru's deep voice resonates the message of hope, love, and life throughout the eleven tracks. The music is upbeat and similar in style to other Senegal roots musicians. There are Afro-funk elements, but the majority of music is steeped in contemporary roots genres. Afro-pop listeners will hear some of the pop inflections, but most of the songs are not clearly linear and harmonically-cohesive. Instead, there are classical, percussive, and hypnotic with some trance-inducing qualities. There are hints of Latin, reggae, folk, and blues music that are undeniable. Fans of Cheikh Lo will be pleased with Nuru Kane. Despite the rather short running length of forty-three-minutes, Exile features enough musical variety to keep African music fans quite happy. ~ Matthew Forss 

CD Review: Tchiya Amet's 'Celestial Folk Music'

Tchiya Amet
Celestial Folk Music
Milky Way Records

The soothing, world beat music of America's Tchiya Amet combines soulful reggae rhythms, jazzy melodies, and various instrumental medleys that encapsulate innovative and engaging musical creations. Tchiya's voice is whispy and airy--similar in tone to Sade's voice. The new release of sixteen songs contains a bit of afro-funk and afro-latin rhythms and melodies. The laid-back vocal delivery and ear-friendly percussion, guitars, bass, keyboards, and other instruments make the entire album stand out. The reggae and funk-tinged, "Po Tolo" is a good example of reverberating beats and a sultry vocal line. The reggae-influenced "Great Purification," provides a throbbing organ sound and languid percussion beats with sultry flute. "Ast Maat: R U Sirius Enuff" is a more upbeat, hip-hop-focused tune with jazzy vocals, fluid melodies, and a reggae pulse. "Equinox" opens with a funky sax and languid bass line. Tchiya's breezy vocals represent a bit of Brazilian pop with similar instrumentation from the same region. However, Tchiya knows how to make the music shine in multiple genres. As a whole, Celestial Folk Music contains blissful folk music with strong reggae, funk, jazz, new age, and world beat ties. The fluid vocals are classy and Sade-esque. The melodies, rhythms, and instrumental solos are outstanding. This is a perfect companion for world beat, world jazz, world reggae, and folk music with an ethnic twist and cosmic origin. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Doctor L's 'The Great Depression'

Doctor L
The Great Depression
Comet

Doctor L is a fusion fellow with roots in Ireland, France, and Africa. The latter country is of utmost importance for his latest release, The Great Depression. Doctor L incorporates soothing downtempo hooks, a punch bass line, afro-beat funk, and world voicings into the mix. Various artists are captured on the album, including The Nairobi Descendants, Vodoo John, Allonymous, Tony Allen, Asa, Kiala Nzavotunga, Unknown Poets, David Walters, and Antibalas. The remarkable repertoire is heavily influenced by jazz, funk, improvisation, and global beat music with various languages spoken and numerous instruments make rhythms from all corners of the world. The upbeat, modern arrangements contain a variety of vocal samples, rock-driven segments, and funkadelic tunes that are so hot they melt the CD player...figuratively, of course. A plethora of male and female vocals, spoken word, rap, electronic noises, and mesmerizing arrangements put this album to the top of any global music chart with ease. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: El Rego's Self-Titled Release

El Rego
El Rego
Daptone Records

El Rego, known as Theophile Do Rego, was an African music legend in his native land of Benin. DJ Frank Gossner put together this incredible collection of music from 45's released in the 1960's and 70's. Twelve tracks, a twenty-page booklet, and a bonus, limited edition 45 of "Se Na Min" and "E Ma Non Tin Me." The music is largely funk, soul, afro-beat, and jazz-driven in the vein of Fela Kuti, James Brown, and John Lee Hooker. "Djobime" is a rousing tune and a sure-fire dance track. "Dis-Moi Oui" is an almost-Ethiopian influenced track with good percussion and fiery vocals. El Rego's instrumental repertoire is limited to drums, guitars, horns, keyboards, and bass, but that does not mean the music is lacking anything. In fact, each track moves with a high degree of aural fluidity unsurpassed by other musicians. If you love the afro-beat and funk styles of West Africa's coast from the 1960's and 70's, then El Rego is a must-have. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: CSC Funk Band's 'Things Are Getting Too Casual'

CSC Funk Band

Things Are Getting Too Casual

Fatbeats

The Brooklyn-based CSC Funk Band is a large group consisting of 10+ members that produce edgy, funk and dance music with borrowings from rock, punk, jazz, and psychedelica. The eclectic mix of instrumentation adds to the funk and world beats. For instance, the sax, moog, trombones, guitars, trumpets, bass, oboe, and drums, at times, sound like progressive rock and funk. At any rate, the songs are more progressive, fast-paced, and rock-driven than comparable Afro-funk bands, such as Antibalas, The Funk Ark, and others. The steamy, infectious, and rhythmic songs steeped in Afro-funk traditions and American dance grooves make the CSC Funk Band an important player in the global funk music scene. Things Are Getting Too Casual is sure to shake things up. In fact, anyone's feet would be moving within earshot of Brooklyn's-own, CSC Funk Band. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Nigeria's Tirogo

Tirogo

Float

Normal Records

Tirogo was a 1970's Afro-psych-funk group from Nigeria. First recorded in 1977, the songs of Float feature the best in psychedelic-guitar music to come out of West Africa. Rock guitar, lounge beats, and funky organ sounds emanate from all of the tracks. As an added bonus, an interview with bassist, percussionist, and vocalist Wilfred Ekanem is included in the liner notes. Float soars with Heavenly Afro-rock beats, swirling organ sounds, and groovy English vocals. The swaying sounds of Afro-funk are particularly noticeable on "Gypsy Girl" and "Let's Feed The Nation". The band members include Wilfred Ekanem, Elvy Akhionbare (lead guitar, percussion), Wilfred Iwang (drums, vocals, percussion), Fumi Onabolu (keyboards, percussion), and Godwin Debogie (conga, percussion, vocals). Anyone with a passionate interest in 70's Afro-funk and psychedelic music should seek out the groovy sounds of Float. Float doesn't sink! ~ Matthew Forss