World music
Album Review: Serendip Quartet – Queen of Fire; a homage to the Women of Congo.
There is a need to begin this review with a direct quote from its band leader, saxophonist Arnaud Guichard : “This record is dedicated to all the victims of sexual violences in DRC and to Dr. Denis Mukwege and his team who work hard at restoring the pride and dignity of all the victims of …
Track: Okute release new track ‘ Quiere La Rumba’ and forthcoming album
In the same way that BCUC went to the root of their roots to inspire some wild new afrobeats, Okute look set to do the same for Cuban music. The eight piece collective of seasoned players, based in Havana, are steeped in rumba/ Son cubano with a focus on the tradition’s afrocentric heartbeat. That may …
Album Review : Adam Moezinia’s ‘ Folk Element Trio’ – A Sonic Travelogue
New York based guitarist Adam Moezinia first debut album ,’Folk Element Trio’ is what we at Backseat Mafia have suspected it would be , after premiering its single ‘Celebration’ last month : a triumphant celebration. It is a union of global folk traditions featuring elements of Beninese, Malian, Welsh and American folk music in a contemporary …
Track: Toumani Diabate & The London Symphony Orchestra debut new track, ‘Elyne Road’
“ELYNE ROAD” is the debut track to premiere from the highly anticipated recording of the masterful collaboration between celebrated kora player Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra. The track is a truly wonderful preview to what’s a rather fascinating combination of West African griot/jeli tradition and the neo-classical brilliance of Western European conservatoire musicians. The LSO does …
See: Moonshine – ‘Ginseng (Zaire Space Program: Act I)’: utopian Afrofunk where Congo meets Canada
LINKING together the musics, the aesthetics and traditions of Paris, Portugal and the the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pan-African collective Moonshine have dropped a brace of singles – “Malembe” and the deeply bassy, Afrofunk groove of “Ginseng (Zaire Space Program: Act I)”, which we’e concerned with here, featuring the Paris-African talents of Bamao Yende, …
Album review: Crimi – ‘Luci E Guai’: potent fusion music from Julien Lesuisse
THE MOST potent fusion music, the stuff that’s born from experience rather than cooked up as an experiment, comes from travellers in search of sounds. Julien Lesuisse is one such explorer. The vocalist and sax player has been a central player in Lyon’s Mazalda, a band that steadily evolved from jazz messengers to sound system-driven …
Premiere: Los Esplifs – ‘Perro Rabioso’: Tucson psych-cumbia outfit go roamin’ for a (rabid) hot dog
DO YOU have a particular penchant for those liminal musical zones, the subduction zones where musical tectonic plates bend and upheave and buckle and melt into one another? Particularly, perhaps, when you’re left with a wide grin and a begged question: just how did they get there, exactly? You know the sort of thing I …
Album review: Joao Selva – ‘Navegar’: Latin optimism with endless energy
WELL it looks like the summer vibes may need a little boost this year, so here’s a release that’s set to heat things up. Brazilian troubadour Joao Selva, now based in Lyon, definitely aims to shake us around with his samba infused, funk primed second album, Navegar, available on Underdog records from April 2nd. Born …
See: Crimi bring irresistible global beat to ‘Chi Ci Talia’
FRENCH bands just seem to handle fusion music so naturally. They absorb the sounds around them, let them ferment and then uncork something with familiar flavours and an individual twist. Enter Julien Lesuisse’s new band Crimi, a hard-funk four-piece who draw from the dynamic energy of his previous dance-focused crew Mazalda, the emotion of traditional …
Track: Adam Moezinia releases the joyful ‘Celebration’, where jazz, folk and West African harmony meet
HERALDING from the bustling scene where contemporary jazz meets folk meets West African harmony, LA-based Adam Moezinia brings much needed joy with his latest release, aptly titled “Celebration”. Originally part of a suite by Adam called the “Ivory Suite”, it’s a virtuoso yet familiar homage to the Beninese guitarist Lionel Louke, one of Moezinia’s influences. …