Big Words
In desperate need of a pick-me-up, we direct our ears to the city of Leuven in the Flemish region of Belgium, where an eleven-piece musical collective by the name of Alpacas Collective has been on a funking roll. Late last year, the group gave us a killer first taste of their far-reaching global grooves on their otherworldly seven-track debut album "Seven Wisdoms of Plutonia", blending a whole bunch of styles to fashion a soundscape of their personal liking. And as if to say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," they stay true to that approach on their follow-up full-length, recently released unto unsuspecting listeners likely bound to nod their heads in mean-mugging agreement.
"Big Words" sees the Alpacas Collective led by percussionist, composer and producer Frederik Kühn pick up right where they left off, serving up seven and a half (one track enjoys a double feature as an extended instrumental) wonderfully arranged psych-funk stunners for fans of everything ranging from afrobeat, to Ethiojazz, Hindustani ragas, Caribbean seasoning and then some. It's almost as if each band member's distinct musical taste was taken into consideration and skilfully tied into the mix to create a piquant amalgamate of utmost zest that would appeal to all involved and those looking on from the outside in amazement. No doubt, these musical explorers cover a lot of ground, "from Lagos to Addis Ababa, from Augusta, Georgia to New Orleans, and from Delhi" to outer space.
What may come as a surprise to those expecting a downright onslaught of lyrical eloquence, "Big Words" actually gets its message across without being overly verbose. The afrobeat-ific title track sets its sights on lying politicians and their "hollow speech" in the spirit of one Fela Kuti, while "Movéfèzè" (Creole for 'villain') has rapper Nèg Madnick spitting venom at "the rich plantation owners who have poisoned his beautiful [...] Martinique with toxic pesticides." On "Boyoma", West African griot Zouratié Koné lets his ngoni do the talking, while "What Could I Do" adds a 'hornful' dose of deep funk, "Bhimpalasi" and "Gunkali" pay their respects to the sitar and "Surrounded" provides a short, cinematic Ethio-breather. Adventurous, evocative, spirited, we're sure you'll find your own (big) words to describe this mythical tour de force.
More posts
It's A Bomb
Isn't it strange how sometimes the points just connect? Just this week, we published a new annual "Best of Globalwize" selection from 2017, which happened to include a track from the highly original and very much progressive sounding 1983-released (and 2017-reissued) collaborative album "Noir et Blanc" by Congolese singer Bony Bikaye, alongside French composer Hector Zazou and electronic music experimentalists CY1. Now, some 40 years since his milestone Crammed [...]
Back To The Taverna
It's times like these that make us want to return to the safe haven that is the local tavern. Where you can leave whatever worries you may have at the door and indulge in life's simple pleasures: good food, a drink or two or three, random conversations in the company of total strangers who may or may not become friends for a night and, of course, a sensual soundtrack to fan the flames. Very much familiar with these types of settings, Cherry Bandora celebrate [...]
Rural
Forget about Halloween. Please stand and join us in celebration of Ecuador's 'Día del Escudo Nacional', honouring the Andean nation's official emblem, or coat of arms, a day the country has been celebrating since 1900. It depicts several national treasures, such as the volcanic Chimborazo mountain, the grand condor and, of course, the golden sun, a nod to the sun god Inti, believed to be the ancestor of the Incas. We're sure there's more details that deserve [...]
CHAOS
Lagos Thugs. Let that ruminate before you jump to conclusions. What may sound slightly menacing at first is actually the name of a rising new afrobeat project. Hailing from the most populous city in Nigeria, this sensational twelve-piece is the latest proponent of a genre born from the legacy of Fela Kuti and his drummer Tony Allen and is currently blazing a trail of its own. The group just unveiled its four-track debut album earlier this month with a vinyl [...]
Acaip
No idea what was going on in the '80s, but certain albums tell a fantastic tale of a time quite unlike any other, where going against the stream was considered good etiquette and electronic experimentation paved the way to new forms of musical production. It was in that era that Turkish bassist Bahtiyar Taş self-produced an exceptionally bizarre DIY solo album offering a glimpse of his parallel universe. We first stumbled upon the much needed reissue of this [...]
Tightrope Dancer
Anybody here scared of heights? Not ones to suffer from vertigo ourselves, we still might not be the first to volunteer to partake in some acrobatic tightrope act in lofty heights. Casting their musical line, one end fastened to the summit of Rio de Janeiro's Mount Corcovado with its mighty Christ the Redeemer statue, the other end tied to Berlin's iconic Fernsehturm, Brazilian flutist Mariana Zwarg (the goddaughter of a certain Hermeto Pascoal) and Berlin [...]
The Early Sessions
Riding the recent wave of top-tier reissues, today we bring you this ace compilation of early Ariwa Sounds dub and lovers rock recordings by the iconic Guayanese-born British dub music producer and sound engineer Neil Fraser, better known as Mad Professor. Originally released in 1984 on his own Ariwa Sounds imprint, these are some of his earliest works recorded between 1979 and 1981. This collection in particular, came to the ears of London-based reissue label [...]
Mapendo
Want some records? Then you're going to have to dig, dig and dig some more and hope that luck turns your way. German imprint and online record dealer Want Some Records did just that. Label head Dennis Krailing, an avid aficionado of African music, couldn't believe his eyes or ears, when the elusive original "Mapendo" by The Mighty Cavaliers arrived at his doorstep directly from Kenya. Originally released in 1977, this particular record remains "shrouded in [...]
Diré
"Diré" is a town on the left bank of the Niger river in the 333 Saints of Timbuktu region of northern Mali. It is there that the legendary Malian singer-songwriter, guitarist and master of the kamalen n'goni Idrissa Soumaoro met his wife and where his late first daughter was born. It also happens to be the title to his long-awaited and recently released third full-length that has been a long time in the making, maybe even a lifetime. Initiated by Marc-Antoine [...]
Congo Guitar
There is a particular beauty inherent to the distinct stylings of the Congolese guitar, the boleros, rumbas, soukous and similar 'slow music' styles which, despite their laid-back form, have a certain swing to them that is undeniably infectious. When we saw that Brighton's Hive Mind Records was about to drop a release simply titled "Congo Guitar", we had a feeling we were in for a treat. And, having previously familiarised ourselves with the genre via a handful [...]
Marzipan
But why marzipan? The title to the first contemporary full-length on Habibi Funk, released two months ago to the day, is enough to spark our curiosity. Sweet indulgence...that must be it. Soft, sugary, rich, filling, the taste of honey and almonds, a wonderful amuse bouche. Release number 023 brings us to Lebanon, where multi-instrumental producer extraordinaire Charif Megarbane (Cosmic Analog Ensemble, the Free Association Syndicate, Monumental Detail) has [...]
Beauties
Fans of Ethiopian grooves and those to be best listen up: Today, we bring you an absolute "gem of a record," originally released in 1976 on Kaifa Records and now reissued in full for the first time by Brooklyn-based imprint Mississippi Records. You might call it "a lost classic of the Ethiopian Golden Age," but more importantly it is a testament to two leading voices of the era. Fittingly titled "Beauties", this ten-track collection sees two of Addis Ababa's [...]