Daktaris - Eltsuhg Ibal Lasiti

Friday: French fries-day

The end of the century has offer some enjoyable heirs of the Kalakuta Republic's sound from Nigeria : Antibalas or The Daktaris project only to quote New-York's fertile spots.

In France, the education of the mass to afro-beat sparked somewhere around the first Fela's song broadcasting on Radio Nova, early 80's, brought back from africa by Jean-Francois Bizot daring to stream out-of-standard length tune, ten, twenty minutes long...

Afro-beat is too hudge to fit in the room, indeed.

From those days, afro-beat in France has grown and reach a maturity giving birth to band like Fanga ("power of persuasion/conviction" in west african dialect named dioula), from Montpellier crystallized around politically committed lyrics and this african music that combines jazz, funk and yurubas rythms.

Here's a glimpse, a track entitled Natural Juice, seeking for the perfect Lagos 70's sound, a smooth transe, penetrating the guts and firmly kept...

Fanga, eight musicians whose rap is either a flow or spoken words, stuttering the guitars, sharpening the snare hits, purifying the bass lines to squizze out the hypnotic juice... Fanga's flavor can with no shame stand beside a Fela record.

Enjoy

[FRANCAIS]

Vendredi : Afrobeat ! Afrobeat ! Afrobeat ! 100% naturel

La fin du siècle dernier nous a donné quelques belles descendances du son de La république de Kalakuta au Nigéria : Antibalas et les projets comme The Daktaris pour parler des coins fertiles de New-York.

En France l'initiation des masses à l'afro-beat est née quelque part autour des premières diffusions de Fela sur Radio Nova, début des années 80, poussées par Jean-François Bizot osant de la radio hors-format, dix, vingt minutes par morceau...

L'afro-beat c'est trop gros pour tenir dans la pièce, en effet.

Depuis l'afro-beat en France a grandi pour arriver à maturité donnant vie des groupes comme Fanga (« force de conviction » en dioula), formation de Montpellier cristallisée autour de mots engagés et de la musique africaine influencée par le jazz et le funk ou les rythmes yurubas.

Illustration, ce titre, Natural Juice, dans lequel ça cherche la perfection et à reproduire les effets de la musique de Lagos 70, la transe se veut douce, pénétrant les tripes et fermement maintenue... 

Fanga, huit musiciens dont le rap est débité ou parlé, répètent les guitares, affinent les coups de caisse claire, simplifient les lignes de basses pour en extraire l'essence hypnotique... résultat qu'on peut poser à coté d'un disque de Fela sans craindre le sacrilège.

Monday : explosive

Hey music lover.

Let's do it again, let's enjoy an other piece of DJ, composer TM Juke and percusionnist Jack Baker Trio. 

Antibalas or The Daktaris could have done something like this track: begin with a  guitar and wood-block minimal intro, an afro-soul gesture, then comes a short calm before the hurricanne... a titan's fight, saxophones versus brass arguing over the main theme, explosions everywhere, straighten by dry, precise snare and faithfull kick coming out from some carnival.

The recording has managed to keep this roughness that comes out easy on stage or during impros but still is very difficult to reproduce within recording studio walls.

This is an extract from their collaboration named Boto And The Second Liners, an album devoted to street musics: from Brazil or South America, through New-York 80’s block parties, D.C. Gogo sound.

Also check out the New Orleans’ Mardi-Gras inspired song we already enjoyed together.

Monday: Nigeria's Brooklyner beat

"Produced in Nigeria" says the label on the record... names are african ones but this joyful afro-beat comes from Brooklyn, from The Daktaris.

In 1998 they released a perfect afro-beat album, heavy horns, solid bass line, funky drummers backed by wha-wha guitars, many percussions.

Genuine nigeria 70's sounds, a big big tribute to Fela but not covers, originals songs that could be have been released on the golden ages of afro funk.

This track, starts a week on colorful note, a wild bunch break into a clean drum beat: happy saxophones in unison, tranquility faithful bass line, leaving some room to a trumpet chorus, a rythmic break pretext to pour again the saxophone's juice into your ears.