Label : Brownswood Recordings
Value :
This is not idle music!
London has long been a hotbed for experimentation for music from West
Africa, and it’s into this global-local story that we can situate
London’s newest afrobeat innovators: KOKOROKO. In the 40’s World War Two
veteran Ambrose Campbell and his West African Rhythm Brothers, were
enticing Soho music lovers with sweet palm wine sounds. The following
decade, a young Fela Kuti (and his Koola Lobitos outfit with drummer
Tony Allen), would jam with Campbell, and the seeds for his global
Afrobeat revolution were sown.
The band’s name is an Orobo – a Nigerian tribe and language – word
meaning ‘be strong’. Sonically living up to their name, KOKOROKO are an
all star band featuring leading lights from the London jazz community.
Powered by seismic horn section (Maurice Grey, saxophonist Cassie
Kinoshi, trombonist Richie Seivewright), guitar (Oscar Jerome), keys
(Yohan Kebede), drums (Ayo Salawu) and percussion (Onome Edgeworth);
Kokoroko are on a mission to fashion new languages using the medium of
afrobeat.
“This is not idle music!” says Sheila Maurice-Grey, reflecting on the
rich history of sounds that have inspired the band. Whether it's the
social commentary, the political stance of acts like the Black
President, or the high power energy of afrobeat nights: the music is
teeming with a potent energy the band want to propel forwards, London
style. Make no mistake, this is not a band interested in performative
tributes or pastiche. For Maurice Grey, part of the drive behind their
creative impulse to is ask: “what does this music sound like for my
generation?”
“We love this music and want other people to love it the way we do”,
shared Edgeworth. Aside of the primacy of love for the music, a subtext
of the bands creation was a sense of alienation at London’s thinning
pool of afrobeat and highlife nights – particularly of black listeners
and players. “We don’t want this music to die”, he added.
Rather than launching straight into writing their own music, since the
band’s formation in 2014, they immersed themselves in the sounds of Pat
Thomas, Ebo Taylor and others by playing covers to sell out crowds. “I
remember speaking with Dele Sosimi about the structure of Fela’s songs –
every element plays a part. But, before melody or harmony, there’s
rhythm. The rhythmic aspect of the solos from that era is amazing. The
West African approach to jazz and improvisation is hip!”, offered
Maurice-Grey.
In writing their own music, Edgeworth emphasised how much the KOKOROKO
sound is shaped by the capital. “We didn’t want it to sound too clean –
that doesn’t really fit into the London sound”, he said. Instead, the
band opt for grooves with added grit: “we wanted it to sound rough, like
going out and hearing music pushed through speakers or the energy of
people dancing at afrobeat parties: its music we’ve seen work on
dancefloors”.
Drawing as much from nightlife, the musical influences of West African
Pentecostal churches, jazz and Western classical, its both in the middle
of and beyond this mix of influences that KOKOROKO’s self titled EP
takes shape.
Adwa opens deep-ridge grooves. Drawing from the syncopated funk of
Ethio-jazz, it takes its name from the Ethiopian city of the same name.
Composed by keyboardist Yohan Kebede, the victorious spirit of the track
is a meditation not only on the infamous Battle of Adwa, but of the way
societies evolve in the aftermath of conflict.
Ti-de is a soft lullaby taking its cue from a medley of old West African
folk melodies. A meditation on remaining present through change, the
track is laced with opiating guitar lines, soft percussion and languid
vocals that feel at times interchangeable with the grand sway of the
horn section.
The jubilant Uman arrives as a “celebration of women, black women in
particular,” shares Maurice Grey. “I wrote the tune with my mother in
mind”. The track tackles the cultural trope of the ‘black superwoman’
and – similarly to Maurice-Grey’s visual artwork – asks questions about
why misrepresentations about black women exist. Ultimately, it's a
redemptive track that makes space for both the unique struggles black
women face, and their vulnerability.
Like Ti-de, Absuey Junction takes its lead from Ebo Taylor’s horn led approach, and
showcases the band’s deft hand with palm wine infused ballads. The hit
single, first featured on the We Out Here compilation, reached 18
million + views on YouTube. Based on a composition by guitarist Oscar
Jerome, the track captures the sunset hum of Gambia’s nocturnal
soundscapes, winding horn solos and haunting vocals.
A precursor to their album, “it’s an honest capture” of the band’s progression and a stunning introduction to their sound. From bandcamp
Taste :
Kokoroko (Ep)
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By electric Looser
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