Ebo Taylor is one of the most accomplished Highlife, Afro beat and jazz composers of Ghana. Having studied along side another legend in Fela Kuti from 1962 and 1965 at the renowned Eric Guilder School of Music in London, Taylor is largely responsible for shaping the musical landscape of Ghana, as a solo artist, producer, composer and session musician. I have many of his albums, and all of them are brimming with that African spirit and hypnotic bounce that just makes you want to dance.
Recently I came across this clip from Taylor’s recent show in Paris, together with Kabu Kabu, Karl Hector and the Malcouns, and Afrobeat Academy. Looks and sounds like it was a great show, and it’s great to see people re-discovering and appreciating his music once again. Wish I could have been there.
Let’s start the week off right with another Dreams in Audio mix, and one that I’m especially excited about. I continue to focus my attention on African music, and sifting through the records I’ve accumulated over the months I’ve come across a lot of great instrumental tracks. There’s something very pure about instrumentals, not that I don’t like vocals, but it’s another layer that tends to mask the craftsmanship that goes into playing great music. Hypnotic rhythms, punchy horns, soulful keys and psychedelic guitars; the sum is always overflowing with excitement, and that’s probably what I love most about African music.
As the popularity of African music continues to rise, there are more and more quality mixes being thrown out there. Some of my favorites are the ones Superfly Records has up on Paris DJs and of course, Frank over at Voodoo Funk continues to kill it with his selection of mixes. His collection certainly dwarfs mine, but I haven’t seen any African mixes that focus solely on instrumentals, and that’s where the idea for Afromentals came from. These aren’t the most obscure tracks in the world, but they’re definitely groovy and I hope you think the same. Cover art inspired by 101 Apparel’s Africa ’70 t-shirt. Enjoy.
Listen to Part 1
Afromentals Tracklisting:
01. Monomono – Kenimania (from Give the Beggar a Chance, 1972) 02. Black Children Sledge Group – Sledge Afro Funk (from Love is Fair, 1976)
03. The Visitors – Here We Come Brothers (from My Good Friends, 1977)
04. One World – The Movement (from The Movement, 197?)
05. The Funkees – Abraka (from Point of No Return, 1975)
06. Ofege – Gbe Mi Lo (from Try & Love, 1973)
07. Mebusas – Son of Mr. Bull Dog (from Blood Brothers, 1973)
08. Freedom Family – Holy Worhipping (from Freedom Family, 1977)
09. Tony Safro – I Beg (from Superman, 1976)
10. Marijata – Mother Africa (from Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata, 197?)
11. Aktion – Centipede (from Clover Comes Together, 1977)
12. Asiko – Hot Black (from Take A Trip With Asiko, 197?)
13. One World – Fricate (from Victory, 197?)
14. Afro Funk – Afro Funk (from Body Music, 1973)
15. The Apostles – Disciple Funk (from Bank Woman, 1977)
16. Fela Kuti & The Africa ’70 – Chop & Quench (from Best of Fela Volume 2, 196?/197?)
I first heard about Hypnotic Brass Ensemble when someone posted a youtube clip of a New York Times feature (see bottom) a few years ago, and it was the first time in a long time that I remember being truly blown away by music. Comprised of 8 members, 7 of them blood brothers of the trumpeter and former member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra Phil Cohran, the group started out as a street ensemble, hypnotizing audiences on the streets and subway stations of Chicago before moving to New York. Picking up influences from their father, and combining that with their own interests in hip hop and soul, HBE’s music is an infectious cocktail of brass and rhythm that reminds me a little of Kashmere Stage Band’s material.
Over the past couple of years their career has really taken off, having recorded with Eryka Badu and Mos Def, as well as releasing a number of 7″ and 12″ singles, and their first official full-length album on the Honest Jon label in 2009. If any story deserves to be told it’s of these guys, and filmmaker Reuben Atlas is making it happen with his documentary Hypnotic, scheduled to be released later this year. Check out the trailer below.
I began filming in the fall of 2006, during my last year of law school. (I snuck in shoots between classes and visits to the library.) Hypnotic’s music is what sparked my initial interest—it also helped me pass the bar exam—but it was their nomadic, Utopian existence and deep commitment to uphold their family’s values that inspired the documentary. About six months into filming, the band’s career started to take off and I was fortunate enough to capture their evolution. The feature-length documentary is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2010.
At first glance this looks like a dried up canyon on Mars or something, but in actuality it’s the groove of a vinyl record magnified 1000 times. Those clumpy parts are dust. Kind of makes me want to do a better job cleaning my records.
