2023-06-23 19:00:25
Every week, The World Africa presents three new musical releases from or inspired by the continent. Today, direction the United Kingdom, where the local scene does not cease enriching itself of the influences of the African diaspora.
“Not Commanding,” d’Onipa (feat. David Walters)
We already told you about Onipa during the release of his previous album, Tapes of Utopia, in 2021. The Afro-futurist London group formed around Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist) and Kweku Sackey (KOG & the Zongo Brigade) announces a new opus, Off the Grid, which will appear in October and in which he “seeks to trace the original sounds and traditions of Africa to reveal their importance in the global musical landscape of today and tomorrow”.
Two first extracts have been unveiled, including the track no commandos, in collaboration with the French David Walters, and whose clip was shot near Accra, in Ghana, country of origin of KOG “The music was made with recycled objects: pots, pans and a guitar made with a wooden spoon”, says Tom Excell.
“For Aziz” by Balimaya Project (feat. Afronaut Zu)
The softness of the brass combined with the frenzy of the percussions: there is a bit of Kokoroko in Balimaya Project, a big band led by the composer and djembe player Yahael Camara Onono and which intends to merge “the rhythmic tradition of West Africa and the energy of London jazz”. Successful bet listening to For Aziz, first single from the album When The Dust Settles, scheduled for July 21.
This piece in collaboration with the singer Afronaut Zu evokes the death of the older brother of the group’s leader, killed during a UN peacekeeping mission in Nigeria when Camara Onono was only 11 years old. More generally, this second opus (after Wolo So, in 2021) is an ode to fraternity, “a space for young black men to express their vulnerabilities together”.
“Icanabore”, de Pigeon
Finally, direction Margate, a hundred kilometers east of London. It was in this coastal town in Kent that the group Pigeon was born in 2018, formed around singer Falle Nioke and named in reference to the “pet” he had as a teenager in Guinea. With Graham Godfrey on drums, Steve Pringle on keyboards, Tom Dream on guitar and Josh Ludlow on bass, he offers an “afro-disco” sound mixed with jazz, no-wave, rock and synth-pop.
After a remarkable first EP (saw, in 2022), the quintet returns with Backslider, released Friday, June 16 and which brings together four new tracks where sequencers and drum machines bring a touch a little more electro. on the piece It’s boring (“Don’t run”, in Malinké), Falle Nioke implores a woman not to leave him.
Read also: Reggae, “cheikhat” and Auto-Tune: the musical selection of “Monde Afrique” #155
Find all the musical favorites of the editorial staff in the playlist YouTube of World Africa.
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