It’s an old cliché, but the heart of all music lies in Africa.
Certainly, the heart of all Chico Mann’s music lies in Africa. A one time member of stunning New York collective Antibalas, the musician helped to spearhead the second wave of Afrobeat at a time when most musicians were tilting their baseball cap to get ‘that Fred Durst look’.
Virtually everything Chico Mann touches is fuelled by Africa. Yet since that moment, the musician has been able to spread his wings, to cherry pick vital rhythmic forces from genres both past and present.
Mann’s last LP – the critically adored ‘Analogue Drift’ – was released on Wax Poetics Records, the label wing of the cratedigger’s bible. Now, though, the New York based artist is ready to attempt something different, something daring.
‘Some Old Clown’ is the result. Fusing 80s boogie with crackling Hi Life, house textures with loose-limbed funkadelic rhythms, this is five minutes of furiously addictive musical exploration with Kendra Morris' sublime vocal on top.
Set to be released on March 4th via reliably funky British imprint Soundway, the upcoming EP matches the initial studio version to remixes from Kon (vocal and dub mix) as well as UK producer Linkwood, known for his diverse work on Firecracker Recordings.
It’s that initial, studio version which has caught our attention, however. Confident without being arrogant, it’s an 80s synth jammer with African roots.
Listen to it now…
