Antibalas

Sound DNA

• Soul & Funk
• Afrobeat

• dense
• hypnotic
• political

About

The coast-to-coast success of the Tony-Award-winning musical, <i>FELA!</i> drew no small amount of its power from the in-house band. That band drew heavily from the Anitibalas roster–and indeed if any group can lay claim to be heirs to Fela Kuti's passion and power, it's Antibalas. This is the group's fifth album, their first since they brought the deep Nigerian-inspired funk to Broadway. If you're new to the sound, here's the breakdown: start with a slight melodic figure, sometimes a trombone, sometimes just a bass and drum pattern. Slowly stack in vocals, congas, shakers, more horns, Farfisa organ and dive deep into the cosmic Afro-funk abyss. But these aren't just exercises in funk-by-numbers, this is dynamic, fluid, expressive music with lyrics that touch on unrest and thinly veiled fables of corruption. It just doesn't get much funkier than this.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits