Thumbs up for fresh Afropop
IT’S been predicted often enough but we do at last seem to be approaching the moment when African pop ceases to be perceived as ‘world music’ and simply becomes part of the world’s music. Yes, we’re talking about an entire, wildly diverse continent. But the sounds coming out of it are linked by the ease with which they travel to global pop audiences, and the confident identities of artists who don’t doubt for an instant their right to be there. African music’s star, and its stars, are on the rise.
It’s fair to say, though, that a blind, fiftysomething thumb-piano virtuoso from Sierra Leone who has spent much of his life scraping a living at weddings doesn’t exactly fit the profile of the new, slick Afropop luminaries. And you have to wonder if there’s a certain wryness to the title of his band’s second album, although Sorie Kondi – so named for his 15-pin instrument – is indeed now a celebrity in his own country.
But Kondi Band could hardly be more global, comprising a three-way collaboration between Kondi himself, American producer Chief Boima (himself of Sierra Leonean origin) and London avant-dance musician Will LV.
Kondi’s own songs, his soulful voice and his bewitching way of making notes cascade from his instrument like musical raindrops sit at the heart of everything. Boima and LV weave instruments in and around him, creating a lattice of sound that travels from village ceremony to funk gig to nightclub dancefloor, and frequently manages to inhabit all of them at once.
Add a couple of nicely chosen guest vocal spots, and We Famous is a fresh and idiosyncratic delight.