Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1 ---Ink Blot Magazine

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1

at a glance...

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Year Formed: 1998

Personnel:
Martin Antibalas - conductor, baritone saxophone
Duke Amayo - vocals, conga
Philip Baliman - drums
Giancarlo Luiggi - shekere
Dylan Fusillo - sticks, drums
Fernando Velez - conga
Luke O'Malley - guitar
Mother Africa - second guitar
Don Bonus - trombone
Amadou Dallo - guitar, bass guitar
Victor Axelrod - guitar
Michael Herbst - tenor and alto saxophone
Jordan McLean - trumpet
Nick Movshon - bass on "N.E.S.T.A."

Related Artists :
Soul Providers, the Daktaris, King Chango

Notes:
Antibalas, which is Spanish for bullet-proof, is a variably sized band that was founded by members of two other Afrocentric ensembles. The group has honed its latin-meets-Afrobeat chops to a keen edge by holding down a weekly gig at No Moore, a club in New York's Tribeca neighborhood. They release their own records, including an earlier version of Liberation Afro Beat, recorded at their own studio.

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1
Ninja Tune, Released 2001

With few exceptions Afrobeat has been in the doldrums since its Nigerian founder, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, died of AIDS in 1997. It has been the victim of misguided production; digital drums and cheesy synths have replaced the massed percussion and gritty organ of yore. Ironically, it's taken an ethnically mixed ensemble of New York residents to restore the music to its glory. Antibalas remember everything that made Fela's music great; non-stop grooves studded with polyrhythmic percussion breaks, a hard-punching horn section, crisp guitars bolstered by a real organ. Bandleader Martin Antibalas also recalls Fela's radicalism; when he gets around to singing, it's to chant his opposition to the powers that be.

Song titles like "El Machete" and "N.E.S.T.A. (Never Ever Submit To Authority)" drive his message home. But he could be singing in pig Latin and this band would still be worth hearing, because there's no denying the uplifting power of their non-stop funk. Martin's canyon-deep baritone sax ably leads the horns through their deliberate paces, but it's really pointless to single out any one player, or even any particular track. The album's considerable power comes from the accumulating momentum of the massive, ultra-tight band playing tune after righteous tune.

If you like Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, check out:
Fela Kuti Zombie!
Femi Kuti Shoki Shoki
James Brown The Payback
Various artists, Ethiopiques Vol. 3

-- Bill Meyer

Ink Blot Home
about | archives | contact | links Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra