Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Antibalas established themselves in the late 1990s as a burning, tough, horn, bass and drum driven Afrobeat ensemble cut from the Fela Kuti mold, who were politically savvy and socially conscious. Their live shows have been incendiary events where rhythm and perspiration from completely crazy, booty-shaking audience members shared something deeper and wider than the music itself. Security is Antibalas' fourth album. It was co-produced by the band with John McEntire from Tortoise (he also mixed the set). While opening horn lines let the listener know immediately that this is Antibalas, virtually everything else is different. It's not like the Afrobeat is gone, but it's been stretched to the breaking point to include organic funk, electronic sounds, hip-hop rhythms, and a wicked backbeat on some tracks that could whip out the kinks in a tight spine better than a chiropractor. One has to wonder, though, if the appearance and acclaim of NOMO a couple of years back -- an Ann Arbor, MI band that has been deeply influenced by Afrobeat yet which also includes elements of free jazz, funk, soul and deep dread reggae in their mix -- provided any sort of inspiration to walk out the Afrobeat to include other musics in a tight, nearly cinematic in-your-face mix. Warren Defever, NOMO's producer, is also an experimental rocker. But no matter. What's here accounts for the finest Antibalas moment yet. The grooves on every track burn -- check the cuts written by Stuart Bogie like "Beaten Metal," which opens the set. There are literally bits and pieces of metal being played in counterpoint rhythms to the jacked trap kit and other drums. They are layered right onto the top of the dense mix, playing around and through the horn charts. Bogie also wrote the moody funk cut "I.C.E.," where a B-3 chills the tune into a slightly eerie vibe, while McEntire contributes a smoking little hammered dulcimer vamp amid various rhythm instruments. When the horns and guitar enter, the horns play counter; these instruments all but cover the organ and synth and dig deep into the chart. The acoustic bassline that creates a separate groove and duos with the keyboard and hand percussion takes the whole thing into another world. But the real magic happens on the bridge where the entire track falls away and is rebuilt as something else. These are simply two of the nearly endless surprises on Security. Another is the Afrobeat cum reggae slip and slur in "Sanctuary" with killer vocals by conquero Duke Amayo. The following cut is a nocturnal soul-exotica tune with beautiful vocals by the band and lead singer/guitarist Marcos Garcia. Security is so radically different from its predecessors, it may be initially off-putting to some listeners, but this is guaranteed to melt away by the second track: the fat grooves are so seductive and all encompassing. This music jams but Antibalas is not a jam band. There isn't a weak moment here as everything is organized, beautifully arranged, and never feels pushed or forced. Security is so fine, it ups the ante for anyone -- in America, anyway -- who claims they play "world" music. This one will be burning up dancefloors at parties all year long. In this country there has never been a better argument for rhythm fused with politics. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
For the third studio CD from Antibalas, the big band continues to tread the path of their hero Fela Anikulapo Kuti, providing the exciting Nigerian Afro-beat sound accented by searing saxophone solos, electric keyboard chords, dancing and driving funky percussive rhythms, vocal shout choruses, political speak ups, and the fun, joyous music that has a distinct universal appeal. Baritone saxophonist Martin Perna, keyboardist Victor Axelrod, vocalist/percussionist Amayo, and lead tenor saxophonist Stuart Bogie front this 13-piece group plus singers, who have refined the formula of their early days, stepped it up a slight bit, and are starting to find a new Latin, Kwela or Makossa avenue to strut down. Most like Fela, the title cut displays a funky two-beat driven mid-tempo groove, dramatic horns, and spiked horns before they lay out, return, and regroup while the vocalists get down on the powers-that-be. "Out with the New, In with the Truth" is a heavy 6/8 number featuring the over-the-top tenor of Bogie, while the straight recording and dub version included of "Go Je Je" reflects the slow, inexorable, sexual sweaty West African 100-plus degree heat. Not known for covers, Antibalas also does the Willie Colón makossa song "Che Che Cole" with wah wah guitar, village group vocals, and the most tribal number the band has ever done. The P Vine label version of this CD has two extra tracks, further cementing the value of this Antibalas recording and perhaps the most singularly unique band of their kind in the world. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On its first album for the illustrious Rope a Dope label, the Brooklyn-based Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra continues to mine the deep sonic and political fields first breached by the late Fela Kuti. This is deep funk Afrobeat, full of deep, fat horns, trancelike pumping bass, snaky guitars, and hypno-groove percussion. In addition to the orchestra, which numbers 14 pieces, the band adds another ten guests in various places and extrapolates its chunky, funky Afrobeat sound by grafting it onto Latin beats and, in the longer pieces, elliptical modal considerations. The album begins with the manifesto "Who Is This America Dem Speak of Today?" Stuttering guitar lines insist on ushering the quantum rhythms before the horns kick it into pure hypno-groove. Amayo's vocals are pure righteousness as the track winds back on itself three times before it eclipses at 12 minutes. The wildest thing here is saxophonist Stuart Bogie's "Indictment," with its jagged-edged, hard shadowy funk where muted trombones, keyboards, and even strings collide in a loose backbone twist-o-flex groove before the vocals come in to lay down the law with rage and authority. The final two cuts on the set, "Elephant," with its entwined organ, synth-bass, and horn lines that become a ghostly, post midnight Afro-Latin dance jam, and B. Mann's killer dub-inflected "Sister," account for over half an hour of the disc's total playing time. The two are consistent in the way they gradually and purposefully unfold into labyrinthine considerations that are deeply textured, multivalent exercises in intervallic groove and shimmer, allowing the band's jazz pedigree to articulate itself more fully. Antibalas may have begun its recording career by paying tribute to the nearly overwhelming influence of Fela, but as this disc attests, the band has been carving out its own space from other traditions as well, and has developed a grand woven basket design that bears the group's signature exclusively. This is its best effort yet. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'The Mercury Lounge: New York, NY - 1.12.03'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 11
Label Rockslide
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'Club Soda: Montreal, Que - 3.29.03'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 11
Label Rockslide
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'Vancouver Jazz Festival: Vancouver, BC - 6.26.03'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 8
Label Rockslide
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'High Sierra Music Festival: Quincy, CA - 7.6.03'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 9
Label Rockslide
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'Great American Music Hall: San Francisco, CA - 7.5.03'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 10
Label Rockslide
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What The Critics Say
Flooded by the influence of Fela Kuti, the sophomore studio album from New York's Antibalas is a most-accomplished offspring of the late, great founding father of Afro-beat music. Now a fully revitalized subgenre thanks to the American funk underground, this group of New York's finest groove players is 17 gentlemen deep and has been taking Afro-beat on the road again, playing clubs across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. With the majority of compositional credits attributed to guitarist Gabrielle Roth (Dapkings, Daptone Records) and with adroit performances by the rhythm section of Duke Amayo, Ernesto Abreau, and Phil Ballman, the authenticity of the group's sound cannot be questioned. The horn and woodwind work on the record are additionally noteworthy, boasting a deep horn section consisting of alto, tenor, and baritone sax; two trombones; and two trumpet players. Their second for Ninja Tune, Antibalas is a better bet live than on record, but still puts down a great recorded taste of what's new in this vital beat genre. ~ Nic Kincaid, All Music Guide
'Liberation Afro Beat, Vol. 1'
Release Date 11/7/2000
Tracks 8
Label Afrosound
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Fans of Fela, Tony Allen, and to a lesser extent the Daktaris will be hunkering down on the dancefloor to this slab of pure, hot, and heavy Afro-beat from the heart of Brooklyn. Antibalas is a musicians collective dedicated to furthering the Afro-beat gospel at any cost, and with 13 members and a boatload of frantic, bass- and drum-heavy chops, they're likely to succeed. These cats don't just have the form down; they're not just aping Fela, they're deconstructing the Afro-beat rhythms and harmonies down to the last detail and composing new sonic architectures from which to groove and improvise. This is deep, funky, political, spiritual, and greasier than a chicken bone out of the fryer. Tracing in just enough Cuban son to add dimension and the ghost of a sleng-teng rhythm here, a dub bass out there, and the ever-shifting polyrhythms of Afro-beat jazz and hypnosis of James Brown's funky soul, Antibalas takes eight tunes and turns them all into floor-burners. Led by baritone saxophonist and conductor Martin Antibalas, the ensemble numbers six in the percussion section, a four-piece horn section, a bassist, three guitarists, and an organ, with a host of vocalists chanting down the voodoo. "Dirt and Blood," "Si, Se Puede," and the burning wail of "El Machete" are standouts, though there isn't a weak second on this disc. One of two things will happen if you spin this jam at a party: you'll either politicize everyone by pure beat consciousness or they'll drop dead from too much dancing while under polyrhythmic hypnosis. That's the prognosis, folks; and that's as high a compliment as can be paid. Awesome. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
