“So British”: the musical selection of “Le Monde Afrique” #237

Every Friday, Le Monde Afrique presents three new musical releases from or inspired by the continent. This week, we head to the United Kingdom with the bands Nubiyan Twist, Kokoroko, and The Sorcerers, whose new albums echo, among other things, South African amapiano, West African highlife, and Ethiopian jazz.

“So Mi Stay (Amapiano Version)”, by Nubiyan Twist

We already told you about the London collective Nubiyan Twist on the occasion of their fourth album, Find Your Flame, in May 2024. The group led by guitarist and percussionist Tom Excell is back since June 13 with NT Soundsystem, an opus in which they reimagine nine of their tracks in a soundsystem style, thus paying homage to the rich British heritage in this field, but also to the Jamaican roots of the singer, Aziza Jaye.

This doesn't stop the Afrojazz band from keeping a foothold in Africa, notably through the new "afro-fusion" versions of Slow Breath and "amapiano" of So Mi Stay, where the rolling bass is a transparent evocation of the latest incarnation of South African house.

"Just Can't Wait", by Kokoroko

Another favorite band from the African world. London-based septet Kokoroko will release their second album, Tuff Times Never Last, on Friday, July 11. To the fusion of jazz, highlife, and Afrobeat that has made the group successful since their debut EP in 2019, they add elements of 1980s British R&B, neo-soul, West African disco, bossa nova, and funk on this album.

"We're jazz musicians, but we try not to confine ourselves to one sound," explains trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey. "We're starting to feel a certain freedom and we want to be as creative as possible without feeling limited." Listening to the track " Just Can't Wait" makes you yearn to hear what happens next.

“The Great Belt”, by Sorcerers

Finally, they head to Leeds, where, for the past ten years, the Sorcerers have been exploring and reinventing Ethiopian sounds in their own way. Comprised of drummer Joost Hendrickx, keyboardist Johnny Richards, and multi-instrumentalists Neil Innes and Richard Ormrod, the band will release its fourth album, Other Worlds And Habitats, on July 11.

Carried by the melancholy of a mellotron, the piece The Great Belt, born during a tour in Denmark – while the exhausted musicians crossed a bridge that seemed never to end –, offers a first glimpse of this album which intends to draw inspiration from the works of the Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia (but also from the Nigerian musician William Onyeabor) without ever confining itself to the clichés of Ethiojazz.