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Aphrodesia – Precious Commodity
What Amadou & Mariam are to mood and texture, Aphrodesia are to pure jubilation on the dancefloor. Featuring a horn section that’d make the Tower of Power players green with envy, Aphrodesia fuse every moment of their disc with big chucky riffs, driving bass runs and a complete polyrhythmic afrobeat freakout. Singing mostly in English, this politically charged 11 piece hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Aphrodesia may be able to overcome some of the initial prejudice against world music, but in any language, the message is clear. Toss off your inhibitions, throw your worries and cares to the sidewalk, loosen your tie, and dance. Dance, mother, dance. And that's what Aphrodesia does. Tossing aside the strict tenents of Afrobeat as layed down my Fela Kuti, Aphrodesia infuse their bopping hybrid with modern energy, flair, and vigor for life.
“Special Girl,” positively percolates. Percussion whipping my brain into a frenzy, guitars scatting and strumming, bass bopping up and down in huge swooping loops. Damn. Toss in some dynamite female vocals in perfect harmony and those crazy horns and my ass just can’t sit still. And if somehow the clay in your butt prevents you from finding your groove right away, “Think/Suffer,” will chisel all that away. Deep layers of jazz/funk combine with the rhythmic frenzy of drums and percussion. The lyrics are clear here. “Think for yourself/suffer for yourself.” In other words, turn off that overactive brain, that worry machine inside your head, and dance. A slow burn here, that doesn’t stop a wailing guitar from tearing through the mix, fading under a wall of horns. And how innovative and imaginative is that! Guitar solos are the verbotten creature of afrobeat, a victim of the complex interlocking guitar parts that doesn't present enough room for any one guitar to break out and squeal. Yet there it is. Beautiful.
Bebopping jazz textures blow through “Say What,” which turns into a drum, bass and horn display for the ages. No doubt about it, in a club, the dancefloor would be littered with swaying bodies, lost in the rhythmic bliss and vocal interplay. “By the Iron,” brings on some serious afro funk, rocking out with a bottom heavy bass line that’d make Parliament proud. “Ayala,” is another standout, abandoning the English, the song soars on the strength of the female vocals and the most mind-numbing bass and drum mix on the album. Interlocking guitars drive the song home. This is afro-funk for the ages, instantly catchy and addictive.
Mixing in some disparate elements, like hints of Caribbean music, Shona mbira and others, Aphrodesia is all about the groove, the inherent heart of the music, and let me tell you, when they find it they lock in harder than a pitbulls jaws clamping down on some raw meat. Don’t be afraid to let them bite into you 09/11/09
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