Rocket Juice & The Moon (Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Flea, Erykah Badu, Fatoumata Diawara and Guests) - Rocket Juice & The Moon (Honest Jon's Records)

Musically speaking Damon Albarn definitely is a Jack of all trades and a master of all.

Never resting, the former Blur leader keeps on testing new artistic frontiers, successfully multiplying the audacious projects with a wide range of musicians. Confirming his love story with african sounds that saw him work on several high-quality productions these last few years with artists like Fela drummer Tony Allen, legendary Kora player Toumani Diabaté or Kenya-based Owiny Sigoma Band (whose first LP was one of 2011 best afro/world record), he is now back with a new musical UFO titled Rocket Juice & The Moon.

Set-up around his friend Tony Allen, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and himself, this new project also welcomed a top-notch list of guests like Erykah Badu, french/malian singer Fatoumatou Diawara (whose 2011 LP Fatou was part of our records of the year selection), the furious horns from the HypnoticBrass Ensemble or Ghanaian rapper M.anifest.

With this epic journey of 20 songs, Albarn once again proves he has become an amazing director able to make the most of a dream-team of artists that obviously took an immense pleasure to take part in his open-minded musical laboratory. The roads opened by each and every of these musicians are diverse, we travel from afrobeat, to highlife, funk, soul, hip-hop and even dub without ending up getting lost as the phenomenal rythmic roadbook designed by the Allen/Flea duo acts as a powerful lighthouse.

It's hard to extract one specific cut from a delighfully loose ensemble that sounds best when enjoyed as a whole but here are three picks that form a valid snapshot of the diversity of a record that to me is the second afro/world schock of 2012 alongside Ebo Taylor's new LP.
First Manuela where Erykah Badu enters the futuristic afro-groove space, then Chop-Up and its sunny and joyful guitar line, finally Poison where we remember that Damon Albarn is first and foremost a great singer.










Retrouvez cette chronique en français sur le site WegoFunk !

V4YS Album Review - Fatoumata Diawara - Fatou (World Circuit Records)

Here is a sunny musical surprise coming right in time for the winter months!
Fatoumata Diawara is an Ivory Coast/Malian actress & musician living in Paris. After having collaborated in recent years to recordings and live acts of artists like Dee Dee Bridgewater or Malian singer Oumou Sangaré but also to original productions such as afro-cuban project Afrocubism or children's tale Kirikou' s musical, she decided it was time to focus on her own music. So here comes her first LP, simply titled "Fatou", on World Circuit Records.
If this record's sound is firmly rooted in her native African continent, it nevertheless also carries fragrances of soul/folk that makes it stand out from classic malian/world music productions.
Demonstrating both a remarkable songwriting and singing talent, Fatoumata made the choice of an uncluttered orchestration leaving centerstage to her subtle guitar playing and sweet percussions. Also carrying featurings from world-class african musicians such as Fela's legendary drummer Tony Allen or Malian kora's player Toumani Diabaté, Fatou is a highly-recommended first-class colourful journey!

Below streaming of the track "Bissa" :


Voilà une jolie surprise musicale ensoleillée qui arrive juste à temps pour l'heure d'hiver. 
Fatoumata Diawara est une actrice et musicienne aux origines ivoiro-maliennes vivant à Paris. Après avoir collaboré ces dernières années à des enregistrements et tournées de nombreux artistes de renoms (Dee Dee Bridgewater, la chanteuse malienne Oumou Sangaré...) mais aussi à des productions plus inattendues (le projet afro-cubain Afrocubism ou la comédie musicale adaptée de l'excellent conte pour enfants Kirikou) elle a décidé de se consacrer à sa carrière solo. Voici donc son premier album, simplement intitulé "Fatou" qui vient de sortir sur le label World Circuit Records.
Si les sonorités de ce disque sont solidement ancrées dans son Afrique natale, il contient néanmoins une note soul/folk qui le différencie des productions world music maliennes plus traditionnelles. Dévoilant tous les attributs d'une musicienne accomplie (composition, interprétation, chant), Fatoumata a choisi une orchestration épurée qui fait la part belle à son jeu de guitare acoustique délicat et à de subtiles lignes de percussions. Si l'on rajoute les participations sur certains titres de musiciens africains de classe mondiale comme le légendaire batteur de Fela, Tony Allen, ou le joueur de kora malien Toumani Diabaté, on obtient un album épatant qui ne manquera pas de vous faire voyager.


Ci-dessus extrait en streaming du titre "Bissa".