Modeled after classic Afrobeat bands like Fela Kuti's Africa 70 and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra, Brooklyn's Antibalas makes intensely rhythmic music that blends jazz, funk, dub and traditional West African drumming with political messages for an intense but party-friendly sound.
Taking its name from the Spanish word for "bulletproof," Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra formed in 1998. After the release of 2000's Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1 and 2002's Talkatif, the 12-member group began to make itself known on both sides of the Atlantic, with extensive tours in both the U.S. and the U.K. The horn-driven Who Is this America? followed in 2004. Antibalas' new disc, Security, features a powerful and diverse set of songs, with free jazz, organic funk, electronica and hip-hop rhythms laid atop a solid Afrobeat foundation.
Copyright 2007 XPN
