King’n’Doom feat. Cheikh Lô
Rustical Records (41 mins)
The core of King’n’Doom is Czech production and multi-instrumentalist duo Pavel Šmíd and Martin Piro, but the real heart of this album is its many guest musicians from across West Africa, including, as the title would suggest, Senegalese singer Cheikh Lô (although, confusingly, he only features on three of the 10 tracks…).
The album explodes out of the blocks with ‘Jah’rabi’, a reggae version of the Malian standard ‘Jarabi’ with Lô, Moustafa and Madou Kouyaté on ngonis and Leopold Lô on sabra drums. It’s a good song turned great through the contributions of Vojtěch Svatoš on Hammond organ, ripping up the reggae groove into a dirty blues-funk, and Hawa Kassémady Diabaté of Trio Da Kali, whose soaring voice is nothing short of spine-tingling.
Considering the sheer number of guests on the album – 16 by my count – it has a remarkable cohesion, which is really pleasing to hear, and especially surprising when the musicians were all recorded separately – everywhere from Brno to Bamako to Dakar to a converted caravan at the Colours of Ostrava festival. It doesn’t sound like a European album with a bunch of African influences, either; all the songs sound like they could be a legitimate part of the guest artists’ repertoires, such is the passion and commitment with which they are produced.