Azmari - Samā’ī

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 165, March 2021.

Azmari
Samā’ī
Sdban Ultra (44 min)

When Belgian six-piece Azmari get into that Ethio-groove, they go in hard. The immediately distinctive Ethiopian kignit scales possess horn solos and intoxicating basslines, and the Latin percussion, synth journeys and fun time signatures give the group the sound of a dubbed-out hybrid of Mulatu Astatke, Herbie Hancock, Snarky Puppy and Alice Coltrane.

The hype around this debut album has played up the promise of a juicy mix between Ethio-jazz and retro-style Turkish psychedelia. Unfortunately, apart from the occasional bağlama solo or Anatolian-leaning scale, this never really arrives. An unexpected fusion that I wasn’t prepared for, however, was the introduction of Ethio-klezmer. I’m not sure I would have ever thought to combine those two fertile musical cultures, but a pentatonic sax solo full of sobbing klezmer krekhts over an 11/8 groove and a full-on funky bass – as on the track ‘Kamilari’ – certainly converted me.

Samā’ī is a promising debut for Azmari, and it presents their music in a way that begs for a live performance. The musical interactions within the band are tight enough to feel well-honed and loose enough to feel natural and care-free. When tours become a thing again, I’m sure this group will put on a hell of a show; for now, this album is a good place to start.

Ozferti - Solarius Gamma

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 165, March 2021.

Ozferti
Solarius Gamma
Nubia Nova Records (41 min)

Florian Doucet is a producer, guitarist and graphic designer formerly of Afro-Colombian party starters La Chiva Gantiva, but his masked alter-ego Ozferti is more than that. According to his manifesto, ‘I am Ozferti. I am an explorer, a beatmaker, a scavenger, a guitarist. I wear the Mask.’

This album is framed as the first of many explorations into the fictitious world of Nubia Nova and the galaxy of Solarius Gamma. As you might expect, sci-fi and fantasy are big influences at work here. Musically, it’s an adventure into all sorts of electronica, suffused with Ethiopian influences courtesy of many guest musicians and singers (including the wonderful azmari Eténèsh Wassié) recorded and produced on-the-ground in Addis Ababa.

The more adventurous this music is, the better it gets. There are really exciting moments when we’re flying wildly to the edges of the universe, but more often than not, it feels as though Doucet is holding back. Even though he brings in everything from dubstep, psytrance, techno, disco, glitch and lo-fi hip-hop, it still comes across as though no boundaries are being pushed. Solarius Gamma is high-concept and suitably cosmic, but it seems to miss the mark more often than it hits.