Electric Voodooland

Ex-Centric Sound System | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relativity
• ASIN: B00004U05L
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,553 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The brainchild of bassist Yossi Fine, who's worked with Gil Evans, Lou Reed, and Naughty by Nature, among others, Ex-Centric Sound System is a band that mixes authentic African sounds with dub, techno, and hip-hop. While they work in the same general area as Transglobal Underground, Afro Celt Sound System, and similar bands, it's the density of their sound that sets them apart. Instead of songs, they use real instruments, samples, hip-hop beats, and studio manipulation to create soundscapes that draw listeners in and take them on a journey. It's especially effective on the epic "Kokobi," which incorporates an Ethiopian church choir, Ugandan guitar, and Arab percussion--a veritable pan-African kitchen sink--to make its point. There's adventure in the music, which always remains dance-floor-friendly and heavy on the bass, and the flights of consciousness characterize dub old and new. A triumph of the collective imagination. --Chris Nickson

Product Description

The best African funk & dub.

Ex-centric Sound System collects African music, fronted with heavy bass and drums, while the rest of the instruments are African, and are performed by native West African band members. This music represents sounds and music hundreds and thousands of years old. These songs blend authentic tribal chants from all over the continent, with a dub/funky bass line and production that creates and atmospheric and exciting result. This music appeals to all demographics and crosses formats and markets.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars woooooooow!!!!, August 3, 2000

By 

Saar ([e-mail]) (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Voodooland (Audio CD)

The Excentrics, Yossi Fine, Nana Dazi and crew, have been working in Israel and recently showing in the US for about 4-5 years already, and are one of the best dub groups out there. Yossi Fine is one of the greatest bass players in the world, with a unique sound that's bound to get you hooked, and the rythem section of the group (the Israeli drummer and the three percussion players from Ghana) is simply amazing. The group delivers a blend of dub, african music, funk, electronic music (Yossi Fine's also a DJ) & hip-hop, and whatever kind of music this is, this group is best one making this kind of music _anywhere_. Best grooves you'll ever hear, amazing energy, trust someone who's seen their show over & over again and was amazed each single time. GET THIS!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked Wicked VoodooLand, September 1, 2000

By 

AARON L DYSART (AMARILLO, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Voodooland (Audio CD)

I am a music buyer for a major music chain and hope this will give my opinion sum value. This is the best Dub/World/Hip Hop group I have ever heard. The music is consistent and doesn't sound like a compilation, like most others in this genre. The bass playing is the drive and groove of the music, and man is he wicked. I want to be just like him. If they are touring in the USA I have got to see them. [e-mail]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars talk about a strange brew..., November 16, 2000

By 

m_noland "m_noland" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Voodooland (Audio CD)

A friend of mine used to joke that his hometown of Bloomfield NJ was where "Italy meets Africa in America." Well, this CD is what happens when Israel meets Ghana in in a Tel Aviv recording studio. (Israel meets Ghana in a lot of Tel Aviv restaurant kitchens these days, but that's another story.) What comes out is a kind of techno dub with the traditional West African percussion providing both rhythmic propulsion and a human touch. The sampling sources are extremely diverse and masterfully interwoven into the soundscapes. Some of the tracks are anchored in traditional Ga and Fanti folk tunes ("Agbae")justifying the Sankofa visual proverb (retrieve the past to move forward) used as the band's logo. Among my favorinte tracks: "Lullaby" and "Kokobi." Nana Dadzie's suit of Ghana independence 40th anniversary cloth in the liner photo gets them that last star.