Sahara Swing

Karl Hector

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: July 8, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Stones Throw
• ASIN: B0019A2FFS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,998 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now-Again Records follows up The Heliocentrics' percussive excursions into the astral realms of psychedelia with an album of Afro-tingled funk music originating from Southern Sahara and recorded in Germany. Karl Hector has, to date, only appeared on one 7-inch, from 1996, as the leader of the Funk Pilots. For this album, he has teamed up with Jay Whitefield (producer and guitarist for the Poets Of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers, and founder of the now defunct Hotpie & Candy Records) and Thomas Myland and Zdenko Curlinja, founders of the Malcouns. Alongside Bo Baral, other members of the Poets of Rhythm and crack Munich-based session musicians, Whitefield, Myland and Curlija have crafted nearly twenty tracks that follow the musical roads that Hector has travelled. The underlying groove that ties these ideas together, of course, is as rooted is James Brown as it is Fela Kuti. As informed by Mulatu Astatke of Ethiopia as it is by Jean-Claude Vannier and Can. This is an album of the world. Not "world music"- but that will appeal to any culture ever transfixed by rhythm on "the one."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nyxed, December 5, 2008

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

It's amazing what Europeans can come up with these days. The Malcouns, a loosely-knit ensemble of world music wiseguys, have unleashed a fascinating experiment in mixing authentic African grooves with funk and free jazz. Listeners might find this music bizarre and unhinged, or will wonder why nobody thought of it before. But either way the resulting skanky groove is artistically fresh, technically astounding, and you can totally bug out to it. The Malcouns surely understand the sounds, structures, and instrumentation of various styles of African music. But the real fun is when the troupe adds the chicken scratch guitar of the lowdownest funk and the off-kilter horns and percussion of the wildest big band jazz.

All of these can be found in the top-of-the-album showpiece "Nyx," while looselimbed rhythm workouts like "Sahara Swing" and "Psycles" sound like what Miles Davis would have birthed if he had truly made it into deepest darkest Africa during his sonic explorations back in 1969. Other highlights include the spooky "Jabore Pt. 3" and the funky soul of "Passau Run," which wouldn't sound out of place on a souped-up version of Dr. Funkenstein's Mothership. These German studio vets surely lack the political and cultural influences that really got their favorite African, jazz, and funk masters into the righteous groove. But the groove is here nonetheless, with an absolutely fascinating mix of seemingly incompatible sounds that can work together in surprisingly skanky ways. [~doomsdayer520~]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sooooo funky, February 24, 2009

By	E. Williams "music, movie, food, and beer lover" (St Pete, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm so happy I bought this CD. I like MMW and funky Herbie Hancock type stuff, and this fits right into my collection. Fans of the Daptone Records sound and older afro-soul with great horn sections will love this, too. There is a great blend of sounds here, with a perfect level of electronic tweaking--not too much, as is often the case these days. There's some great grooves, and all the players are fantastic. Not sure how much is samples and how much is live...anyways, it doesn't really matter because you should just go ahead and buy this already!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MMW meets Fela Kuti, August 29, 2008

By	DW (chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Karl Hector & The Malcouns are an authentic sounding new group. Fans of Medeski Martin & Wood should seek this CD. Funky, catchy original jams with vintage instruments, a horn section and African percussion.

My kind of music.

[DW]