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Sample Track 1:
"Alice in Voodooland" from West Nile Funk
Sample Track 2:
"Wadjo" from West Nile Funk
Sample Track 3:
"Ebae [Tel Aviv / Ghana]" from West Nile Funk
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West Nile Funk
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Layer 2
CD Review

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1340mag, CD Review >>

This African-infused, bass-thumping dance album is the second for Ex-centric, and signals a call to those separated by the African diaspora. Yossi Fine, who has played bass for David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Me'Shell Ndegocello, is the leader of this multi-national group that draws influence from Ghana, Israel, Morocco, and everything west of the Nile. Ranging from traditional songs, like the Hutu wedding song "The Original Raga," to modern themes, like "Ebae (Tel Aviv-Ghana)" the album is united by a bass-driven techno feel. However, all the tracks are recorded live. There are no looped samples; instead, Ex-Centric Sound System plays an entire African song, speeding up the Afrobeat-style drums. Basically, bass and drums drive the album, with small emphasis on guitars or keyboards. And, like I said, it's all live.

Yossi Fine intended to create a progressive album that demands furious dancing. The band's logo is a Sankofa, a Ghanaian bird looking back at its egg. It means that we must look backward in order to look forward. It's a fitting idea, one that the rest of the world should take to heart.


Key Song: "The African Bee"

Reviewed by: Adrin Fisher

 07/26/04 >> go there
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