EX-CENTRIC SOUND SYSTEM

West Nile Funk

It’s tough to come by hard, pulsing African electronica properly equaling the deep bass tones of native percussion.  Equally difficult is the ability to digitally match the emotional cadence of folk vocalists.  Bass player/producer Yossi Fine’s Ex-Centric Sound System finally rivals the sheer intensity of acoustic African music, where traditional West African elements (balafon, kalimba, flutes,  kpanlogo drums) become serious dance floor crushers.  Fine’s 4/4 rhythmic gravity is matchless; a hip-hop session player (Naughty by Nature’s “Hip-Hop Hooray” ring a bell?”), he attunes the Carnaval experience of booming speaker stacks into your stereo.  His résumé is impressive: David Bowie, Emil Zrihan, Ruben Blades, John Scofield and Lou Reed are among his sonic partners.  West Nile Funk is even more astounding given his crew incorporates an incredible amount of breadth and depth into certain club hits like “The African Bee” and “Ebae” through live instrumentation.  The album is eclectic, ex-centric even, as heard in the gorgeous downtempo title track and Jamaican-inflected cruiser, “The Original Ragga.”  Original, this is. 

-- Derek Beres