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Sample Track 1:
"Bizarre Love Triangle" from Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
Sample Track 2:
"Odo Sanbra" from Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
Layer 2
CD Review

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The Virginian-Pilot, CD Review >>

The Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
'Odo Sanbra'
(Occidental Brothers Records)
***1/2

It's ironic that one of this year's most satisfying African pop records, "Odo Sanbra," is led by a former punk-rock aficionado from Michigan. Influenced by NPR's "Afropop Worldwide" series, guitarist Nathaniel Braddock traveled to Africa to form a band that includes saxman extraordinaire Greg Ward and established Ghanaian singer/trumpeter Kofi Cromwell.

On this debut, the quintet excels at Ghanaian highlife, noted by jazzy horns and jumpy guitar patterns. It focuses on the sikyi (SEE-chee) highlife style, characterized by lilting, fluctuating rhythms. The band performs an infectious, uptempo music. Highlights include the group's effective Ashanti take on New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" and violin help from Andrew Bird, who meshes beautifully with the band's horns. Cromwell's soulful vocals, in two Ghanaian dialects, are wonderfully shadowed by Ward's melodic alto sax work and Braddock's dancing guitar.

"Odo Sanbra" presents a delightful, jumping dance party that's equally at home in Hampton Roads and Accra.

--Eric Feber, The Pilot 04/13/09
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