Son of the inimitable Fela Kuti the inventor of Afrobeat, Femi Kuti has carved out a fine career in the genre his father made famous. While Fela Kuti’s electric guitar-led groove explorations, such as ‘Zombie’, laid the foundations, Femi in his new album Journey Through Life tends to keep the songs short, but no less layered and propulsive.
Opener ‘Journey Through Life’ sets the tone with two drum tracks, brass lines and bass creating a dizzying melange. For most of these songs the instrumentals are allowed space to breathe, before Femi’s impassioned vocals come in mid-song. The spoken-word passages work within, and do not detract from, the power of the music.
Fela Kuti always bravely tackled the subject of politics in his native Nigeria. In this tradition Femi carries on from his father’s message, with many lyrics concerned with the corruption of the current Nigerian government. This is music that incites you to first bob your head then tap your feet, then almost instinctively want to get up and dance, which makes the vocals’ serious political content all the more potent.
Afrobeat came to define itself as polyrhythmic, and this is no exception. The track ‘Shotan’ builds on an insistent, bedrock bassline in which brass sections and keyboards snake. With barely an electric guitar in sight, the hypnotic power at play is a feast for the ears. While other songs can be a little too busy – ‘Last Mugu’ being a case in point – with ‘Shotan’ the balance is just right. Even more chilled out songs like ‘Corruption Na Stealing’, which has a more fluid, melodious feel, layers rhythms and challenges your ears without discarding the foot tapping.
Femi Kuti’s music and live performances have not waned in their intensity now that he’s 62, as a recent Celtic Connections gig attests. A worthy addition to his discography, Journey Through Life keeps the spirit of Afrobeat alive and creates enough inventive sounds to have you going back for more.
Journey Through Life will be released 25th April on Partisan Records
