And the African Divas

Frederic Galliano and the African Divas
Label: F Communications

My pick for the best CD of the year. Galliano’s project spans 4 years of travel, 6 trips to Africa, 30 musicians, 20 instruments, & 12 African divas. This is no ordinary world-meets-electronica CD where some chants & congas are slapped onto generic beats. For years, Galliano has worked w/ F Communications (founded by techno legend Laurent Garnier) – and the result is magical. African harmonies, chants, rhythms & beats blend seamlessly between the organic & inorganic, the live & the electronic. Vocals, nature, ambience, and beats all stay true to the African experience. The tracks on the CDs are recorded in two continuous sessions (CD 1 & CD 2) so you can play multiple tracks together.

CD 1: Try: 2,3,4,7.
1. ambient/abstract electronics, wild percussive bursts, w/ vocals in French
2. haunting vocals, gentle beat, mesmerizing dubby electronics, breaks down into wind/weather ambience
3. sounds w/ children at play moving into a sweet jazzy-organ & house beat & bassline
4. deep house Africa-style - youthful fem. vocal chants w/ sexy melodies
5. a wild one - multilayered vocal interplay over synthesized crunchy percussives
6. multilayered percussions, tech-y breaks, dubby reverbs & effects, male vocals
7. kind of tech-y & trippy & bouncy, w/ funky horn blasts & lots of uptempo fun

CD 2: Try 1,2,4,5 (wow),7 + secret track
1. loose electronic piano playing, & some reverbed female vocals interplay
2. snappy 2-step breakbeats w/ some guitar melodies & catchy female vocals, neat percussion solos
3. kind of a continuation of #2 - repetitive chants & snappy breakbeats
4. vibrant vocals song w/ passion, over some nice deep-house beats & claps
5. crazy dub-ish reverbs & manipulations, variety of electronic & percussive effects - long instrumental track remains interesting & distinctly African, last 2 minutes are mostly acoustic guitar melodies transitioning into # 6
6. beat-free track - lovely vocals w/ space-y electronic ambience - very relaxing
7. deep-house, lush synths, long space-y breaks, melodic male & female vocal choruses
(note) a secret track is located at the end @ 13:00