Yaaba Funk's uproaring hilife/funk/broken beats fusion tears it up on the dancefloors And now you can to take it home! Afrobeast on Yaabaphone is released 24 April - Soon to be available in good stores and online - watch this space!
Yaaba Funk, renowned for tearing up dancefloors with their upbeat highlife/broken beats/funk highly eneergised live big band, are rightly called South London’s funkiest and most popular band and they are gearing up to launch and release their debut album AFROBEAST on their own Yaabaphone label. They launch the album at Brixton’s latest salubrious club venue ‘The Rest is Noise – which is named for the book by NY Times; music critic – on Saturday 24th April and the public will have their first chance to buy the album at this event which is hosted by Brixton’s finest Sambalanco DJ promotions crew.
The album is officially released on May 10th and the higly respected World Music originators Sterns Music will be distributing the album to all retail outlets real and virtual. Comments on the release are being canvassed In a wicked and clever move the band also release highly anticipated remixes within days of the full album. The remixes by Olatunde and DJD will be in a digital only issue via the legendary Here and Now recordings who have released crucial afro and afro soul tracks by the likes ofYam Who?, Chaz Jankel, DJD, Funkanala, Motivators and Chanan Hanspal with Imaani from Incognito.
“Yaaba Funk are a Hi-Life/Afro-Funk explosion.A product of Brixton and influenced by 1970S Ghanaian hi-life, funky sounds ofJames Brown and UK sounds like Roots Manuva and The Specials.A floor-filling extravaganza combining the tightest rhythm section this side of Accra,fat analogue basslines, blazing horns, sparkling African and gritty rock guitars. so said The Barbican brochure for the band’s contribution to Still Black, Still Proud, an African Tribute to James Brown. 2008.
The core members of Yaaba Funk met on the London African drum and dance scene in the 1990s where together they learned from master musicians from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Brazil and South Africa. Many nights were spent jamming together at house parties where African drummers and dancers would mix and blend with the djs
flinging tunes from anywhere and everywhere. Band members boast connections with dub creators, improvising circles and leading African dance companies amongst their rich musical tapestries, The band was born in Brixton in 2006 . The name Yaaba Funk comes from an album called Yaba Funk Roots, the only album ever released outside of Africa by Captain Yaba, a musician from northern Ghana and exponent of the 2-string guitar called the koliko. Though sadly no longer with us, Captain Yaba influenced the bands Ghanaian lead vocalist and founder member, Richmond Kessie, with his mix of Ghanaian roots music and modern funk grooves.
The band simply shine on stage with Helen McDonald’s incandescent voclas, Chief Commander Richmond Kessie’s exuberant lead vocals and percussion and a stonking tight fiery bandtaaking afrobeat, highlife, broken beats, retro and electronic into an explosive new and irrisistible mix. Yaaba Funk long awaited debut album Afrobeast on Yaabaphone Records is launched 24 April at The Rest is Noise in Brixton – named for the NY Times iconoclastic music critis – and is released through Sterns Music distribution on 10 May and the remixes are aaialble for digital download on 26 April.
More info from Debbie Golt Outerglobe PR outerglobe@yahoo.co.uk
Post published in: Music