African Head Charge return to On-U Sound with their first new album in twelve years. Titled A Trip To Bolgatanga, the recordings are led by founder member Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, with close friend and co-conspirator Adrian Sherwood once again at the controls. A Trip to Bolgatanga is a stunning return, bringing together the talents of two masters who, after a hiatus, have created a rich album brimming with ideas and executed with finesse.
Not very many reggae albums acknowledge Alan Lomax in the credits. But then, African Head Charge (a band with a constantly changing membership led by percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah) doesn't really make typical reggae albums. Although the one-drop beat (provided on this album by Lincoln "Style" Scott) influences everything and the basslines have a typical tidal undertow, the stuff that Noah layers on top of the mix has more to do with ethnomusicology than the dancehall. The song titles say it all: "Cattle Herders Chant," a field recording of call-and-response chanting overlaid with Nyahbinghi drums and highlife guitar; "My God," eerie, minor-key African-American church singing supported by a chugging reggae bassline, bare-bones drumming, and the sound of running water; "Deer Spirit Song," an unidentifiable indigenous song in 9/8 meter with a gently driving rockers beat and occasional sound effects thrown in. This is an exceptionally beautiful album, but in a deeply strange way.
Unbeknownst to the London massive, deep within the English countryside lie a number of brilliant music producers. One such unfashionable but extremely talented artist is Ott, best friend of Simon Posford aka Hallucinogen and previous editor of the Shpongle albums. Hallucinogen's stuff would lend itself well to dub - and this proves you right. It's a dub circus with flecks of the original souping in and out, and the effect is truly psychedelic. Spiritual Antiseptic uses the original's cutup vocals with a more traditional dub arrangement - melodica, clattering drums, and reverb to hell and back. Twisting and turning, the way the main LSD melody surfaces is pure sonic poetry, and certainly gets those brain chemicals flowing. Finally Angelic Particles - with swirling vocals and sweet guitar (specially recorded by Simon Posford) creating a sort of timeless dub full of rich psychedelic harping back to Floyd, Gong and the Grateful Dead…
Khruangbin has always been multilingual, weaving far-flung musical languages like East Asian surf-rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub into mellifluous harmony. But on its third album, it’s finally speaking out loud. Mordechai features vocals prominently on nearly every song, a first for the mostly instrumental band. It’s a shift that rewards the risk, reorienting Khruangbin’s transportive sound toward a new sense of emotional directness, without losing the spirit of nomadic wandering that’s always defined it. And it all started with them coming home.