January 7, 2019

The Daktaris | Soul Explosion

ARTIST: The Daktaris
TITLE: Soul Explosion
LABEL: Desco / Daptone
When Soul Explosion was first released in 1998, Gabe (Bosco “Bass” Mann) Roth’s Desco Records marketed it as the reissue of an early 70s Nigerian afro-funk album. In truth, it was recorded in New York by musicians who would go on to form Antibalas, the Dap-Kings and the Budos Band, and Desco would soon be supplanted by Daptone Records. But back then, Roth says, “whenever we made a record that we were being honest about, we couldn’t throw it down the garbage disposal.” Soul Explosion became an early classic of the Afro-funk revival – it introduced many soul and funk listeners to Ethio-jazz (track 1), gave what seemed to be an African twist to a well-known James Brown track (6), and produced one of the finest Fela Kuti covers ever (10). The originals were also stellar – 3 sounds like a bonus track from the Nigeria 70 compilation (which wouldn’t be released for another three years), and 8 is more strutting funk than African. The giveaway is track 7, maybe the best of the originals: if you read the title backwards, it says “It Is All A Big Hustle.” The music here has long outlived the prank – it’s a gem, great to have it back it circulation.
TOP TRACKS:    1    3    6    7    8    10
ALSO RECOMMENDED:    2    4    5    9

No comments: