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WHO IS THIS AMERICA?
by Antibalas

review by R. Reyes
12.12.04

What do you get when you cross the lyricism of Marvin Gaye and the percussion of Brazil's Oludum? You get polyrhythmic poetry from West Africa by way of the Brooklyn Bridge, invoking the spirit that rocked the barrios of Lagos, Nigeria in the 60s and 70s, and steadfastly continues the legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and his interpreters.

Who is this America? is Antibalas' third release on Ropeadope Records following Talkatif and their 2000 debut, Liberation Afrobeat Vol 1.

Afrobeat embodies the collaborative process of singing about the current—that which cannot be divorced from the socio-political and cultural reality of its fanatics. "The idiom itself—the politics, the message is in the music...like you can't really have gospel music without singing about Jesus. You can't have Afrobeat music without having music that is politically and spiritually engaged," extols founder and baritone saxophonist Martin Perna.

The tracks are long, instrumental melodies with a cool funk floating just above the traditional West African and Cuban arrangements of the Yoruba tradition with an occasional wave of dub and infusion of jazz. Antibalas takes the backdoor to your political mind by getting you to dance, sweat and occasionally reflect on the state of the nation.

Among the first tracks—Antibalas demands that we "Pay Back Africa," a dub lament on the question of reparations for slavery; on "Indictment" the band comes out shooting bullets of brass with a checklist of atrocities from the current administration; "Big Man" is most reminiscent of Afrobeat's high energy with lead vocalist Amayo using the musical stage to remind us of our complicity in the capitalist plot. Under a minute and a half the traditional Yoruba chant "Obanla'e," arranged by Ernesto Abreu, opens the road to the dreamy soundscape and the call and response of "Elephant." "Pa'lante pa'lante como un elefante" (forward, forward like an elephant). Antibalas closes out the album with the hypnotic bass line of "Sister" a nineteen-minute manifesto which apologizes for "the time I disrespect you, Oh my sister."

These are nearly perfect political beats for an imperfect world.

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