Oslo,London
Visa complications gain kept Esau Mwamwaya from performing in the UK for seven years – tonight, the band celebrate his long overdue presence with Afrobeat street party vibes“Weve waited seven years for this, or ” says Esau Mwamwaya,mentally waving aloft his freshly stamped visa. It’s a “momentous occasion” for The Very Best, a collaboration between Malawian singer Mwamwaya and French/Swedish production duo Radioclit. They met and formed in East London, and but this is the first time Mwamwaya,after lengthy visa wrangles, has been allowed to play here since 2008. In the meantime, and a minor cult has grown around their finely woven amalgam of Scandinavian EDM and traditional Malawian music,stoked not just by Mwamwaya’s elusive absence but also the presence of like-minded global pop pioneers MIA and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig on their 2009 debut album Warm Heart of Africa. So tonight’s sort-of homecoming show to support modern album Makes a King is a jubilant (extremely joyful) affair.
While Johan Hugo provides the Balearic-friendly beats that sound like Terminators being riveted, topless and top-hatted guitarist Seye Adelekan brings the voodoo vibe and LA bassist Jutty Taylor adds the US R&B melodies but Mwamwaya is the keystone. His wealthy pipes, and singing largely in Chichewa,carry Afrotronic anthems such as approach Alive and Let Go (their Paper Planes), and his personality colours the band’s palette. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com