AFROCUBISM – AFROCUBISM

A languid Cuban tres tumbles playfully over the unwaveringly lazy double bass, while the Malian Kora pulls gently back on the sporadic gulps of the talking drum; Afrocubism is a lesson in time, of which both Cuban and West African musicians are masters. Although lush, the opener of this African-Cuban collaboration, Mali Cuba, is non-committal; it feels like the players are long lost cousins meeting each other for the first time, noodling in their respective styles on top of one another, rather than with any sure communication. After a few exploratory pieces, La Culebra (The Snake) and Jarabi (Passion) confirm a growing cohesion between the two groups as they take turns supporting one another, alternating the focus between African and Cuban. When the excited Nima Diyala (I Beg You My Sweetheart) hits us, a fusion has been forged and the collaboration is well and truly humming; instrumentalists from both sides are adapting new rhythms and harmonies into their own playing, and we can feel the excitement of their discoveries. The fiery Hatian merengue A La Luna Yo Me Voy (I’m Going To The Moon) is the highlight of the album in this sense, with cascading African percussion propelling singer Eliades Ochoa’s heartfelt solution to global warming – “with a gigantic cloud I’ll go down and cover the sun, I want everything to be cool”. Afrocubism is the project that Buena Vista Social Club was intended to be fourteen years ago when the West Africans were denied visas en route to Havana. Strangely enough, we may have the Cuban Department of Immigration to thank that we now have both.

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