Words by Justin Turford
The magpie tendencies of the creative duo Dirk Leyers and DJ Nomad (AKA Hans Raabe) have always been their strength and also probably the reason they haven’t become ‘household names’ in the electronic music community despite producing a string of excellent records under the guise of Africaine 808 from the 2010s onwards. Beloved of those that wanted expansive electronic music that wasn’t fixated on the default 4/4 donk but tried out new avenues, Africaine 808 created some of the toughest genre-busting tunes around, sounding like tropical techno one minute or some kind of UK bass-influenced Latino hybrid at other moments. Not dissimilar to the experimental nature of Hugo Mendez’s Sofrito imprint, they took the best of the world’s polyrhythms and melodic traits, and produced it with the heaviest of production pressure for maximum power on the dancefloor.
Rebranding themselves as A08 and following ten successful years touring their live music project and remixing artists such as the Tony Allen and Amadou & Mariam amongst many, the duo decided to switch up their sound adding the varied languages of jazz and Caribbean music into their already spicy pot. To be fair, they have always touched on these sources, Nomad’s freestyle approach to party soundtracks goes way back to his Triple A Soundsystem days with Hunee or the now legendary Vulkandance events in Berlin that offered a multi-genre alternative to the city’s relentless techno-focus.
A08 press pic (c) Hans Raabe & Dirk Leyers
On their new album ‘Waiting For Zion’, the pair (and their trusty servant, the Roland 808 drum machine) have produced a killer twelve track record without a dud moment in sight (or sound). Bringing along guests from Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Trinidad and Germany but with the majority of the creating done by themselves, the album moves from twitchy Afro-electro and digi-reggae to brassy tropical-infused jazz and moments of squidgy sunshine RnB, each track dripping in educated quality whilst remaining courageous and playful in equal measure.
The electronic musical landscape has changed a lot since the duo started back in the 90s. Sampling and the use (often uncredited) of Caribbean, South American and African records has been supplanted by the rise of electronic artists and musicians from across these regions ,who in many examples, are the new wave of progressive sounds, the dominance of European and US labels and artists no longer taken for granted. The bar has been raised and so A08 have raised theirs.
The album opener and title track ‘Waiting For Zion’ is a perfectly realised combination of African jazz influences (horns and flute by Ben Abarbanel-Wolff), gently bubbling arpeggiated synths, and a stunning bed of interlocking percussion from regular collaborator Eric Owusu (Jembaa Groove, Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band) and Andre Hasselmann. I had the opportunity to drop a couple of the album tracks (including this one) at a recent gig and the production demanded attention, the warmth and dynamism of the sound definitely left its impression on the room of audio-freaks.
The percussion-heavy first single ‘Life’ features rapper, singer and musician Makadem, his delicate playing of the eight-stringed Kenyan Nyatiti alongside Eric Owusu’s complex polyrhythms, the driving force of the song. Makadem’s authoritative voice and lyrics provide a narrative arc but it is the drums and the understated synth and bass interplay that star in this piece that resembles some of the 80s output of the late Brazilian master Naná Vasconcelos.
‘Yamahaica’ is a cheeky but classy digital dub track (sounding exactly as you might imagine based on its silly title) with some killer drum programming and a simple but hypnotic call-and-response melodic motif.
The brilliant ‘Water’ features the impressive vocals of Trinidadian singer, actor and visual artist Nickolai Salcedo, and its artful union of UK grime, dancehall and West African influences is an oddball delight on the album. The bottom end has some thunderous detuned toms that pummel away as snares rattle and an infuriating synth earworm burrows into your head. There are plenty of surprises throughout this energetic baby.
The Detroit meets London vibe of ‘Pompelmouse’ contains many a dancefloor ingredient we have heard before but our dynamic duo have freshened it up nicely. Jazz-house piano chords, a fast-walking bassline ally up with some tricky bruk-ish drums that lead to some saucy synth work and a fine dancing moment on the record.
The robotic-voiced ‘Nineoneone’ is a gnarly electro number with a North African tint. A heavy drum machine and bass pattern drive the tune, the bottom end positively throbbing as stabbing keys, an Arabic-sounding melodic motif and Hans Raabe’s modulated vocals bring the curveballs.
The lush midtempo shuffler ‘I Want More’ invites vocalist María del Rosario to the party, her softly sung chorus a response to the conscious spoken poetry of Nickolai Salcedo. The music itself is a slick take on modern boogie with colourful keys, an ace bassline and delicately played percussion that sets up the next song nicely.
‘Big City Blues’ hasn’t been released as a single at the time of this review but it is probably the clearest example of ‘classic’ songwriting on the record. María del Rossario and Nickolai Salcedo return as vocalists as does Ben Abarbanel-Wolff whose attacking tenor and baritone sax parts propel this live-sounding and brassy Afro-soul song into juke joint territory.
The wonky acid-dub of ‘Five G’s’ is a slippery, constantly stuttering piece of electronica that suggests both West African and Japanese percussive melodies to me (I could be way off the mark though so don’t sue me). With hints of broken beat, squidgy bass sounds and multiple layers of syncopated percussion and keys, this is one of my initial favourites from the album.
The skittering energy of ‘Kisumu Bound Bus (Nyatiti Mix)’ brings back Makadem and it is his imperious voice and simple repeating Nyatiti melody that holds this track down. Acidic synths, filtered drums and keys and Eric Owusu’s hyperkinetic percussion pile on the twitchiness.
The sunrise splendour of ‘Bubbles’ displays the quieter side of the pair’s musical characters. A near horizontal slice of ‘Balearica’, the song tiptoes along with the simplest of drum patterns, suspended and filtered synths, satisfyingly sparse keys and bass interaction keep it true and funky.
The versatile Nickolai Salcedo returns for the last time on the bouncy reggae of the final track ‘Sunset’. Dancing along in a Compass Point Studios vein, with one drop drums, chugging organs and nice use of the melodica, Nickolai gives us a rock solid voicing that “holds the sky as the Sun sets the hour”.
As any producer knows, the hardest thing to do is to make a track sound simple but complete. A08 seemed to have cracked the code, each song on this record containing complex polyrhythmic and melodic phrasing without any unnecessary extras. Equally focussed on home-listening and the dancefloor is a formidable task yet A08 seem to find it easy!
The knitting together of their open-minded and cultured musicality, and exceptional studio production chops make this is a great album which is going to be in my record bag for quite some time. 9/10.
Released on 17 November 2023 on Compost Records.
BUY HERE! https://compostrecords.bandcamp.com/album/waiting-for-zion