The cover screams LAME in big loud letters, yet it’s a welcome relief to discover that the Haitian influenced percussion music contained inside more than transcends the ill thought out cover art. It’s the work of Atissou Loko a master of the Haitian tambour (drum), who mixes African, Caribbean, jazz, salsa, even hip hop influences in this project who’s name comes from the Beninese land of Adja and the Haitian goddess of love, Label. It’s his ensemble’s fourth album since 2000 and it’s incredibly diverse. There’s the ever present hand drums, however also driving sax, electric guitar, more drums and someone mysteriously on ‘sounds.’ There’s also various guests (19), particularly vocalists, from the choirs to french speaking African’s, even this incredible English spoken hip hop, on the smoky Brahim, a tune that effortlessly manages to merge R&B and Afro jazz. The percussion flows through this album, less a heartbeat than a driving excited pulse and despite their propensity to demonstrate their skills in multiple areas, they do the kind of laidback Afro Jazz with a rarely seen swagger. The musicians here are clearly pretty skilled and Loko’s fusion of not just multiple genres, but also the traditional and contemporary (something often destined for failure) is really quite unique and very inventive – even if some of the vocalists do tend to tread some dangerous (read corny) territory when they move into English. There’s a restlessness to his tunes, like he has a low attention span and needs to keep things moving and changing, and as a result the tunes end up being quite complex, without forgoing their groove, energy or feel. The thing about Haitian drums is that it’s less about the boom and more about the impact, the sound of flesh on hide, which tends to have a rather soft feel, which means that tunes can remain low key whilst Loko can go to town. It’s a curious album, there’s elements of genius, of cringe and everything in between. There’s one thing though that no one could dispute, Loko plays a mean drum and this album is worth checking out for this alone.
Bob Baker Fish
