Bahir

Where the rhythms and grooves of West Africa have been embraced across the planet, absorbed into the mainstream and melded into innumerable fusions, their eastern equivalents have, regrettably, been rather neglected in comparison. Cue Dexter Story, producer and multi-instrumentalist from the Los Angeles soul-jazz-hip-hop crossover world populated by the likes of Kamasi Washington and Flying Lotus, who bucked that trend with his fantastic 2015 release Wondem, a Horn of Africa-inspired, Cali-infused shindig, recorded before he had ever visited the region (a Top of the World in #114).

Bahir has much the same ingredients, just with even more shine. After a slinky introduction, ‘Bila’ kicks off with the smooth, 90s West Coast hip-hop tones of vocoder-inflected vocals before launching full swing into a bouncy Ethiopian eskista dance rhythm, with ululations, clapping and a raspy masenqo (one-string fiddle) line that contrasts sublimely with the sleek robotic singing. The rest of the album flows through different styles – sultry Ethio-jazz à la Mulatu Astatke, 80s Mogadishu funk – all with that attractive, sunny LA production writ large over them. With Bahir, you can sense Story feeling that bit freer and more lucid about the possibilities of his sound; this is a blissfully unpredictable album and a real joy to listen to.