Democrazy

It's a sign of our amazing cross-cultural times that a group hailing from the Massif Central, the wild granite heart of France, can create such convincing Afrobeat, arguably West Africa's most influential musical export. The band's previous two albums were released under the name NMB Brass Band, with a sound based on the New Orleans’ marching band template (albeit with leanings towards Afrobeat, jazz and hip-hop). As pure Afrobeat, Democrazy features vocalists recruited during travels in Europe, Nigeria and the old French colonial outpost of Burkina Faso. Sir Jean features on the brooding, staccato opener, ‘Collective Madness’; Hawa is the sultry vocalist on ‘No Better Bed Than the Floor’; and the voice of Kady Diarra illuminates ‘Week End à Bobo’, ‘Fantan’ and the polished title-track.

The bass comes courtesy of the brash horn section and Jean-Marie Robin's lung-busting sousaphone. Together, they keep things simmering nicely. If it never quite comes to the boil, the band does enough to give the likes of Antibalas and Chicago Afrobeat Project a run for their money. Auvergnard Afrobeat is apparently no mere simulation; it's the real deal.