Karl Hector Presents: Johnny!

The German guitarist and producer JJ Whitefield wears many different musical hats, from his forays into 60s and 70s ethno-funk as the Poets of Rhythm to relaunching the career of Ghanaian veteran Ebo Taylor, with whom he recorded two studio albums, and his own Afro-rock projects as the Whitefield Brothers and Karl Hector & The Malcouns. Here Whitefield re-emerges as Johnny! with a set of retro Afro-rock and funk with 60s psych, built around the core of his own pyched-up fuzz guitar and the authentic African sensibilities of two members of Ebo’s band, his son Henry Talyor on keyboards/vocals and percussionist/singer Eric Owusu, while the rhythm section of Turkish drummer Bernd Oezsevim and Indonesian bassist Tomi Simatupang adds a truly international perspective.

Tracks such as ‘Otan Nyen Eduro’ and ‘Agyenkwa’ throb and simmer like a hot night in Accra or Lagos circa 1970 though more straightforward blues-rockers such as ‘Make it Right’, ‘Yendi Agoro’ and ‘I’m Gone’ probably owe as much to Black Sabbath as Fela Kuti. To be brutally honest, the songs are for the most part dull and much of the record plods leadenly, though there’s enough here to suggest they’re probably better live than on record.