Unite

Some folks follow in the footsteps of Fela, others follow Femi… This ten-piece Afrobeat band from Spain seem to opt for the more direct route taken by Fela Kuti’s oldest son, often achieving the kind of punchy impact of his Positive Force at their best.

‘Orísun’ kicks things off with an immediate statement of intent: the five-piece horn section, concise and Tower of Power-ful throughout, is followed into the fray by guitar, organ and percussion before Nigerian drummer Akindimeji Onasanya’s agreeably mellow vocal slots in. While the instrumental backing is always just so – and the way the guitar and organ work in tandem is a special delight – it’s the vocals that lift Unite above the norm. Onasanya’s mellifluous voice is complemented by guests like the celebrated Dele Sosimi, who turns ‘Benefit for All’ into a sardonic scorcher; Cuban singers Alejandro Gutierrez and Karla Vicens, who burnish the shimmering ‘Pastorita’; and the Ethiopian singer, Sara Habasha, who features on the atmospheric ‘Afroshark’, the album’s longest track. ‘Gnawa’ develops the North African influence there in the track ‘Afromaghreb’ from the previous album, Koko Iroyin. All seven numbers of Unite have something different to say, and they say it with genuine class and concision.