AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE レコード& CD

Review: The musical worlds of Africa, Jamaica and London collide as African Head Charge - the project put together by On-U Sound icon Adrian Sherwood and Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (of Jamaican heritage but with longtime roots laid down in Africa). Their first new material in 11 years, it's a sonically fascinating mix of cultures and sound approaches, with Sherwood going for subtle, light touches on the dub front rather than the full on echo chamber madness more usually associated with the style. Single 'A Bad Attitude' is a great example of what's going on here - warped around the edges rather than from the core, as philosophical utterings and exotic (to us anyway) instrumentation get into the On-U groove.

Review: We last heard from African Head Charge back in 2011 with the album Voodoo Of The Godsent. Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and Adrian Sherwood's experimental dub project has since enjoyed a brief archival run of cuts from the early years, which took us back to 1981 and their My Life In A Hole In The Ground album, but now we're being treated to a fresh listening experience. This time, Noah is leading us on a psychoactive trip to his hometown in north Ghana, Bolgatanga, and the mode of transport is a mesmerising tapestry of percussion and dub wise processing, all stitched together with the flair and continued inspiration of two true originals and life-long collaborators. It's as good as that promises to be, and then some.