Vision Of A Pshchedelic Africa

超越!!サイケデリック・アフリカ体験!初LP化!

12年ぶりに＜On-U＞からリリースの大作!初LP化!ボーナストラックとしてMutabaruka参加の2曲は＜On-U＞のサブレーベル＜Soundboy＞からリリースの7インチに収録の貴重な音源、A4「Unplanned」と同リディム。"King" Kevin Metcalfeによるマスタリング!

Like so much of the On-U Sound catalog, the latest release from Bonjo Iyabinghi Noahs African Head Charge is a slab of sheer musical brilliance with origins shrouded in clouds of moderate-to-severe corporate chaos. Though it bears the copyright date 2005, it does not appear to have been commercially released until 2010, for example. And anyone familiar with the On-U stable of musicians will notice that the only thing making this an African Head Charge album rather than a Tackhead or Strange Parcels (or, for that matter, a Sugarhill Gang) album is the presence of Noah himself -- but then again, that presence is what makes all the difference. Unlike other deeply weird reggae bandleaders (like Lee "Scratch" Perry, for example), Noah seems both cheerfully good-hearted and sonically retiring; the focus of his compositions is rarely his own voice, but rather the field recordings of African and Asian singers that he gathers from heaven knows where. From these he gleans the sweetest and/or eeriest passages he can find and then constructs ground-shaking grooves around them with the help of studio hands Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald, and Keith LeBlanc (among others); the resulting sound sculptures are whipped into a dubwise frenzy by label head and modern dubmaster Adrian Sherwood. Up until now, the most richly moving African Head Charge album was 1990s stunning Songs of Praise, but Vision of a Psychedelic Africa gives that one a run for its money: "The Big Country" opens the program with an exposition on the distilled essence of Noahs musical conception, with eerily beautiful field recordings, an elephantine reggae groove, and Sherwoods patented production craziness. "Surfari" features a slow rockers beat under slightly goofy spaghetti western guitar; "Drumming Is a Language" consists of creepy monster sounds, funky guitar, and a cheerful disquisition on the art of drumming; "Mr. Whippy Does Djibouti" and the utterly gorgeous "Ready You Ready" are simply drop-dead beautiful, all of Noahs favorite musical and cultural elements coming together to create a completely unique and transcendently lovely sound. Start with Songs of Praise, then skip to this one, then start working your way back through the catalog to experience the complete wonder of Noahs unique musical worldview. ~ Rick Anderson

2003年の編集盤『Shrunken Head』に新曲が収録されていたことで期待はしていたが、UKダブの伝説がまさかの復活を遂げた。81年のデビュー作『My Life In A Hole In The Ground』で〈アフリカ×ダブ〉という明確なコンセプトは確立されていたわけで、その意味では同作の延長上にある一枚ではある。ボンジョ・アイの呟きとパーカッションがダブワイズされることで生まれる緊張感、ファンクはファンクでもどこかニューウェイヴ的なファンクネスを醸し出しているところも同様。だが随所に見られる音楽的要素の混在ぶりは、80年代という時代の再評価が一通り行われた現在において実に自然に響いてくる。エイドリアン・シャーウッドのダブ・ミックスもここ最近の仕事では最良のもので、呪術的でありつつ奇妙な多幸感に溢れたその世界はとにかく圧倒的。意外にも80年代の〈伝説〉から2005年的にジャストな一枚が届けられたような感じだ。
bounce (C)大石 始