UKジャズシーンの真打ち、ココロコが待望のデビュー・アルバムをリリース!!

ロンドンを拠点とする8人組バンド、ココロコ(Kokoroko)。
2020年にアーバン・ミュージック・アワーズで「ベスト・グループ賞」を獲得、グラストンベリー・フェスティヴァルやメルトダウン・フェスティヴァルをはじめとする多くのフェスでパフォーマンスが絶賛され、Loud & Quiet、Rolling Stone、Crack、Clashなど様々な海外メディアで高評価を受ける彼らが、待望のデビュー・アルバム『Could We Be More』をジャイルス・ピーターソン率いる〈Brownswood Recordings〉よりリリース。
"新世代アフロビートの改革的な存在" や "ジャズの新しい形というだけではなく、ブリティッシュ・ミュージックの来るべき姿だ" などと評される彼らが作り上げた『Could We Be More』は、これまで以上にバンドの音楽性を発展させた意欲的なアルバムとなっている。
アフロビート、ハイライフ、ソウル、ファンクの間を巧みに行き来する15曲は、ウエスト・アフリカンやカリブ海という、バンドのメンバー達が育った地域に根ざした音楽からも多大な影響を受け、インスピレーションを得ており、本作はロンドンの即興音楽シーンが如何にハイレベルか、ということをココロコがあますところなく体現している。
彼らの作品は過去の産物を参照しながら作られたものでありながら、新しく響く、完全なオリジナルであり、来るべきUKのクロスオーヴァーなシーンの活況を体現したバンドである。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2022/03/24）

In 2018, Brownswood released its influential 21st century London jazz overview We Out Here. Its final track, "Abusey Junction" by octet Kokoroko, was its surprise hit, melding contemporary jazz, R&B, West African highlife, and Afrobeat. They followed it in 2019 with an eponymous EP that registered more than 68 million streams. Could We Be More, their debut long-player, arrives four years after their initial appearance. Led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, the octet also includes saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, trombonist Richie Seivright, percussionist Onome Edgeworth, keyboardist Yohan Kebede, guitarist Tobi Adenaike-Johnson, bassist Duane Atherley, and drummer Ayo Salawu. These 15 tracks continue to combine the styles showcased on "Abusey Junction," but also Yoruban, Caribbean, and Latin sounds alongside jazz, juju, soul, and funk. Bubbling opener "Tojo" melds sweeping ambient sounds, chunky electric guitars, dubwise bass, and punchy Afrobeat horns in a buoyant groove. The bridge offers a sultry melodic center teased by brass, reeds, and sonic effects. The drum-centric "Ewa Inu" adds Yoruban flavor to syncopated funk and elegantly arranged horns. The transcendent "Age of Ascent" was inspired by a late-night oceanside walk before a recording session. Introduced by Fender Rhodes and a shimmering snare/hi-hat beat, it follows Seivrights melodic trombone uplifted by sax and trumpet in a silly, summery jaunt. "Dide O" weds souled-out brass to bluesy reeds, swinging highlife guitars, and chanted female vocals under a funky bassline and simmering percussion. While "Soul Searching" delivers a syncopated, utterly danceable union of Afro-Latin, highlife, and Afrobeat, "We Give Thanks" is an anthemic exercise in spiritual jazz-funk, stitching Congolese overtones to Afro-Cuban horn lines, biting bluesy guitar, and a bumping son-esque bassline, as the singers hover wordlessly. "Those Good Times" features a tender vocal by Maurice-Grey (with chorus help from Kinoshi and Seivright) atop breaking Nigerian beats, dubby basslines, Latinized guitars, and punchy keyboards. The anthemic "War Dance" enters with urgent, martial drumming, percussive Afrobeat horns, swirling synths, sparkling guitars, and a roiling bassline. It breaks down, then rises again as the instruments bleed together. Maurice-Greys electronically treated trumpet break binds them together as she weaves through the rhythm section. "Somethings Going On" is Kokorokos Afro-funk 21st century answer to Marvin Gayes "Whats Going On." A chanted forefront chorus frames jazzy brass and gospelized reeds. They alternate between charging Afrobeat and jazzy soul. Bass and drums silhouette their cadences. The horn section executes the bridge in loose harmony, as guitar and keyboards flavor the margins. As a whole, Could We Be More is an omnivorous, welcoming set whose overarching influences Kokorokos members grew up with and around. It expertly combines these global roots traditions with hip urban sounds in a distinctive mix thats at once contemporary and timeless. Well worth the long wait, this is the kind of creative, far-reaching, accessible album that comes along once in a generation. ~ Thom Jurek

Rovi