Africanism Vol. 1

Much like Dimitri From Paris, Bob Sinclar epitomizes the French tongue-in-cheek notion of glamour house that recalls all the sexiness of '70s disco but with an updated percussive intensity. On this compilation, Sinclar mixes all of the tracks from the Africanism compilation, produced for his Yellow Productions label, into one trip-the-light-fantastic CD that gets you sweating by the third track. DJ Gregory's "Block Party" sounds familiar because it has made the rounds through the record boxes of every significant house DJ in the world. "Do It" commands the listener to do just that, a cappella style, while listing off "New York, L.A., London, Paris" (the jet setter's ultimate fantasy weekend). This peak hour's jams take a quick break for the less inspiring Sinclar production, "Kazet," which sounds like a looped outtake from Paul Simon's Graceland sessions. His "My Beat" grabs a male chorus from the same lost tape. Only Condor's "Zulu's" does anything interesting, editing live vocals and guitar into a dubby mix of tribal drum samples and space-age effects, creating a believable soundtrack for tribesmen in outer space. Besides these three tracks, nothing on this disc particularly screams African. Which begs to wonder what sort of continuity, if any, Sinclar was going for with this series. Those genuinely interested in a fusion of African and electronic music would do better to look toward Frenchman Frederic Galliano. Those looking for a good-time party disc will be content right here. ~ Joshua Glazer