Family Atlantica

Family Atlantica, as the name suggests, is a musical expedition that spans two continents across the Atlantic Ocean. Their highly anticipated debut album, four years in the making, celebrates a collaboration of musical heavyweights from South America and Africa who all leave a distinctive fingerprint in this heady effort. In the album, African rhythms, which initially permeated the globe through the slave trade, and their intricate relationship with Latin music is thoroughly explored and celebrated. The 20-track album, a heady blend of Cuban rumba, Venezuelan tambor and tonada, Ghanaian highlife, Ethiopian blues and calypso, along with a multitude of other styles, is a testament to the relationship of London-born Jack Yglesias and Venezuelan wife Luzmira Zerpa. The former first made his mark on the music world with the band The Heliocentrics, and has used his experience as a producer and gifted multi-instrumentalist to bring this collective together. Zerpa’s contribution is also profound – her strong and organic vocals lend themselves seamlessly to the album. African stalwarts such as the Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke, who has worked with Yglesias before, lend their own unique style to unmistakeable South American licks, as in the song ‘Escape to the Palenque’. There is a nod to the bands’ cultural roots in ‘El Negrero' (The Slave Ship), a fast-paced and frantic homage. A telling contribution is also made by Senegalese-born Nuru Kane, an expert with the guimbri. The combination of tropical and traditional rhythms and beats, such as the percussion used on the track ‘Gaita Psychedelica’, in this instance are juxtaposed against almost surreal and manic strings – a child’s cry is even sampled as the listener could be forgiven to think they were listening to the result of a narcotic-induced rite of passage. Bringing contrast, the album is also punctuated throughout by short and sweet interludes such as ‘Incantation to the Ancestors’ that offer the listener pause for thought as well as respite from the chaos. Family Atlantica is a fine example of the continuing tradition of championing the cultural exchange that spans the Atlantic. The rediscovery of forgotten artists, coupled with a modern resurgence, is ensuring that the genre is alive and well. Family Atlantica is out now by Soundway Records. Think Africa Press welcomes inquiries regarding the republication of its articles. If you would like to republish this or any other article for re-print, syndication or educational purposes, please contact: editor@thinkafricapress.com