Edit maestro Frank Booker releases material fairly sporadically, but 2013 has seen the New Zealander on a bit of a roll – the rattling funk of ‘Movin On’ on Kolour LTD a recent highlight. His new 12” on KAT is another veritable gem, laying down three tracks of deliciously low-slung afro-disco.
The A-side is a chunky rework of King Sunny Ade’s 1983 afro jam ‘Synchro System’. Set to a chugging 4X4 tempo, Booker dunks the ecstatic juju percussion in a hefty sea of bass. Ecstatic horn riffs and guitar licks underpin an insistent locked groove.
On the flip, Booker turns his hands to another Nigerian afro-beat classic, Fela Kuti’s ‘Egbe Mi O (Carry Me)’. He stretches out a scratchy electric guitar loop and choppy percussion (originally from Cream’s legendary Ginger Baker) into another hypnotic, nagging house rhythm, whilst bonkers West-African guitar solos and fevered African chants come and go.
‘People Must Jam’ nudges closer to a straighter disco template, albeit tinged with the hollowed percussion and loosely-slung beats of afro-jazz. It’s a gently funky warm-up tool again submerged in drudging low-end.
Frank Booker is firing on all cylinders here, each edit pushing its own sunny, utterly persistent groove.
KAT Records | April | Format: vinyl only
01. Synchro System
02. Egbe Mi O
03. People Must Jam
