Four years after Sandoz In Dub: Chant To Jah,
Richard H Kirk finally revives his Sandoz project for
this new album. An extremely prolific musician, releasing
a handful of albums each year, under different aliases,
Kirk returns to his privileged ground with this seventh
Sandoz record.
For years, Kirk has been raising awareness on various
issues surrounding the African cause through his music,
either as Sandoz, or with other solo projects, including
1999’s Al Jabr splendid One Million & Three
album, on which he touched the subject of Afro-Americans
and the persecutions they suffered through the age.
As the title suggests, Afrocentris is very
much a journey through the heart of post-colonial Africa,
during which he goes back to the essence of some of
his work as Sandoz, as he base his compositions on tribal
rhythm patterns, vocal samples and elements of African
music, on which he superposes harsh electronic structures.
More than corrupting these traditional forms by taking
them out of context entirely, he builds a picture of
today’s Africa by simply playing on the contrast between
ritual and modernity, very much reflecting the contrasts
found on the continent. Although Kirk focuses mainly
on Central Africa, hence the plethora of French samples
heard all along, he borrows from all parts, from Maghreb
(I’m Not Afraid actually features a sample
of a Spanish-style guitar, reminder of the strong North
African presence in the Hispanic peninsula through centuries)
to South Africa, as he uses elements of Zulu music on
Dissolved In Acid. But it is for his more techno/ambient
sound that the former Cabaret Voltaire is best known.
As a precursor of intelligent electronic music, Richard
H Kirk has exploited the increasing possibilities of
sequencers, computers and other machines to develop
a unique sound, as much inspired by the pioneers of
Detroit as by the stark severity of the Kraftwerk’s
music. These two sides of his musical personality are
reflected here, as he builds slightly rigorous melodies
that he then enrobes with intricate beats and patterns.
There is nothing really new on this album, but, as usual,
Kirk manages to remain creative and to keep his music
fresh and interesting. Afrocentris introduces
some clever elements of African music in the compositions
included here, and bring the tracks to live.
4/5 |
