Over the last four decades, Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids have gained worldwide renown for their vibrant, cosmic blend of jazz, funk and world elements, three highly collectible private-press 1970s albums, a breathtaking live show culminating with a reunion album (2012's Otherworldly) and a lifetime achievement award for Ackamoor from Gilles Peterson.
Recorded in Berlin at Max Weissenfeldt's Philophon studios, We Be All Africans sustains the collective's jubilant vibe with a euphonious message of universal brotherhood and harmony. The title track fuses the interstellar excursions of Sun Ra and the joyous insurgency of Fela Kuti into a contagious dance-floor filler that doesn't let up for more than six minutes. The groove gets even hotter with the polyrhythmic Afro-funk of "Rhapsody in Berlin."
More cerebral is the appropriately titled "Epiphany," a futuristic excursion with transcendent saxophone from Ackamoor and ethereal synthesizer lines swathed over serpentine percussion, and "Clarion Call," a hymnal in which the band explore interstellar space that would make Coltrane proud. With the exception of the slight percussion workout "Traponga," We Be All Africans is another exceptional sonic adventure in Idris Ackamoor's growing legacy.
(Strut)Recorded in Berlin at Max Weissenfeldt's Philophon studios, We Be All Africans sustains the collective's jubilant vibe with a euphonious message of universal brotherhood and harmony. The title track fuses the interstellar excursions of Sun Ra and the joyous insurgency of Fela Kuti into a contagious dance-floor filler that doesn't let up for more than six minutes. The groove gets even hotter with the polyrhythmic Afro-funk of "Rhapsody in Berlin."
More cerebral is the appropriately titled "Epiphany," a futuristic excursion with transcendent saxophone from Ackamoor and ethereal synthesizer lines swathed over serpentine percussion, and "Clarion Call," a hymnal in which the band explore interstellar space that would make Coltrane proud. With the exception of the slight percussion workout "Traponga," We Be All Africans is another exceptional sonic adventure in Idris Ackamoor's growing legacy.