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04 September 2003

Frederic Galliano and the African Divas, Frederic Galliano and the African Divas (PIAS)
Many of the recent world music-meets-house outpourings -- jazz-laced and chilled-out as they are -- have smacked not a little of exoticism and, in the case of some (i.e., the appalling DJ Gregory's Africanism project), the nasty whiff of neo-colonial exploitation. Thankfully, this collection of African vocals over digital rhythms and mellow electronica is not so obviously tainted. In fact, it is rather impressive and appears to be a genuine labour of love and discovery. Hardly "dance", in any of its more obvious forms, this set is an aural tribute to a four-year journey through Africa by the respected DJ/producer. It does vaguely resemble a well-written travel diary. Erudite and entertaining as it is, the meeting of European and African sensibilities seems a little too weighted to the North. Subjectivity seems to reside largely with Galliano, but the respect is there, while the interplay of styles and the variety of tones make this, unusually, a club-oriented album that you can just stick on and leave running. Maybe it's my residual unease at even this worthy attempt at cross-cultural collaboration, but I found that the stand-out numbers were actually the instrumental ones. Tracks such as "Afo Idon" and "Bko-Dkr" are both impressionistic gems and fine pieces of music in their own right. For the less skeptical though, the mix of live instrumentation, sensuous rhythms and a tangible spirit of adventure should provide over an hour of exploration that is far superior to the average "DJ Journey". If African Divas is merely a fashion statement, then it is, at least, a very well-tailored one.
      — Maurice Bottomley

.: posted by Editor 9:07 AM