Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta
Mapambazuko
**** out of *****
The partnership between Ale Hop (Peruvian electronic musician and researcher Alejandra Cárdena) and Congolese guitarist Titi Bakorta is a very interesting mix of cultures, sounds and styles as the music bounces, shakes and shimmies down a new path of Peruvian/African rhythms. Mapambazuko is a wild ride and one very much worth taking.
Recorded in Kampala, Uganda the album swirls with bleeping electro blasts around Bakorta's nuanced and energetic guitar lines. Things jump right out of the gate with "Una cumbia en Kinshasa" the album opener which shows exactly where this unique partnership is going.
The track is hypnotic and swirling with repetitive beats and wild electric guitar. Cárdena employs digital sounding horns and digital squeals to the beats and guitars, adding weird touches that build on top of each other while the bumping tune feels like it could roll on all night. The style stays the same for the following "Mapambazuko" that uses revved up beats, sound effects and excellent guitar from Bakorta as the tune has flashes of peak era Manu Chao.
The pulsing and twitchy "La danza del pajarito" is upbeat and amazing with exciting dance music while "Bonne année" is the best of the bunch. It keeps the upbeat vibe flowing with laser like synths as Bakorta's high-spirited guitar sounds captivating bringing the song swirling towards climax, cycling and grooving magically.
Things shift a bit for "Así baila el sintetizador" as the mood turns ominous with galloping guitar as things felt nightmarish, in a good way. "Nitaangaza" continues that more introspective vibe with trippy almost underwater sounds.
All of these first six tunes are interesting, unique and mesmerizing in their own way. If the album had stopped here as a long EP there would be nothing negative to say about it. Unfortunately Cárdena adds three remixes of the just presented songs which are not needed, as they are much lesser than the originals. Bakorta's guitar is scaled back (or removed) and the magic that happened earlier doesn't spark to close the record as all three can be skipped.
However, the original six songs are definitely worth your time and money as Cárdena and Bakorta's partnership is unique, exciting and lively as Mapambazuko gets the hips moving and the brain thinking.
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Support the artists, buy the album and peep some video below:
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