Afrobeat 422 Items

After two years and a half, Pietro Santangelo (formerly Nu Genea sax player) and his PS5 ensemble are back to Hyperjazz Records with a brand new album: Echologia. 'Echologia' draws inspiration from the idea of natural biodiversity as an expression of contamination, coexistence and balance. In the same way as the biological agents contribute to the life of a certain ecosystem, seemingly distant musical languages act as elements of balance in a fertile and blooming musical system. Multiculturalism becomes coexistence. As in the previous 'Unconscious Collective' (Hyperjazz, 2021), suggestive saxophones textures interwine on a solid rhythmic equilibrium and move naturally along an imaginary line highlighting the ancestral connection between Africa and Mediterranean Sea. On the background, the tribute to the earlier Jamaican dub masters with a strong use of vintage echoes in the mixing phase. Album cover by Sabrina Cirillo is inspired by the myth of the nymph Echo, the Oread condemned by Juno to be able to express herself by repeating only the last words of theinterlocutor, who died of pain due to the impossibility of communicating her love to Narcissus.

‘Unconscious Collective’ is the first album by PS5, the new ensemble led by Pietro Santangelo (Nu Guinea, Slivovitz, Fitness Forever) - and it will be out for Hyperjazz Records on 21st May 2021. It’s a further step in the label’s path in trying to connect the musical tradition of South Italy, the love for African-American music, and new ways of expression. ‘Unconscious Collective’ is a musical experiment where layered memories and hidden feelings resonate as if they arise directly from the most recondite part of the unconscious, suspending the stream of consciousness. With the aim to create a state of trance and override the human reason, this is an imaginary round trip across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, ideally connecting Naples with Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The arrangements wrote by Santangelo are based on great freedom of improvisation: while the melodic textures of the two saxophones didn’t give any clear references, the other musicians followed the rhythmic pulse and its unpredictable ways. The music moves naturally along an imaginary line highlighting the ancestral connection between Jamaica and Ethiopia or between Nigeria and Cuba. In the background, Naples is a synthesis of all the sonic ingredients, mixed and cooked in its own mystical and spicy belly. Besides Santangelo himself on the tenor and soprano saxophones, the collective is made up of: Paolo Bianconcini, a brilliant Neapolitan percussionist with a very deep Afro-Cuban background; Giuseppe Giroffi, young and talented alto, and baritone saxophonist; the bassist Vincenzo Lamagna and the drummer Salvatore Rainone, both loyal members of the former Santangelo’s trio. Recorded live at the Auditorium Novecento in Naples, the legendary studio of Phonotype Records, ‘Unconscious Collective’ is mixed in analog format by Fabrizio Piccolo and mastered by Davide Barbarulo at his 20Hz20KHz Studio.

Berlin based Ruffcats are something of an institution. This eight-piece outfit made up of some of the country"s most revered session musicians, pool all of their diverse influences and come together as "The Ruffcats" to create a unique take on the music they love. Rapturous Apollo Helios, better known as RAH, has been making a name for himself as one of Berlins" most outstanding rappers, songwriters and vocalists. Originally hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, RAH"s music has always been influenced by his environment as well as a rich history of black music from hip hop to soul and, of course, Afrobeat.