After much anticipation (and a few cancelled CMJ shows) we finally caught The Very Best at Santos Party House last Wednesday. A collaboration project between British duo Radioclit and Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya, The Very Best follows a recent musical progression where DJ and production duos team up with singers and MCs to create full-length albums under a new moniker (think Major Lazer or N.A.S.A.).
Like Somalian singer and rapper K’Naan, The Very Best succeeds in bridging a cultural gap that makes African music more accessible to a western audience. The Very Best fuses the traditional music of Malawi with familiar samples like M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” and Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa”. The trio has also collaborated with M.I.A. and Ezra Koenig to produce original songs for their new album, Warm Heart of Africa.
Backed by Radioclit’s Etienne Tron on the decks, Esau Mwamwaya’s performance emulated the joyous nature of The Very Best’s music. Two dancers clad in African-inspired outfits joined Esau on stage, adding a fun and dynamic element to the show. Set highlights included “Julia”, “Kamphopo” and “Tengazako” (their remix of “Paper Planes”). For the encore, they started playing “Warm Heart of Africa”, and stopped midway through the song to play a caribbean-inspired remix. Esau invited the audience on stage for their final song, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”.
You can still download their self-released mixtape for free, or click here to purchase Warm Heart of Africa on iTunes.
