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”.
When French producer Radioclit met Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya inside a London thrift shop, the two began a fusion of sound and culture which evolved into The Very Best. Their debut album Warm Heart of Africahas Radioclit layering warm afro melodies over uplifting electronic beats with the soul coming from Mwamwaya’s vocals. Although he sings in his native Chichewa, Mwamwaya communicates a passion that drips with happiness universally understood. Ezra Koenig and M.I.A. both appear on the album along with a few others you’ll have to hear for yourself.
The group first arrived on the scene in 2008 with the global success of “Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit Are The Very Best”, a free mixtape with Mwamwaya singing over remixes of Michael Jackson (Free Willy theme), Vampire Weekend (“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”), Hans Zimmer (True Romance theme) and M.I.A. (“Paper Planes”). You can download the mixtape here.
Back in NYC for the second time this year, The Very Best will be performing at Le Poisson Rouge October 21st with Theophilus London & Ninjasonik as part of Green Owl’s CMJ showcase. Tickets are $12 in advanced. You can also catch a surprise set at Other Music October 22nd at noon sharp. Keep up with us as we bring you full coverage from this and other events at the CMJ Marathon.
Brace yourself for hazardous dance floor anthems well-fed on the homegrown African sounds of high-life and marabi, as well as bass-laden pop grooves from, well, all over the globe. -San Francisco Bay Guardian
