Debruit - From The Horizon (Double 12" vinyl)

'From the Horizon' is Débruit's debut album. It is the culmination of 3 years work, collecting field recordings, delving into restricted

archives, sampling lost African VHS and reinterpreting discovered African melodies and rhythms, for synths and drum machines.

This is a remarkable record, filled with groundbreaking combinations of style and sound, constructed with passion and energy, driven

by adventure and ideological principle and packed with intrigue, authenticity and tribute. Perhaps even more importantly this record is

fun, and never does its depth displace its energy, groove or feel.

Inspired by Western African music past and present Débruit splices the musical roots and subsequent evolutionary patterns of Benin,

Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and beyond. He set out to harness the creativity and rawness of the music, from tribal beginnings through to

70’s highlife and psychedelic afro funk. Despite the clear inspiration, his challenge was not to emulate but to incorporate, to fuse the

musical expressions of the many different cultures and eras with those of his own, to create something new and unheard.

Débruit's genre swerving approach to making music has always been unrestricted and on 'From the Horizon' he has deliberately

created truly original pieces with unique combinations of instrumentation and style, in such a way that they feel natural, expected and

time honoured. For example on 'Afro-Booty Musique’ where traditional drums form a booty Chicago house structure and combined

with talk box and guitar, or on 'Mega Wagna' where funk leads and syncopated vocals are coupled with Gnawa music (a mixture of

sub-Saharan African and Berber songs, where one phrase or a few lines are repeated over and over and songs can last for hours.)

Such diverse combinations can be heard throughout the record as can the influence of the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin

whose advanced drum patterns are combined with Débruit's bump-hop beats and low-slung bounce.

These African influences run concurrently with the ever present ideals of Hip Hop. Its openness to other musical styles via sampling

can be consistently identified, never more so than in ‘Cuivree’ where African TV samples are crossed with lo-fi horns and 808

percussion or on Rêve Du Niger where an early recording of a throat singing child from Niger is looped, layered, re-sampled.

Tribal rhythms and looping vocal samples appear in many guises, through the rattling high hats and sub bass of sonically flamboyant

party starter 'Akoula', amongst the haunting, distant synth scape setting of 'Ouest Wind's Seagulls' or in the epic closing piece 'The

Day I Lost My Funk', where African instrumentation pre-empts a climaxing finale of deep electronic bass and 808 kicks.

This stunning debut deserves repeat listens and much contemplation. Indulging in its many dimensions is continually rewarding. Its

true excellence is in the effortless enjoyment that it provides, engaging listeners on many levels, without its depth ever becoming a

barrier, providing pleasure for all, from the casual listener through to the seasoned ethnomusicologist or surrealist philosopher.

Tracks:

a1 Débruit - cri

a2 Débruit - Ata

a3 Débruit - Cuivrée

b1 Débruit - Afro-Booty Musique

b2 Débruit - Ogene Udo

b3 Débruit - Frére

c1 Débruit - Zef

c2 Débruit - Mega Wagna

c3 Débruit - Quest Wind’sSeagulls

c4 Débruit - Akoula

d1 Débruit - Réve Du Niger

d2 Débruit - Marabout

d3 Débruit - The Day I Lost My Funk

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