RHODIUM 2

Nostalgia in middle age is a disease peculiar to musical taste - when you come across it in conversation or in the media, to me, it's like the shadow of the Grim Reaper's death scythe wavering above ready to drop. It's game over. That's not to say that I don't also suffer from the affliction, but will, as if at the hands of a crazed bloodthirsty medieval barber-surgeon, unhesitatingly undergo ruthless procedures to excise the unholy canker when it rears its ugly visage. So, for the second in this series, before any delving into the annals, here's a fucking amazing recent release.

Antibalas : Security (2007)

it should be more than enough to have world class musicians get together to make a contemporary album with strong elements of Fela Kuti's distinctive classic afrobeat style alongside other West African and Latin influences - in fact, Antibalas have already made several leading up to this release which are all real treats for fans of these genres - however, Security takes things to an altogether even higher level

as soon as you hear the opening slightly discordant horns and odd syncopation of Beaten Metal, you know you're in for a sumptuously royal treat, one of those attention-grabbing opening tracks where you already know the rest of this fantastic album will never let go of you, each of the seven songs (I love that number for a record!) perfectly balanced in time and space by the amazingly hot musicians and razor-sharp production; I.C.E. is a particular stand-out, when the power of understatement can move you to tears, featuring extremely emotive brass motifs alongside the deep, darkly inventive, traditional percussion

RHODIUM 1