I even got to see Fela play at the Brixton Academy. I never imagined years later the spirit of Afrobeat would return to me in a Parisian park. The name of the group is Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and they come from Brooklyn. They were founded in 1998 by Martin Perna and modeled on Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra, as well as the God of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti. Their music is not one hundred percent pure Afrobeat, as they include elements of jazz, funk and reggae dub.

Of course they are quite a sizable entourage, a full horn section, baritone sax, tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, a bass player, sometimes two guitarists, a drummer, two percussion players, including a conga player and keyboard player. It is like they all muck in, at some point, with backing chants or percussion, there is a strong team ethic here. I saw them twice, on consecutive days, the second time they played in the sizable bandstand, at the jardin du Luxembourg, where the background was the green foliage of trees. They are a band that generate a good feeling for all, I saw fresh faced teenagers dancing, some no doubt a little intoxicated on grass (of the smoking kind). I saw woman of a far greater age, one looked about seventy, strutting about, a refreshing sight. It was a little surreal as there were quite a number of people reclining in chairs, as people might listen to a normal orchestra/band in a park. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra are no normal band, they produce high energy music.

As I was making my way home I was musing about which music style in modern times produces the highest level of energy and I concluded that it had to be Afrobeat, followed by Ska music, a style that is also gets people moving. With Afrobeat, when the tight horn section all come in with their horn riffs, it’s like a heavy weight boxer throwing his hardest punch, it really gets you. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra had all the components working well, each member contributing. With Afrobeat the songs tend to go on quite a while (five minutes or longer) and often there are some long solos, be it a sax solo or trumpet or meandering keyboard solo. There is no lead singer as such, however I was of the impression that the conga player, who had long dreadlocks, African attire and a face with white paint markings, was at times the designated lead singer. When he sung it was almost like he had to act out each word, there was a certain intensity about him.

Fela’s words were highly politicized, heralding Pan-Africanism and socialism and has called for a united, democratic African republic. He was a major threat to the establishment, many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the militaristic governments of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He also attacked the upper-class Africans for betraying their African roots. Likewise Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra have a political agenda, attacking the present Bush regime. It works surprisingly really well a political commentary over this hypnotic endless rhythm groove, which is then punctuated by the sudden raucous blast of the horn section, playing a hooky riffs.

Often Americans are chastised for being insular for supporting their war mongering President, but clearly this criticism is not representative of all and music can be a strong medium of expressing views. There was also an element of humour about this group and audience participation also comes into play, with the “call-and-response” with the chorus. If I had paid good money to this group, I would have been very happy, they put so much into their music and you can see that most members (the bass player looked a bit jaded, maybe he had hit the vino, or needed full concentration) really enjoy what they do and that warmth of feeling comes across. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, really lifted the audience, who could have probably danced on for much longer into the night.

Francis H. Powell is originally from England and moved to Paris in 1999. In addition to being a writer (articles, songs and poems), he is a painter, DJ and English trainer. For more information, please click here to read his complete bio.

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