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Brooklyn’s Super Yamba Band comprises a unique blend of inspiration born of 70s/80s West-African Afrobeat and Psychedelic Funk, with a live energy that moves everyone in the room to dance.
The band formed in 2014 on the foundation of proficient musicians finding a common inspiration amongst their love for African music, especially through rare and sometimes out of print recordings. On the road, the band has honed their craft alongside show mates such as Reptar, Yeasayer, The Afromotive, Between The Buried And Me and Trioscapes. Collaborating over a few years with Senegalese griot and talking drum master Mamadou Mbenge, known best for his work with African pop star Abdou Guite Seck, was a defining moment in the development of Super Yamba’s sound and the musician’s understanding of the African music tradition.
Look no further than Super Yamba Band’s 2016 single, N’diarabi (feat. Ismael Kouyate), for a refreshing taste of what this imaginative group brings to the New York City music scene. The single highlights the band’s progressive take on psychedelic Afro-Funk and boasts their ability to collaborate with heavy hitting performers on the African music scene. “N’diarabi” features the vocal wizardry of Ismael Kouyate, an acclaimed griot singer/dancer from Guinea, West Africa best known for his work on Beyonce’s single “Grown Woman,” in addition to the critically acclaimed musical Fela! On Broadway. “Opening with an unmistakable sabar groove, the track rapidly evolves into a burning Afro-stomper, with funked-out falsetto guitar licks and delirious organ riffs sitting firmly alongside Ismael Kouyate’s evocative guest vocals. Periodic horn bursts and an incessant bass groove complete the mix, making for a thoroughly fresh—and danceable—record that is sure to sound even better live.” -Afropop Worldwide.
Super Yamba Band’s second single ‘Control Per Capita (C.P.C.)’ came out in January of 2017 under the Brooklyn label 3rd Generation Recordings. The song was recorded in 2015 but the band felt like the timing was suddenly right to put out their most politically charged anthem. The song was originally written to pay homage to Fela Kuti’s 1977 tune “Johnny Just Drop.” Like many of Kuti’s protest songs, “Control Per Capita” is a cry against the “control of every head,” says writer and trumpet player Sean Smith. Described by Funkish as an “exhilarating, funky instrumental song,” C.P.C. calls out the injustices of controlling unknowing populations, often through the use of propaganda and fear tactics on the 24-hour news cycles, according to Smith. Though the song was originally written in 2014 and recorded in 2015, “the theme rings particularly true in America right now,” says bandleader and drummer, Daniel Yount, “especially as the methods of control are becoming more literal with walls and bans.”