Musically trained in London and schooled in the club scene of mid-'60s New York, Mulatu Astatke stands as the exceptional musical innovator of the Ethiopian groove. Starting in 1969, he created the first bands independent of the military, which had previously dominated the country's music scene. Having immersed himself in Caribbean music, funk, jazz and Latin grooves during his lengthy stint abroad, Mulatu returned to his native land to give rise to a brand new sound.
An album of instrumentals, Ethiopiques Volume 4 is a case study in the inventive blending of influences that comprised the Ethiopian groove. Strains of funk and reggae timings permeate the thick and chunky bass lines, which are pushed prominently forward in the mix. Multiple saxophones swirl with the hypnotic, snake-charming sounds of the East, while at the same time resonating with jazzy tones reminiscent of John Coltrane and Lester Young. Guitar is a main ingredient here, growling with funky distorted wah-pedaled fuzz riffs that sound like they were lifted straight out of an early '70s black-exploitation flick. Drums and percussion combine the punchy funk of James Brown and the Meters with the heavy Latin rhythms of Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo. Fusing all of these elements together, Mulatu unleashes a potent brew of afro-jazz grooves that pull you in and leave you in a mystical trance-like state.
Whew! Even when the record stops, these mood-inspiring sounds linger on like a drug. Get your head on right, light a candle, sit back, and you too will understand...Tropical in its roots, funky and intoxicating in its impact, Mulatu Astatke's distinct brand of Ethiopian music features some of the most soulful hip-grinding instrumentals ever recorded in Mother Africa.

From the drummer sampled by Madlib and Yesterdays New Quintet...
From the band that backed DJ Shadow...
“Malcolm Catto’s band turns traditional funk on its head with his syncopated drums tying up ’60s psychedelia and free jazz into chaos-on-the-one.” – URB Magazine
Four years in the making, The Heliocentrics' debut album is finally complete. Out There is here. Good luck trying to categorize their music. Led by the relentless drummer Malcolm Catto, the UK collective's objective lays quite a ways beyond what ordinary listeners know or expect. In an alternative galaxy, where the orbits of Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, Psychedelic, Electronic, Avante-Garde and Ethnic music all revolve around “The One” – that's where you might find The Heliocentrics.
A listen to a song or two reveals no small influence from the funk universe of James Brown. But there's also the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra's music. The cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone. The sublime fusion of David Axelrod. But the Heliocentrics' music isn't retro. It's brand new. And it's timeless. They have well-placed fans in the likes of Madlib (Catto was featured on his Shades of Blue album and on various Yesterdays New Quintet releases) and DJ Shadow (the band backed him on “This Time I’m Gonna Do It My Way” from his The Outsider album), who will tell you that this band is really the next shit but that they have the consistency and musicianship that seems to have been lost somewhere in the analog to digital shuffle over the past thirty years.