Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Darkest Light: The Best Of The Lafayette Afro Rock Band

Sample-spotters heaven turns out fabulous in its own right

The Lafayette Afro Rock Band started out as US funkateers The Bobby Boyd Congress in 1970 but found the overcrowded funk scene stifling. They relocated to Paris’ North African Barbes district the following year, becoming house band for producer Pierre “Berjot” Jaubert at his Independent Parisound studio. Renaming themselves Ice, they recorded several insidious vocal tracks, including the wah-wah funk of Time Will Tell and slow-burning There’s Time To Change: one of the bonus tracks on this expanded version of Strut’s original 1999 album release.

Then came Manu Dibango’s Soul Makossa, the Africanflavoured funk bomb which influenced dance music, while prompting Ice to change their name to the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, releasing two albums in the 70s, Malik and Soul Makossa/Voodoounon, highlights of which are presented here along with vocal outings for the Japanese market under the names Crispy & Co and Captain Dax. Lafayette tracks such as Congo and panoramic Hichache are uplifting Afro-jazz exercises with funky, percussion-heavy undertow and towering brass arrangements. The list of those who’ve sampled their rich seams of groove and melody include Wu-Tang, De La Soul, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Ice Cube and Jay-Z, which gives an idea of the immaculate pedigree on show in this fascinating set.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Strut | 042 CD

Reviewed by Kris Needs
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