Song of the Day: Africaine 808 - The Awakening

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “The Awakening” by Africaine 808 from their 2016 album, Basar, out now on Golf Channel Recordings.

Africaine 808 - The Awakening (MP3)

Africaine 808 are a Berlin-based duo, although there's almost nothing European about their sound. Latin and Afro influences abound on a patient, thoughtful dance album full of tracks that simmer on their own but combine into one massively steamy, humid collage. What's remarkable is that this everything-and-the-sink approach to world beat genres doesn't feel at all forced, but like a very precise, fastidious picking-and-choosing of the world's music to piece together a very specific vision: a dance album with the patience of a movie soundtrack, bringing bits of every musical culture together for something that feels equally exotic to every one of them.

Out of the whole Africaine 808 album Basar - a hypnotically vibe-y, groove-centric album - "The Awakening" is probably the truest to its name (although "Crawfish Got Soul" is a close contender). The song feels restrained, never quite hitting full swing, constantly rising and building - a slow rise into a hot day. A rhythm starts to form underneath slowly undulating waves of synth as congas start registering to the left and right, eventually joined by fat, buzzing synth bass. It's too patient to be called dance music, but too dance-y to be called anything else - it's an enigmatic sound quite unlike anything else in the wide world of genres that Africaine 808 pull on.

Africaine 808 seem to be performing mostly around Berlin these days, but hopefully with the growing attention to their energetic dance beats, they'll take it on the road, maybe even hit the States. Until then, keep checking their Facebook page for updates, and check out this newly released single from a forthcoming EP to follow their recently released LP. These guys are hot!