From Chile: Newen Afrobeat- Curiche

Second LP from Newen Afrobeat that resume the research of the chilean orchestra with the masters of afrobeat and their visits to afrobeat´s homeland in Lagos, Nigeria. A extremely energetic album that talks about inequality, migration, female rol, indegenous cultures and more. 

newenafrobeat.bandcamp.com 

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Album opener ‘Vuela Junto a Mi’ (‘Fly with me’) is a successful fusion of afrobeat and Andean music, with crisp brass and a clever rhythmic conversation between the chattering kit beats associated with Tony Allen and Andean drumming.

Spanish replaces afrobeat’s lingua franca pidgin on Curiche, adding a different feel to tunes like ‘Come y Calla’ (‘Eat and shut up’), which channels Fela Kuti’s directness in a searing critique on power.

Like the modern afrobeat of the Kuti dynasty (Seun and Femi), Newen’s tunes also begin with an instrumental break, but come to the matter (the vocal) earlier than Fela would on his songs, which often took up one side of vinyl!

‘Voraz’ (‘Ravenous’) is one such standout track about the frenetic pace of daily life, with a tempo to match, elastic guitar lines and the driving Igbo woodblock that keeps time called okpokolo.

‘Open Your Eyes’, the single track on the album to feature a Nigerian musician in Oghene Kologbo, is perversely a less memorable composition.

Kologbo played guitar in Fela’s Africa 70 and contributes the lead vocal here, which, to be fair, is not playing to his strengths.

Afrobeat, like reggae, has been globalised, and it would be interesting to hear what the genre’s elder would have to say about it.

Curiche, then, is a decent addition to this movement, with Newen at their best when bringing their own musical vocabulary to the music rather than imitating.

rhythmpassport.com 

 

From Chile: Newen Afrobeat -

Newen is the first Afrobeat Afrobeat Orchestra in Chile. Formed in 2009, it is the answer from this part of the planet to the style created by Fela Kuti. Afrobeat music Newen is the union of African tradition with Latin American musical heritage and this is reflected in the name that was baptized the band. "Newen" is a word taken from the Mapuche language, language of the Mapuche people, one of the main indigenous peoples of Chile. "Newen" means strength or spirit manifested in all things. Newen Afrobeat Afrobeat is then hard, with spirit.
As Fela Kuti said music is the weapon and this slogan is always present in the proposal Newen Afrobeat. His lyrics reflected the concerns of the younger generation who want to see a new world, a free world where we recognize that we have always been one. This message has echoed in the new generations of young Chileans who are no longer afraid to tell the truth, dancing and singing hard for freedom in the context of a society that is awakening.
Special mention deserves the power of their live show. Newen Afrobeat, rather than an orchestra, is a family looking for the genuine expression through music and dance. Today, this family consists of fifteen musicians. The high quality of their live show has led to important stages in the Chilean scene and major festivals like Lollapalooza Chile 2012 y Siempre Vivo Reggae 2013, among others.
2013, Newen live Afrobeat records his first self-titled album in Southern Studies and Research Triana, with our friend and engineer Gonzalo "Chalo" Gonzalez and assistant Jaime "Humitas" Garcia. On December 22 the same year, carried out the launch of this, the first album of Chilean Afrobeat, in the park Juan XXXIII, with a free concert and outdoor gathered more than 2,000 people of all ages .
This year 2015 are back from their first successful tour of Brazil in Sao Paulo. An experience that has approached closer to African roots and bands and DJs on the international circuit of Afrobeat such as Dj Tudo (Bra), Dj Mukambo (Belg), Bixiga 70 '(SP, Bra) and Abayomi (Rio de Janeiro) as also people and the massive feeling of enjoyment that gives this musical style. Return recharged to Chile premiering audiovisual production in its interpretation of "Upside Down", original Fela Kuti (1976), which has rapidly been heard and viralised on social networks with the recognition of Sandra Isadore, original singer of the theme, as well Duke Amayo (Bulletproof, USA) in Nigeria by the Kuti family and have recently met and strengthened ties of friendship and fraternity with Carlos Moore, official biographer of Fela Kuti.

newenafrobeat.com 

Tracklist

01. Santiago
02. Caminante
03. Rojo Carmin
04. Polvo de Inti
05. P.D.T.N.
06. Nacion Nueva
07. Que Sabemos

From Chile: Newen Afrobeat

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Tomás Pavez, a member of the Chilean Afrobeat ensemble "Newen Afrobeat" who interestingly mentioned his interest in Afrobeat in general and especially in South America. Moreover, gave me some information about his own Afrobeat band.

"Newen" is a mapudungun - the Mapuche language is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people - word from the Mapuches that means "Strength", the Mapuches are the originary tribe before this land was colonized into a country by Spain.

To introduce you to his band, here are a couple of songs to listen:







For further information and to get in contact, check out their facebook profile here.