Mediacracy

by JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra

We know music to be universal, so there's nothing strange about an Afrobeat band from Japan, is there?  Even when its music is released on a German record label?  The JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra is thirteen-person group (there are an additional six musicians guesting on various tracks) that could hold their own with some of the best of the groups that came out of Nigeria in the early 70s.

Listening to Mediacracy, I was reminded of Antibalas, another contemporary Afrobeat group who continue Fela Kuti's tradition of discussing politics in their music.  The title track of this album calls out the media, and their dominance of the political and social spheres for not helping anyone, and making the world a worse place.

Unlike Antibalas, the JariBu gang keep their message (and their music) much shorter, fitting eleven tracks into a one-hour recording.  This is a very cool album filled with some very nice Afro-influenced music.