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"It's only one album, but this record places Nomo rather firmly near the head of an emerging pack of Afrobeat revival bands, led by New York City's Antibalas along with a few other established acts like Akoya and Kokolo. It's a good bet that anyone who digs Ted Sirota's Soul Rebels will love this, given the emphasis on jazz, and naturally, there's the affinity with Fela, so Afrobeat and Afro-jazz afficionados are encouraged to give a listen. Anyone else who just wants to dance can come along, too." - Pitchfork
Ghost Rock is the new album from the Michigan-based collective NOMO. The album, produced by Warn Defever, sheds light on the way forward for a band that has been forging its own vital sound. This is not the Afrobeat of Fela, nor the revivalist funk of a forgotten decade. This record owes as much to Can, Eno, and MIA as it does Kuti, Francis Bebey, and Funkadelic. On Ghost Rock, NOMO arrives in a new place. There’s no loss of steam as they incorporate new influences, instead NOMO breaks through with a matured and developed sound that is fully its own. The band’s perpetual grooves are deeper than ever. The horns are set ablaze and analog synths beam an electrified energy into the music. The homemade percussion arsenal is ramped up a notch, and the electric sawblade gamelan brings gong-like overtones into the tangled vine of synthetic and organic strands. The band taps into its full orchestral potential—the arrangements are filled with timbral variety, as the bubbling textures of the percussion meld with the soaring sounds of the horn section. NOMO’s roots are firmly planted in the fertile soil of African polyrhythm and American free jazz, and bandleader Elliot Bergman’s tracks draw inspiration from cultures and generations wildly different than his home setting. In many ways (at least geographically and sonically) NOMO are a distant relative of the TRIBE collective. Undoubtedly they carry the spirit of the legendary Detroit-label’s other-worldly creative output.
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I saw these guys at Zebulon in February and was totally amped by their energy and amazing sound. I bought their album and it did not disappoint. Great springtime tunes. I am looking really forward to their concert tonight at Joe's and hope to hear their new work...maybe it will be perfect for summer!
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