Last Night A Mixtape Saved My Life

Born in the late Seventies thanks to Nigerian musicians Fela Kuti and Toni Allen, afrobeat is more relevant today than ever. Its fusion of funk, jazz and the call-and-response dynamics typical of West Africa, already at the root of the Talking Heads' "world turn," is now the model for a new explosion of styles. Having come back into vogue for some time in North America with acts like Antibalas and Souljazz Orchestra, in recent years it has become, alongside nu jazz, the number-one reference point for the young, kaleidoscopic London jazz scene.

The compilation guides us through this varied musical constellation, with its constant rhythmic reinventions and its blazing horn flourishes that make its sound instantly recognizable. It starts with the many projects of saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and drummer Tom Skinner, always straddling jazz, urban rhythms and social protest. Sons Of Kemet, Melt Yourself Down and The Comet Is Coming are names well known to music journalism and the indie audience alike, helped by their frequent forays into electronic, psychedelic and post-punk territory and by the explosive energy of their live shows.

But the London scene runs far deeper, with streaming favorites like Kokoroko and Ezra Collective and compelling figures such as drummer Moses Boyd and tuba player Theon Cross, always pushing toward new expressive possibilities. The afrobeat revival is also an inevitable influence for a range of eclectic artists not strictly tied to the genre but quick to fold its stylistic traits into their own cosmopolitan sound. Nubyia Garcia, Nubiyan Twist, Yazz Ahmed, Ill Considered and veterans Heliocentrics combine a plurality of musical languages, from Afro-Cuban music to spiritual jazz, via hip-hop rhythms and nostalgic echoes, giving rise to a new fusion that captures the cultural diversity of the British capital.

Finally, the selection also casts an eye over the many international offshoots of the sound, often developed independently and expanded in their own distinct directions. Alongside the already-mentioned Antibalas (United States) and Souljazz Orchestra (Canada), the trip around the world continues with the South Africa of Kelektla! (teaming up with Coldcut), the multi-ethnic Brazil of Nomade Orquestra, and the Japan of the Ajate project (crossed with kagura music, typical of Shinto shrines). A stop is also planned for Italy, with Luciano Cantone's The Invisible Session (joined for the occasion by Gianluca Petrella) and the Babel-like psychedelia of Lombard band Al Doum & The Faryds.

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16/12/2025