FABRIC - Until We Are Free

There's an invisible line that has always linked afrobeat and funk, Africa and America. After all, the very word funk has central African roots, according to research by ethnomusicologist Portia Maultsby. And the fusion of the two genres has been all over the place for decades now. Yet even today, albums like "Until We Are Free" manage to pull off that alchemy without lapsing into the usual déjà-entendu, into showy repetition or vague hand-waving.

Released by Four Flies, a label with a sharp eye both for unearthing gems from Italy's past and for showcasing new names on the domestic underground scene, "Until We Are Free" marks the recording debut of fabric, a collective born from the meeting of musicians with different artistic backgrounds, united by one clear, shared mission: bringing together funk and afrobeat with a brio and enthusiasm that come through constantly, track after track, with a nod here to Fela Kuti and one there to Beyoncé.
Indeed, beyond the underlying intent, and despite being deeply rooted in the genres mentioned above, "Until We Are Free" also brings out some highly inspired neo-soul moments, as in "Go Let Your Freedom Grow". Meanwhile "Fight" feels like flying between Kingston and Kinshasa, and "No More" could take us back to the Black Panthers, and so to Oakland, California.

“The freedom we're looking for doesn't live only in words or ideas but also, and above all, in bodies, in movement and in partying as a political, rebellious act of joy”, say fabric, explaining the spirit of an album preceded by the singles “Taste This Sound”, “Fight!” and “Feel It”, quickly picked up by major radio stations such as Fip and Kexp.
Mixed by Tom Campbell (Sault, Little Simz, Adele, Michael Kiwanuka, Jungle), “Until We Are Free” moves fluidly between a triumphant melodic line (“Once Again”) and a more fairy-tale-like one (“Feel It”), aiming to lead the listener into what could be the soundtrack for a remake of a 70s blaxploitation film. An album, then, to listen to while partying but also by moonlight (“Falling Down”), one that heralds the arrival of a band with enormous future potential.   

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30/07/2026