SPACE AFRIKA - Quiet Storm

Recorded with the help of a remarkable list of guests (Axelle Fanyo, Alto Aria, Klein, RXKNephew, Tony Njoku, Kiala Ogawa, Kelly Moran, and others), “Quiet Storm” is a nocturnal, orchestral and cinematic record, anything but immediate.

The opening is entrusted to the chant-like voice of soprano Axelle Fanyo, in a crescendo of intensity underscored by the orchestra accompanying her: a dance that slowly carries the listener into a cosmic void. The ideal place to try to warm oneself under the faint rays of light cast by the piano notes of the ballad performed by violinist Vanessa Bedoret. Here too the sounds are stretched out, the beats absent, and the voice recites a prayer as if in a theatrical piece about the end of the world (“Crying Never Had A voice”).

Seamlessly, Danish artist Aria Leth Schütze, aka Alto Aria, hints at the record's first pop resonance, a melody worthy of the most romantic Robyn, on the ballad “From the Heart of Knowing”, enriched by the presence of Kelly Moran on piano. Slowly the rhythm tries to peek through the shadows with which Joshua Tarelle Reid and Joshua Inyang have cloaked their new album: in RXKNephew's brief rap on “Ballad For A 'G'” and in the fourteen seconds of the fragment “Black And Gold”.

But it's still the strings and a choir of celestial voices on “H00D Ambient” that bring the listening experience back to abstract, emphasis-laden planes. The harp of Greek-Canadian musician Any, known in everyday life as Anastasia Patellis, accompanies the invective of “Validation”, a monologue focused on the concept of transformation and the deep need to reclaim one's own identity and life path ("I had to validate myself…").

More guests and further surprises arrive with the slow-motion trip-hop of “LN”, where Tony Njoku's falsetto ignites soulful sparks within the post-industrial blues arrangement. At four minutes and twenty-eight seconds, the track is the closest thing to a single on the entire record. “Pretty Gospel”, coming near the album's close and sung in the fairy-like voice of French-Japanese-Congolese musician Kiala Ogawa, seems to finally offer peace and tranquility. An emotional release immediately cut short by the claustrophobic anxiety of the following “If This Is Hell”.

A grand finale under pouring rain with the six-plus minutes of sidereal blues that make up “Regards”.

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09/10/2026