The new CD by African Fetish, "Kelele", is a sixteen track expedition. The style ranges from tribal percussion to dance loops and bass-heavy noise songs, all of which are fairly intense. This is not music for the faint of heart.

You may be misled by the intro, which is very tribal sounding, with an unidentifiable stringed instrument sound. It sounds mellow, soothing, even (gasp) a bit like nature music.
This abruptly ends with the aptly titled track.

Tour Van Running Over the Skull of a Sleeping Cheetah.

This piece is raucous and percussion driven. There is a computer backbeat and competing rhythms, which are punctuated by time changes. It slows down, speeds up, then brings back the beginning beat, and generally makes you feel as though you're riding in the back of a truck over potholes. A background sound hums a 3
note change that is haunting, even over the tin drum sound of the percussion. The strummed outro sets you up for the next track.

Songe is a danceable number, with loops and bells and a head bobbing beat. This vibe changes to a darker, faster sound. Kayamba or shaker is mixed in skillfully, adding an ambient tic-tac-tic-tac. This song's theme and variations is like being hit on the head with a rainstick. The dub-like end is a great finale.

Hippos-
A personal favorite. A lo-fi experimental piece with brilliant water bits slowly gaining intensity. When the beats come in they are distant; then all hell breaks loose, the green glass of the observatory finally shatters, and we are left with a bathtub drain. Some good beats and echoes, but the water trickling sound makes this one. Dance underwater! Banging on the drum like a thousand hungry hippos.

Travel Agents-
This one's hard to listen to. The melody is nice though and reminds me of a cellphone singing a song. The beat overpowers it somewhat. Hitting the heavenly high notes. Weds a fax machine with a hammer. Comes back once too many times. The whistle should have been used earlier, as it saves the song.

Hey Rasta-
scary sounding bass driven song that sounds like the breathing of a ninety year old hawker. Delightfully askew beats. Plays the same time a spliff takes to burn.

Beetlenut-
Tambourine starts the madness. A high whistle catches my ear. Crazy time shifts throughout. DJ's take note- this song is begging to be sampled. Knock everyone on the floor out with this one...

2x4, or the streetkid song-
A bicycle ride into hell. Or at least a slum that looks and smells like it. Looped percussion and tight beats. Builds intensity, drops, and builds again into an all-out aural assault. Stop dancing and get moody. Sounds more like a whole pack of streetkids to me....

Zebra Crossing-
Another favorite track. I love this one. Rubber bands and a melody as infectious as cholera. Is that a thumb piano I hear? Sounds from the outer limits of electronica make this one sound very modern.

Steak for Storks-
This one's moody. Dark. Mournful wails. Another one waiting to be sampled-the high bits, a flute that is all chopped up; this is ambient/electronic for percussion fans who have survived malaria.

Why is Maize Like a Woman?-
Why is this track on the CD? Didn't strike my fancy.

The Agitated Cockroach-
The multi-beat sound of Hey Rasta, but harder, driven, takes you all the way.

Kuku-
Thumb piano rules! Some crazy beats that sound like pieces of wood being hit together. This one is a signature African Fetish sound, a whirlwind of influences held together by a strange tribal vision. Tunes for Tribal Clubkids.

Curio Shop-
another dancer. Dubbed up mishmash sounds so good I want to bargain with the con man in the proverbial curio shop. I smell smoke, leather, charcoal, cheap shoepolish, varnish, and black paint (ebony, of course). Headbobbing to wind noises.

Matatu Bass-
Rubber bands and processed flutes. A strange change midway. Makes you smile to hear it- one of the best mixed songs.

Goody-Goody's-
High-pitched carnival song. Verse-chorus-verse w/ weird pauses, or was my CD skipping? Put me in a strange mood, to say the least.

This disk is a must have for those of you who have ever listened to music in another language. As source material for mixes, it is a goldmine. Most people probably wouldn't listen to the whole thing in one sitting- it is best when used as background music, then suddenly turned all the way up at a certain part, such as the time
change in Beetlenut. This can cause seizures in house guests.
Take this disk in the car for a ride that seems bouncier than it really is. Take it on holiday.

--Jim Cady