From New Orleans to the PAM Club is just a short step. To kick off 2022, ÌFÉ sent us a mix composed of the tracks that helped bring his latest album 0000+0000 to fruition, something to dance to while meditating.
In 2017, ÌFÉ had surprised everyone with IIII+IIII, a retro-futuristic UFO with a polished and undeniably innovative production, on the threshold of the electronic avant-garde. Musician, songwriter, producer and Santeria priest, Awo Orunmila Otura Mun (real name) released last November a well-deserved follow-up entitled 0000+0000, echoing the Yoruba autotuned prayers which made him a key artist in pan-African music. A renowned master percussionist, ÌFÉ articulates his social criticisms and personal tragedies in electric and organic symphonies, bringing together Cuban rumba, dancehall and trap with a contemporary twist. As machines and percussion resonate as one voice, the African-American artist has surrounded himself with fine musicians such as Herbie Hancock’s percussionist Bill Summers, Congolese singer Robby The Lord, Yoruba guitarist Saint Ezekiel and the London Lucumi Choir. Having just recovered from Hurricane Ida, ÌFÉ is back in the kitchen to prepare a timeless mix that reflects his personality.
“I’ve tried here to select some of the songs that have been important in my everyday life, leading in most cases to the writing and recording of 0000 + 0000. When I am working on an album, I don’t listen to music at home apart from classics like Coltrane or Curtis Mayfield. These artists are among the few constants in my life. The big exception here would be modern dancehall to which I remain religiously faithful, hence the song “Henne & Weed” which closes the mix. For me, ÌFÉ is strongly inspired by Jamaican and Afro-Cuban music in an obvious way. But creatively, I feel closer to contemporaries in genres like UK jazz, experimental soul and electronic music, hence the tracks by Matthew Halsall, Toulouse, Machinedrum and so on… Ultimately, I suppose ÌFÉ is simply my approach to music of the present moment, touched and constantly shaped by the world around me.”
Tracklist :
1. ÌFÉ – Mr. Envy
2. ÌFÉ – Closing Prayer
3. Augustus Pablo – King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
4. Jacob Miller – Baby I Love You So
5. Aswad – Dub Fire
6. Lila Ike – Second Chance
7. Gappy Ranks – Carpenter
8. Yasmin Ft. Ms. Dynamite – Light Up The World
9. Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra – The Land Of
10. Toulouse – It Is Well
11. Garren Sean – For Life
12. Curtis Mayfield – The Makings of You (Live)
13. Jay-Z & Kanye West Ft. Curtis Mayfield – The Joy
14. Knox Fortune – Lil Thing
15. Chronixx – Skankin’ Sweet
16. John Coltrane – Spiritual
17. Toulouse – Reach Out
18. Hurray For The Riff Raff – Rican Beach (ÌFÉ Remix)
19. ÌFÉ – Heart Full of Love
20. Machinedrum – Tell U (Feat Rochelle Jordan)
21. ÌFÉ – Prayer For Shangó
22. TeeJay – Henne & Weed
Follow ÌFÉ on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.
