Afro Dizzi Act – Walkin

Walkin’ – Afro Dizzi Act

by Aidan Roberts

What starts as a subdued and quietly psychedelic jam, Fender Rhodes and dubby bass-lines gradually bubbling away, soon develops into a sturdy world-beat dance-off, and Afro Dizzi Act have taken the stage. So goes the first 10 minutes of Walkin’, the first full-length record from this Australian trans-continental instrumental outfit. Their funky jams bare more than a passing resemblance to Waiting-era Santana, and Latin and African rhythms and textures clearly mark these guys as a sure-fire hit at the hippie festivals and summer parties. Sunrise over Meherabad is a real sonic globetrotter, and title track Walkin’ is affecting in its ‘groove’ (for want of a less hackneyed phrase), and well shows off the band’s penchant for dizzy instrumentation coupled with the understated fun of guest vocalist Jali Buba Kalayeh’s Afrikaan scats. It’s pretty sexy stuff, if slightly repetitive for the headphone listener. But for a reviewer who is fairly quickly scared away from extended funk jams, this is a quality record which spreads its own kind of love to one and all.

***