AFRO CLUSTER | LIVE REVIEW
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Sat 11 Mar
It is a time to be excited by local music! Cardiff band Afro Cluster are doing something original and fresh, and they will be releasing a long player sometime next year. Before they showcased some of it as tonight’s headliners, proceedings began with Levi+, who was laid back and very good, acoustic, crossing many genres and cultures with only two guitars and a guest MC. Expect good things from this man, not least because he had a chat with Afro Cluster’s Skunkadelic about a future collaboration after his set.
Afro Cluster hit the stage not long after to a sold-out room and it felt like we were present for something intimate and special. They hit the floor running with Devastating Magnetism and from that moment they didn’t let up; old favourite Afro Lion followed and the energy and crowd response was feeding them. For a group to have so many essential tunes, from Access Denied to We Don Land to Power Moves, and straddle the hip-hop/funk balancing beam with such style and energy is astounding.
The set was interspersed with a couple of new tracks which will appear on the new album, including Heavy G – apparently written only last week! Speaking before the gig with Afro Cluster members Andy Brown, Charlie Piercey and DJ Veto, they told me of the enthusiasm and hard work that has gone into all of this; afterwards, Skunkadelic shared similar positivity. All is building up and the much-awaited album should be worthy of plaudits from far and wide.
It’s so good to see young kids excitedly choosing t-shirts on the way in next to people old enough to be great-grandparents. Afro Cluster are a group that breaks down barriers, be it age, culture or anything else. Long live LIVE MUSIC!
words JUSTIN EVANS photos ERIC AYDIN BARBERINI