
THE MOVERS
Vol. 1 – 1970-1976 (Analog Africa)
Another fine collection from the good folks at Analog Africa, whose mission is to bring to light forgotten scenes and sounds from across the continent. For this instalment, they have assembled a retrospective of the overlooked, sometime-instrumental South African group The Movers.
The dominant sound on Vol. 1 from The Movers is the warm, reedy qualities of the organ – not an instrument you would normally associate with the Mbanqanga genre and more akin to the groovy West Coast sounds of Arthur Lee’s Love or The Doors. The overall vibe here is one of laidback good times, with almost ska-like propulsion to tracks like Hot Coffee, while other tracks could be mistaken for lost Northern Soul classics.
Album closer Plenty Time offers the welcome inclusion of saxophone broadening the musical palette beyond head-down groovers to offer a more expansive sound and the harmonies on Soweto Inn are simply joyous and leave you yearning for a few more in this vein.
words ADAM JONES
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