“Taking the little girl's hand, he said to her: 'Talità kum', which means: 'Girl, I say to you, get up!'”. With these words, in the Gospel of Mark, the resurrection of Jairus' daughter is told and the multicultural project Avalanche Kaito draws the title of its new album from this powerful image. A work that blends the musician's creativity Burkinabe Kaito Winse with the Franco-Belgian duo composed of Benjamin Chaval and Nico Gitto.
The album's sonic imagery is as strong as its themes, with a cover that depicts skeletons and ghostly visions, evoking a journey between life (“Viima”), death and rebirth (“Tanvusse”) and resurrection (“Talitakum”) . As in the tradition of griotthe African singer takes us on a narrative journey through lofty themes, but the approach is more visceral than conceptual. In the linguistic and cultural babel of which the album is composed, trying to find a common thread risks being misleading. Better to let yourself be carried away by the whirlwind rhythm of his music.
The general gathering of spirits comes to life with the frenetic and surreal “Borgo”, where horns, beating drums, shouts and flutes alternate and mix with pounding industrial electronics. A post-punk guitar is the predominant element of “Shoya”, at least until the vocals of Burkinabe he begins to sing a strange traditional song. At this point the harmonic part dissolves completely and leaves room for nervous drums. In “Donle” Kaito's voice becomes a simple narrator while spirals of synths, expressive drones and ghostly choirs unravel behind him.
In “Tanvusse”, electronic and urban hip-hop merge with the frenetic words of a popular fairy tale, accompanied by traditional African horns. From here the conceptual heart of the album unfolds, which continues with the majestic Viima, an imposing and dilated track in which the voice initially emerges as a distant echo on a static and suspended carpet of synthesizers. But it is quickly captured by the rapid and sudden tempo changes of guitar and drums that introduce a layered forest of Black Midi-style experimental rock in one of the album's most successful tracks. To close the “trilogy” comes the title tracka piece that evokes resurrection within a groove overwhelming and frenetic. The horns create a hypnotic atmosphere, like a dance of satyrs immersed in an avant-garde electronic concert.
Avalanche Kaito prove elusive, escaping any attempt at categorization: at times their music seems to mix African rhythms and Western experimentation, other times it evokes a futuristic sound that recalls ancient traditional songs. An excellent example of this alchemy is “Lago”, where the musical base manages to merge tradition into a single beat griothip-hop and art-rock. In the last track, “Machine (The Mill)” the band completely abandons words, in a post-industrial landscape full of drones, crashes and electronic pulsations, while the flute vocalizations recall the initial gathering, thus closing the circle of an absolutely recommended work.
09/11/2024
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
