At their live show at AWME last year I didn’t give The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra as much credit as they were due. At the time I was yearning for ‘purer’ sounds of Afro-beat, and I guess for the sounds of Fela Kuti himself. That desire of mine wasn’t so fair on The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.
Since that POAO gig, 3 things have happened to make me fully appreciate the innovative musical goodness of this 17-piece Melbourne-based group that’s created its own unique sounds of Afro-beat funk infused with hip-hop:
1. The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra’s cd Do Anything Go Anywhere made its way back with me from AWME and onto a listening device that shall not be named. And when each 1 of the 7 POAO album tracks came up in a shuffle, I found myself paying all my attention to the music and checking who the artists were who made it.
Do Anything Go Anywhere (2010)
2. I experienced ‘purer’ forms of live Afro-beat when I heard Femi Kuti & The Positive Force at WOMADelaide 2014 and Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 at Byron Bay Bluesfest 2014. And at some point during both those Kuti shows I found myself yearning for the diverse sounds of contemporary fusion music; wanting something more in the mix – like the beats and scratches of The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra’s DJ Manchild for example 🙂 .
3. I’ve been checking out a lot of new music that’s come my way this year – and have felt pretty uninspired by most of it. Do Anything Go Anywhere inspires me – both the music and its positive, conscious lyrics. The 5-strong horn section and their horn parts written by trumpet player, composer, producer and one of POAO’s 3 instigators Tristan Ludowyk (Hope Street Recordings), especially inspire this here lover of all sounds woodwind and brass.
With 17 (sometimes more) musicians, vocalists and a DJ on stage or on a record, there’s always the potential trap of sounding too busy. The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra don’t. Full yes, but busy no. There’s also the risk of the individual sounds and artistry of each group member getting lost in the mix. That doesn’t happen on Do Anything Go Anywhere. The music has plenty of solos, plenty of space and all the artists get heard at the right times.
I guess that having to divide (too-often-shitty) gig monies amongst 17 artists after paying 17 peoples’ travel costs, probably makes touring tough; and that finding stages to accommodate 17 musicians could be hard. Not to mention the challenges of trying to lock-in Public Opinion Afro Orchestra shows amongst the conflicting schedules of so many people involved in different music projects. Isn’t that a shame for the world and all lovers of innovative funk music in it who should be able to get the benefits of a live Public Opinion Afro Orchestra experience? Because the combined sum of those 17+ individual artists with their different music skills, experiences and influences is this: well-composed, well-played music with a great diversity of sounds.
Probably more credible than my personal testimony to the goodness of the music and musicianship in The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra is this: 2 of Australia’s music festivals that most consistently have a line-up of incredible artists from around the world are Byron Bay Bluesfest and WOMADelaide. The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra have played at both of those festivals.
Check out a sample track here (mp3 only) from Do Anything Go Anywhere…
Do Anything Go Anywhere (2010) – The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra
‘Mumbo Jumbo’ – Do Anything Go Anywhere
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Hear more sample tracks from Do Anything Go Anywhere elsewhere in Beaver Land. ‘Future Africa’ has an especially awesome call-and-response DJ/Horn jam like I’ve only been blessed to hear once before at a Troker de Mexico show.
If you’re into The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra’s music then like always, I encourage you to find & buy a copy of this independently-released music on vinyl or cd so you can hear all the good sounds the artists intended you to hear. People in Australia can get it from local independent music stores and peeps elsewhere in the world can order it on-line for the mail woman or man to deliver.
Anyone around the planet can look out in hope for their own live Public Opinion Afro Orchestra experience. Next up is Melbourne at the Espy in August. Until you get one, check out this video of their show at AWME (Australasian Worldwide Music Expo) 2013…
