CultureReviewBand on the Wall, Manchester
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Palop Africa is the collective name for a group of musicians nurtured in Lisbon's melting pot. Tracing their pre-Palop lives and careers provides a valuable lesson in the history and geography of former Portuguese colonies such as Cape Verde and Mozambique. They are superstars back home, and after supporting the Orchestra Baobab at London's Royal Festival Hall last month, their star looks set to rise here too.
In Manchester, the group were preceded on stage by a DJ with a fantastic collection of Afro-beat records. The crowd was already foot-sore and jubilant by the time the seven musicians appeared, and at first their laid-back groove seemed rather anti-climactic. Palop Africa's music is shot through with Latin-American influences, and it was this shuffling, Cuban touch that forced the audience to shift gear. Within 10 minutes, the dancing had resumed at a more leisurely pace, and an air of summery euphoria was palpable. For the first four songs, the group were fronted by Angolan singer Paulo Flores, whose sweet tone and relaxed delivery blended seamlessly into the band's warm cocoon of sound.
It wasn't until the appearance of Mozambique's Astra Harris that the excitement began to mount. Harris seems to have had her lungs replaced by a large pair of bellows, and some of her gyrating dance moves would provoke outrage if they were shown on Top of the Pops. Her enormous, crowd-rousing personality was certainly the key ingredient in turning this gig into a full-blown party.
The band's music was exquisitely textured, the songs short and laden with hooks. And though the two guitarists were vastly accomplished, solos were kept brief, and there was no ostentation or egotistical displays of technique. The only gripe was the lack of a real brass section - a hole that the digital keyboard struggled valiantly to fill. But if there is any justice in the world, surely they should not find it too difficult to pay a few extra musicians the next time they visit the UK.
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