London seven-piece Kokoroko seem to be on the verge of a massive breakthrough. Envisaged in 2019 as a fusion of jazz and afrobeat, their sound is and was emblematic of the Londonist Britjazz movement that seems to retain vitality as a force rather than a fad, with its most famous exemplars Steam Down and Ezra Collective lapping up Mercury nominations and other gongs for those who value those things. Kokoroko are as eclectic and current as the best of them, but the new material they are debuting from their forthcoming album seems to suggest they have found a satisfying synthesis of their influences into a highly appealing blend that retains their muso grassroots credibility and pushes them closer to the mainstream, in a good way. Here’s hoping!
Cheltenham’s shock decision (~) to move toward more standing gigs reflects the dance-ability and physicality of the vital paradigm represented by the Britjazz artists, and it was wonderful to mince about and freely enjoy the space of Cheltenham Town Hall. The band themselves noted that with the whole scene with the lights was kind of distracting (in a good way!), but the seven-piece band are as beautiful on a large stage as they are in those familiar South London arches; in fact in 2020 they played the BBC Proms, so their cachet does somewhat belie their reach.
Kokoroko made their beans with covers, sort of. An ‘oldie’— “Express Your Love”— with its full-on soul ballad vocal sets the scene for the refinements of their songwriting. The album really promises to be something special, refining the jazz and pop elements without losing the beat. The set absorbed old and new. “Never Lost” is a strong calypso-flavoured brass number. “Can’t wait” is fresh, funky, and catchy as hell. It gets even funkier with a Chaka Khan vibe on “I still want you” and the guitar-y soul funk of “Something’s Going On” takes an absorbing, if episodic, journey around London through different feels from West Coast to West African, but with their unity of vision more strongly developed than ever.
The band’s name Kokoroko is an Urhobo word meaning ‘be strong’— a common call to overcoming that’s overdone but which they don’t labour. The influence of Fela Kuti is profound but to be honest we don’t feel so much of that incendiary political charge. Pat Thomas is name-checked too, a present-day avant-gardist activist legend whose presence is discerned rather than felt. “We are stars in the sky” felt like generic spiritual jazz of the Thackray/Gilles Peterson school a little more than my sense of irony could bear, but we are mostly in the pocket of an addicting deep groove that absorbs you in its feel. I’ve never seen so many men in shorts at an afrobeat gig as I did in Cheltenham, but there seemed to be a black and silver theme to the band’s clothing, which I urge everyone to adopt at all forthcoming gigs. This is a vibe. There it is. Kokoroko are the sexiest band on the planet.
Kokoroko’s new album Tuff Times Never Last will be out on Brownswood on 11 July
