Easy Star/Bio Rhythmic
With the soundtrack of his 2005 film Broken Flowers director Jim Jarmusch introduced a new generation of listeners to Ethiopian jazz and its flagship artist Mulatu Astatke. Fans of those hypnotic laid-back grooves (and the Ethiopiques Volume 4 compilation from which they were plucked) should find more to enjoy in the debut outing from Gogol Bordello bassist Tommy T a breezy mix of jazz dub reggae folk and elastic-band funk.
It’s all easy-on-the-ears stuff made up of splashy organs wah-wah guitar and trippy echo effects accented by the mellow vocals of Gobena and guest singer Gina. The only mood killer is the bonus remix “Lifers” which brings in Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz for some seriously cheesed-out club music techno.
