Fimber Bravo Shares New Single ‘Hiyah Man’
Taken from his Upcoming album ‘Lunar Tredd’
Out 26th February 2021
‘Hiyah Man’ mirrors the eclectic mix of sounds on the upcoming album. Bravo’s signature steel pan plays throughout, embedded in a bold bass line to boot. The energy of the track is infectious; it’s plain to the ears that the ‘Hiyah Man’, like a lot of Lunar Tredd, was recorded as a single live take.
Of the track, Fimber Bravo says:
“Songs come to you in different ways
Hiyah Man was like a voice from my Ancestors guiding me and
giving me the power for a deeper celebration of the pan with percussive rhythms
that inspired us all to improvise a live first take in one go – we all felt so high with it..”
Listen to ‘Hiyah Man’
Listen to ‘Call My Name’
Listen to ‘Can’t Control Me’
Fimber Bravo is one of the most influential exponents of cutting edge steel pan in contemporary music: blasting it in the black power protests of his native Trinidad in the late 60’s; in fusion with West African stars in the 70’s, 80’s & 90s; and integrating them in leftfield improvisations with Western pop and electronic sounds today.
In his forthcoming album LUNAR TREDD Bravo collaborates with:
Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip; Susumu Mukai, (aka Zongamin); the brilliant Senegalese griot & kora player, Kadialy Kouyate; Tom Furse of The Horrors; Cathy Lucas, (Orlando & Vanishing Twin), Cuttie William’s delivering street vocals along with the high energy charge of The Invisible’s Leo Taylor on drums and that of Senegalese master drummer, Mamadou Sarr. Mixed by Ghost Poet’s producer, Shinota Shinoda by Lapo Frost and mastered by Tom Furse.
Lunar Tredd – Fimber Bravo’s first album on Moshi Moshi since the much acclaimed Con-Fusion – tells the tale. The highlife fusion of You Can’t Control Me resonates in the wake of the global Black Lives Matters protests. There is fire in these impactful clarion calls to resist oppression, strength in resilience and the fight against the corruption of power.
Bravo’s been a constant collaborative force – as his time as leader of 20th Century Steel Band, as musical director of Steel ‘n’ Skin, and appearances with everyone from Sun Ra Arkestra to Hot Chip, shows. Lunar Tredd reflects the influence of the music handed down to him by “ancestors. Helped by an enviable cast of friends and collaborators, Fimber has shifted those touchstones to create something that sounds resolutely like the here and now.
Those friends that appear on Lunar Tredd, include Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip and The Horrors’ Tom Furse; The Invisible drummer Leo Taylor and Senegalese percussionist, Mamadou Sarr dropping in on rhythm duties, while there are also appearances from Susumu Mukai aka Zongamin, the brilliant Kora player Kadialy Kouyate, vocalist Cottie Williams, Vanishing Twin’s Catherine Lucas, and production from Lapo Frost and Ghostpoet producer Shuta Shinoda. Some, like Zongamin and Williams go way back with Fimber, other connections are newer, but all have quickly become part of the London-based musician’s musical family.
Indeed, Fimber never loses sight of where he’s come from on LUNAR TREDD – even as he looks to where he might go next. As a musician, he’s still finding new creative peaks nearly 50 years after he began.
LUNAR TREDD – FEBRUARY 26TH 2021 via MOSHI MOSHI
1. Can’t Control We
2. Can’t Control Me
3. Hiyah Man
4. Call My Name
5. Santana’s Daughter
6. Singo
7. Caribbean Bluez (In The Shadow of Windrush)
8. F. Pan Landing
9. Coming Home
10. Lunar Tredd
11. Tabli Tabli
12. Woonya Waa