Delabel France
1993
Blufunk Is A Fact!
About This Album
Blufunk Is a Fact! might qualify as a best of genre purely because Keziah Jones is pretty much a one-person genre who demolishes any preconceptions of what kind of music he might play. Jones is originally from Nigeria, but he's a young singer/songwriter who plays guitar and there are no obvious traces of African music in the material. The lineup of guitar, bass, and drums hints at a power trio with solos, but he plays rhythm almost exclusively and the extremely tight, kinetic rhythm section makes the music sound a bit like Tower of Power without horns. But the songs are way too idiosyncratic to fit any modern R&B/funk formulas -- so are song titles like "Frinigro Interstellar," "A Curious Kinda Subconscious," and "Walkin' Naked Thru' a Bluebell Field." His melodies obey their own rules, taking off from the rhythm of his spiky guitar licks like a bluesman, but it sure ain't blues. Even the songs that follow more straightforward models sound unorthodox -- "Runaway" lets the rhythm section power things over very spare guitar, and it's Soul's prominent bass, played high so it serves as second melodic instrument (thumb-popped or not), that carries the melodic and solo load on "Where's Life.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4,6,7,8,9,10 and 11)

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