Hommage a Zanzibar

LesTêtes Brûlées had a pivotal role in shaping and modernizing bikutsi, the traditional Cameroonian style which was revolutionized in the mid 1980s with the introduction of electric guitars to replace Béti balafons. Zanzibar, the band’s guitarist, was the first to modify his guitar to imitate the thud of the balafon, and his playing style became a genre standar. On his debut record Gibraltar Drakus, the youngest member of Les Têtes Brûlées, pays homage to the great guitarist, playing with the same verve as his mentor. Bikutsi borrows from zouk and soukous (like in the rapid fire,machine-gun-like thuds) and blends homegrown Cameroonian rhythms, and on Hommage A Zanzibar Drakus does it with incredible ease, criss-crossing rhythms and melodies creating a dizzying and irresistibly danceable sound.