DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson – 2+
French funky Afropean duo DjeuhDjoah and Lieutenant Nicholson are back with their third album “2+”. This is a monstrous boogie-filled 15-tracker released just in time for the gray and cold season, bringing a lot of warmth and sun to your home studio or wherever you prefer to listen to your music. We get a fantastically funkified, house-tinged version of “Né Quelque Part”, a thunderous cover version of Maxime Le Forestier’s original from 1987. Simply beautiful. Album opener “Pas Si Vite” is a gorgeous, excessively optimistic plea for slowness, underscored by a thumping, soulful house beat.
The French vocals just fit in perfectly. Swirling keys open up the environment-conscious “Coeur Béton”. Mesmerizing stuff. Highly infectious with a thick and swampy groove. Things slow down a bit for the lovely “Thé à la Menthe”, another piece exuding sensual bliss. I really dig the plaintive mood of the track, which steadily glides along gracefully with haunting vocals. Social media addiction is the topic of “Clic”, which comes over with a bassline à la “I Can’t Go For That”, just a bit faster. There is also a chirping Brazilian “Caipirinha”, another cheerful sort-of tribute to Gilberto Gil, who gets his mention in the lyrics.
More rapturous grooves can be found on “Planète” with its strong backgrounds, but “Police” actually fails to ignite. We get back to high gear on “Bola Mba”, another 80s boogiefied headnodder with additional horns and gliding handclaps. Things veer more towards the electro side of things on “Raie Publique” and back to more serious soul-house on the über sexy, percussive “Ping Pong”. The Moroccan-infused “Essaouira” is one of those beguiling trips which excitingly mixes French house with Afropop sensibilities. Great stuff. The album closes with a remix of the club house “Bwe Dlo” and a remix by Johannesburg-based musician and electro house producer Cool Affair”, helping out on the moody house meets trumpet meets haunting vocals “Aimé Césaire” (also known as “Aimez Ces Airs”) including some fantastic keys solo.
Clearly their best effort to date and it is out on double vinyl too, released on the French Hot Casa Records.
