Afrofraktal
The Bronx, NY | Established. Jan 01, 1997
Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Great music. On the level of Blood Ulmer and the Last Poets"
--Miguel Moor; Radio Actief; Belgium - Miguel Moor
Falling somewhere between where TRICKY once promised to go, and a more mainstream JOHN ZORN group project, AFROFRAKTAL & BLAST MURREY prove themselves as proficient musicians while being too noisy to appeal to the fey palate of the mainstream audience. The vocalist raves coherently in the style of a Street-Crazy, spewing his meticulously studied stream-of-conscious prose; the Jazz-Funk-Rap-Rock rhythms lull you into thinking this is going nowhere, at which point the raw noise - as powerful and damag(ing)(ed) as anything ZORN could create - wrenches you back to stare in disbelief at the speakers. Spot on musicianship makes this a group worth watching. - Metamorphic Journeymen
Perpetually tripping or just insane?
You've done a very good job of recreating a very turbulent moment of chaotic psychological input.
The vocal's semantic train of thought morphs in time with its tonality, which provides an aural and literary sense of helpless interpretation.
The sporadic stopping and skipping of the underlying rhythm track is like the light the eye of the hurricane during a terrible migraine headache.
It really just needs more banjo. - Garageband.com
God, it sounds like it's coming from the bottom of a pit, you know one of those parties where people dance like zombies..something has to change, but the arrangément is..different?? unusual?? mad, but íntense... i mean how can an arrangement be intense??..thank god I can't think of anyone else who sounds like you!! - Garageband.com
I really like to see someone doing something different and this track is definitely that....The track is busy and multilayered making it quite hard to take in at first...but I believe its one of those tracks that grows on you after listening a few times...the vocals and effects used on them are very cool, creating an ambient yet desperate atmosphere...only complaint I have is that the production/mixing could be a bit better to distinguish the song's separate elements....You sound like a more experimental modern version of Funkadelic. - Garageband.com
Starting off with a noise and bass fury that is usually reserved for chaotic back rooms of jungle clubs in the United Kingdom’s more seedy neighborhoods, Afrakta’s “Apocalypso Acronycal” is one of those super-charged acts that truly defies the master art of critical classification. Sure you could throw out nonsense like hip-hop MCing, disjointed rhythms, and electronic noise but why? It’s not like it all adds up right. It’s as if someone gave a hip-hop group a whole lot of acid and a lot of guitar pedals hooked up to drum machines, keyboards, samplers, and turntables and let them have at it. Often it falls short sounding more lo-fi and badly produced than anything remotely close to genius or inspiring. But there’s a lot of attention to oddly retractable details here that most hip-hop outfits wouldn’t go for in this day and age where Jay-Z is considered talented.
- J-Sin - smother.net
Discography
Singles:
Enter the Roach Messiah (Apocalypso Acronycal)
Throb (Apocalypso Acronycal)
Mystery Mastery (Blast Murray & Afrofraktal)
Radio:
Radio Base Populare
Radio Atkief
La Revolucion De Los Antioxidentes
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Afrofraktal is system subversion through the utilization experimental soundscapes and politically hostile lyrics strung together with disjointed rhythms. Frontman R/KainBlaze scowls his way through quirky, thought-provoking lyrics over a caustic production style unmatched in hyperactivity and constructive alteration. Highly experimental in nature, the music challenges definitions of hip-hop forcefully delivering a sound of eclectic noise funk.
The tracks communicate revolution in unique ways refusing to be defined by a supposed "east" or "west" coast sound - or even the hip hop production tone which R/KainBlaze likens to a straight jacket. The polarizing production style/sound is more akin to early Funkadelic, dub plate, and the albums of the early and mid 1980s hardcore (Bad Brains, The Minute Men). "Seven" is in 7/8 time, which is very unusual for western music - especially a pop-based music. "Forked Tongue..." is very similar to Progressive Rock or Jazz Fusion in its construction. It could possibly serve as a "Third Stone from the Sun" for hip-hop. "Headbangin'" is rife with classic blues, jazz, and funk references. The album resonates a clanging industrial vibe reflective of societal chaos.
R/KainBlaze is a muli-talented artist who has won international animation awards, published his own magazine "Freestyle" and founded the legendary L.A. rap showcase the "Good Life" (The underground venue spawned Jurrasik 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Project Blowed, Volume 10, Hip Hop Klan, Medusa, and many others.). He plays bass, guitar and keyboards. He also does advanced motion graphics for many of Hollywood's biggest companies (Warner, Sony, etc).
Muata25 is a session musician, programmer. He has performed in productions by 'Tony' award winning director George Wolfe. He has toured with the Talking Heads, and Terence Trent D'Arby. He has worked with producers Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Conny Planck, Martin Ware, and Rene Tinner. He has music in films by Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.
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