Strut

Sierra Leone’s Kondi Band return with their long-awaited sophomore album, We Famous on 24th September as Sorie Kondi, Chief Boima (INTL BLK) and Will LV join forces once more for another essential dose of Freetown freestyle.

Following on from their acclaimed Salone album in 2016 and the massive single ‘Yeanoh’, the new recordings further hone the group’s unique fusions of Sorie Kondi’s inimitable rich vocals and the kondi thumb piano with intricate dancefloor electronics, bringing in Afro-pop, dub effects and disco into their unique mix. The album was gradually recorded over a period of four years with Sorie during breaks in touring in Belgium, Spain and Canary Islands with the main production collaboration honed between Chief Boima in Los Angeles and Will LV in London. The result is a varied and colourful set of tracks infusing Boima and Will’s wide-ranging dancefloor influences. Infectious first single ‘She Doesn’t Love You’ features guest vocalist Mariama Jalloh speaking home truths about rejection while future 4/4 dancefloor anthem ‘It’s God’s World (So Don’t Do Bad)’ features a mighty bassline from prolific L.A. beat scene leader, Sweatson Klank. ‘Sweetness Don Don’ ramps up the dub and sound system energy while ‘How Will It Be For Me In This World’ sparkles on a bed of electronic textures and kondi lines.

The album is the latest step in a remarkable journey for Boima and Sorie. Having first discovered his 2007 single ‘Without Money, No Family’ by chance on youtube, recorded in Freetown, Boima’s bootleg remix of the track spawned a Kickstarter campaign to bring Sorie to the US to record together in person. “Sorie Kondi may be playing an acoustic folk instrument from Sierra Leone,” explains Boima, “but he thinks about music in the same way as a techno producer with the dance-friendly pulse of his cajon drum, the flowing melody lines from his thumb piano and his incredible vocals.”

‘We Famous’ is the latest album from Sierra Leone’s most progressive Afro-electronic project and is released on 1st October on CD, LP and digital. The album was mastered at Transition Mastering with package photos by Dominique Fofanah in Sierra Leone and cover design by Lewis Heriz