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LP
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PEACE 007LP
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Ray Lugo and Peace & Rhythm have teamed up again, this time to issue Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra's fifth album, 100 Fevers/Ciento Fiebres. Ten dance-friendly cuts mashing up styles and moods. Afrobeat, Latin funk, cumbia, samba, disco, soukous, protest and party jams are the launch points, but as Kokolo fans have come to expect, there's a whole lot more heat in the grooves. As with previous Kokolo releases, Spanish and Portuguese vocals are in as much evidence as English. Special guests include Nigeria's Jo Jojo Kuo and Elani from Brazil. Every tune is danceable but has its own vibe from up to down tempo, protest to club culture, social justice to hedonism. Though not exactly a reunion album -- the band haven't stopped recording and touring together in one form another for the past 18 years -- bandleader Ray Lugo contends 100 Fevers is the best representation of what this Afrobeat orchestra has always been, an "eclectic mélange of influences that reflect what is going on within us as a band as well as in our lives at that particular moment" which "further expands Kokolo's search for the funkiest groove", a quest that Lugo hopes "never ends" but which he feels has benefitted by the band stepping back and "letting our sound 'breathe' a bit and return with a fresher outlook." Includes insert featuring an interview with Lugo, full credits, and lyrics.
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