Review ’em All: Alifchief

Disclosure: I am friends with Alif. We used to jam together. He was rather good then – I remember him shredding along to Creeping Death – and he’s even better now.

Classic rock is the point of departure for Alifchief’s self–titled first E.P. Starting with a revving boda boda, a funky bass line and four on the floor beat (Boda Boda), as this four track E.P progresses it quickly becomes less and less obvious what genre it is. Informed by the classic rock power trio set up of bands like Cream or Wolfmother, with all of the freewheeling space that this configuration allows for, Alif and his multiple, highly–skilled, collaborators, incorporate not just moped noises and funk, but also prog (Boda Boda), jazz and Tanzanian music (Borrowed Time), psych (Bumi Afrika – previously covered here) and blues (Kehidupan).

As the above suggests, this E.P is an ambitious mix of elements, such as the ilimba on Borrowed Time (sounding a bit like Malian singer–songwriter Habib Koite) the bass solo in Boda Boda, or the funk, Latin and psych of Bumi Afrika. But going back to that point of departure, rock – it’s fun! I liked listening to this (as opposed to, say, Thou, who I like but wouldn’t strictly say I enjoy), and it grew on me through quite a few listens. It would be great to hear this formula – or rather, formulae – across a whole album.

Check out and buy Alifchief, released by East African Records, here: