Fra Fra Sound

• country:Netherlands
• region:Caribbean
• style(s):Afro, Jazz
• label:Pramisi records
• artist posted by:Fra Fra Sound

The internationally acclaimed Amsterdam-based band Fra Fra Sound is an infectious seven-piece group that melds African, Caribbean, Latin American, soul and funk music into their own unique and compelling sound. Founded in 1980 as a celebratory vehicle for the Surinamese music styles kaseko, kawina and winti, Fra Fra Sound has evolved into one of the most exciting presenters of world music today.

'Fra Fra' has several meanings: it means hybrid, but also different, mysterious -- the invisible connection. Fra Fra is also the name of a tribe in Northwest Ghana, the Fra Fra people. In that sense the band's name reflects the historical relationship between music, dance, religion and lifestyle from the African Diaspora and West Africa. In an organic and always swinging way, Fra Fra provides insight into the original relationship between Surinamese kaseko, American jazz and African rhythms.

It's as global ambassadors of African-Caribbean crossover that Fra Fra Sound has made their presence known. They have astonished audiences at festival, concert hall, and club performances around the world: AfricaMali, Morocco, South Africa, Ghana, Zanzibar, Burkina Faso, Mayotte, and Senegal; EuropeUnited Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Turkey; the CaribbeanCuba, Aruba, Curacao, Jamaica; Surinam in South America; Guatemala in Central America; and the United States, including music epicenters New York City and Chicago.

Fra Fra Sound's continuing artistic development highlights their separate African and South American-Caribbean influences. The Kaseko Revisited project (Fra Fra Sound with assistance of vocalists) found the band celebrating members' roots in Surinamese music and the Kotabra recording took Surinamese kaseko to the 21st century. Collaboration Musique D'Afrique Mali Jazz was the exceptional result of the collaboration with kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate and other leading West African musicians. International music critics rank Collaboration Musique D'Afrique - the exciting confrontation of contemporary African music from the Diaspora with its original West African roots - right up there with modern world music classics like Ernest Rangling's In Search of the Lost Riddim, David Murray's Fo Deuk Revue and Steve Coleman's The Sign and the Seal. On Fra Fra Sound's 2003 release, Kultiplex, its members draw a wonderfully alluring sound from a fine balance of warm ensemble writing and well-integrated improvisations.