Now all of you must be familiar with Yeasayer by now. They were part of the buzz brigade of yesteryear comprising of Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Black Kids. From where I'm sitting Yeasayer appear to be the least successful of that bunch. We can probably put that down to their music being a tad too "out there" for the masses. Psych-pop mixing in Middle Eastern and African influences was hardly screaming commerical hit though.
'2080' however, was something of a pop classic - a hypnotic tale of their future, complete with bewitching falsetto and freaky children's choir backing vocals. Thankfully, they played this track (as well as 'Wait For The Summer') for the radio session. In between songs, they engaged in banter with Mr Lamb, where I seem to remember them jokingly calling out fellow Brooklynites Vampire Weekend for fisticuffs and denying that '2080' was proclaiming the end of the world. My memory is a bit shady though so hopefully I haven't made all that up.
YEASAYER - 2080 (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)//MIRROR
YEASAYER - WAIT FOR THE SUMMER (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)//MIRROR
YEASAYER - WAIT FOR THE SUMMER (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)//MIRROR
For a more authentic African influence, I would suggest looking to Canadian band The Acorn, two of whom actually grew up in Africa. Unfortunatly no mp3s for you but they're like more palatable, less psychedlic Yeasayer. They're quite folky and a UK record deal can't be too far off. It would be well deserved anyway.
Staying on the African front, but at another end of the spectrum, we have WSD, a London band mixing punk rock and the music of their homeland, Zimbabwe. They even occasionally sing in native Zimbabwean language (Shona?). Show offs. Check out 'Bata Mwana Tsike Banana' for such japery. It's their pop anthem, finding its place somewhere between Paul Simon and surf pop yet still managing to sound a bit angry. But a bit ace too.
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