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Apr 16, 2015 The Very Best By Lily Moayeri

The opening of Makes a King, the third album from The Very Best, sounds like the cries from The Lion King. This makes for an inviting start to the intercontinental duo’s most organic work to date. The project of Swedish producer Johan Hugo and Malawian vocalist Esau Mwamwaya, The Very Best couches its social consciousness in Afro-electro-pop. On Makes a King, the two go deep into Africa and record outdoors. In this remote space, The Very Best hits its stride. The multicultural energy is marked on “Sweka,” which rests against house rhythms and African percussion equally. Seye, who joins the duo live, is featured on the celebratory “Mariana”-an EDM sampler for the bush crowd-and spooky “The Dead and the Dreaming”-the comedown track for the same audience. Baaba Maal reprises his guest spot with The Very Best on “Umasiye” where his voice brings a wrenching feel to the communal song. Vampire Weekend also reprises its spot, this time with bassist Chris Baio on “Hear Me” and “Let Go.” It doesn’t matter whether you understand the language or not, it’s all about what’s conveyed in the intonation, which is illustrated beautifully in the sparkling “Mwanga Wanga.”

(www.theverybestmusic.com)

Author rating: 7/10