CD OF THE WEEK:The Rudimentals: More Fire (EMI)
The Rudimentals hail from Cape Town, the birthplace of the idea of having too many members in one’s group. But this nine-piece band can be excused. As the country’s premier exponents of traditional ska music, they need every single musician to get that fast-paced dancehall feel going.
The ska genre has lived through many different periods. As the spearhead of the Jamaican Sixties music scene it spawned stars such as Desmond Decker and The Skatalites.
During the British post-punk revolution bands such as Madness and Bad Manners stole freely from ska’s Jamaican roots to come up with a politicised complaint on Thatcherism, the state of the nation and the price of booze.
It seems appropriate, then, that there should be a resurgence of interest in this multiracial, politicised music in South Africa. Including bands such as Hog Hoggidy Hog and Fuzigish, it is a rising force. To top it off, The Rudimentals’ 14-track offering has everything a good ska album should have: social comment, infectiously danceable grooves and plenty of humour. Opening track Rudimentals inna da House sets the scene: expect lots of horns, a swaggering bass groove and straight-up ska vocals, with a tinge of ragga. Bassist Barry is the cornerstone of this approach and around him swirls a rainbow of sounds. It’s music that is intensely danceable, whether you prefer house or rock, intelligent without being pedantic and very catchy.
The flagship tracks are undoubtedly Two Boots, an ode to Dr Martens, Big Boss and Wear a Hat. The Rudimentals are not inventing anything new: they are fusing traditional ska roots with the British new wave of ska from the Eighties to present a mobile history of the genre. And if there is nothing new under the sun, then More Fire is just what is needed to re-ignite some interest in the best of the past for the future.
Order this independent release at www.rudimentals.co.za