- Ausecuma Beats are a nine-piece, multiracial afrobeat band from Melbourne, who are releasing their debut self-titled EP. Even dedicated fans of African music can at times get a bit nervous at Australian bands dabbling in the style, worried about what concoction well-intentioned musos will brew out of disparate but individually wonderful music traditions.
The name and image of Ausecuma Beats doesn’t necessarily instill confidence – the moniker is a slightly clumsy portmanteau of Australia, Senegal, Cuba and Mali – the four countries from which band members derive ancestry and musical inspiration. The band’s promo photos are kinda humourous, with two members looking very white dressed in African colours and standing amongst the other African and Lain American band members. So it was with a touch of wariness that I approached Ausecuma for the first time.
Those worries began to fade fourteen seconds into opening track Aida, when the song breaks into a flurry of polyrhythmic percussion. They disappeared completely at twenty-six seconds, when the voice of lead singer Yusupha Ngum appears. Yusupha has one of those classic West African pop voices, high pitched and syrupy smooth – reminiscent of Papa Wemba or Youssou N’Dour, the Senegalese superstar for whom Yusupha apparently used to be the opening act.
From there the song is a percussive eruption of irresistible beats, call and response vocals, funky horn section and joyous djembe solo. If this is the sound of cross-continental collaboration, long may it continue.
Second track Ausecuma doesn’t quite have the same effect, partly because you are waiting the whole time for Yusupha’s voice to come in but it never does. The song seems to be an attempt at a Malian-style desert guitar blues, but it doesn’t quite nail that loping rhythm that makes the style.
Third song Allah Laakeh is better, a slower gentler track with a kora intro, more gorgeous vocals and classic repetitive groove. Last track You Never Know ventures back onto the dance floor, English lyrics sporadically popping in for the first time along with talking drum and marimba solo. And thus ends the EP, twenty-three minutes that leaves you wanting more. I’m sure the live show goes for much longer, and it is definitely something I would be keen to experience.
Like any communication across cultures then, Ausecuma Beats have to ride out the initial awkwardness and negotiate potential missteps. But with a mix of strong grounding in your own culture and enthusiasm to explore, you come out with something beneficial for everyone involved. In our time, cross-cultural artistic exchange has come to be seen as something ethically fraught and even oppressive. Ausecuma’s joyful fusion proves it doesn’t have to be.
- Andy Paine.