For all intents and purposes, Karl Hector might as well be another nom-de-plume of Jay Whitefield (producer and guitarist for the Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers) who, along with Thomas Myland and Zdenko Curlija, founded Karl Hector and The Malcouns in the early 2000s. Alongside Bo Baral, other members of the Poets of Rhythm and crack Munich-based session musicians, Whitefield, Myland and Curlija crafted nearly twenty tracks for their debut, Sahara Swing, an album that swung with influences from across the African diaspora.
The trio has since released two vinyl-only EPs - Tamanrasset was the first; Ngunga Yeti Fofa was the second. Coomassi will be the last, and is the opening volley of their Unstraight Ahead album. These seven songs demonstrate The Malcouns' deft handling of musics from Eastern and Northern Africa alongside Western psychedelia, jazz and funk, as evidenced by "Irtijal," which you can download below - something that wouldn't sound out of place in Morocco or Turkey, Ethiopia or Azerbaijan.
