Strut present an inspired new Afro-electronic project for June 2017, Kondi Band, a collaboration between Sierra Leonean kondi (thumb piano) player Sorie Kondi and US producer / DJ Chief Boima, who himself has Sierra Leonean roots. The project was spawned after Boima happened upon an online video of one of Sorie’s original tracks, ‘Without Money No Family’, which he then remixed. After a Kickstarter campaign, Sorie travelled to the US to play a series of gigs with Boima and began recording new material. “Sorie Kondi is a blind musician with a will to thrive like no person I have met before,” explains Boima. “This album forges a direct link between techno born in the black cities of the American Mid-West, where I grew up, and roots African music.” Boima’s touch is light, adding discreet beats to Sorie’s tumbling melodies and rich voice, finding parallels between West African folk and US house. The songs are tough social cameos, the mood infectious. A winner.
