Remi Kabaka – Black Goddess: The Soundtrack from Ole Balogun’s Film

It’s a given that all things eventually return to fashion, and the 70s is no exception. Some, like the carwash climax of Black Belt Jones, deserve to be appreciated by all generations. Others, like the soundtrack to Ole Balogun’s Brazil-centric tale of slavery and Afro-Caribbean tradition, are of more niche interest.

It’s not short on strengths, with Dele Onkokwo’s sax work showing considerable flair and adding vibrant flutters and flurries to composer Remi Kabaka’s dramatic yet often dreamlike score, while there’s enough Latin fire in the eclectic percussion to transport even the most literal-minded of listeners to the favelas. Working against it, though, is the synth.

The horrible, blippy synth that recalls the worst of the Nintendo generation’s atrocities and sometimes threatens to turn the whole affair into the world’s first, and thankfully last, case of GameBoy jazz but if you can successfully filter that out you’ll find a colourful realm of afro-jazz awaiting on the other side