What do you get when you combine Fela Kuti, Mulatu Astatke, and David Axelrod? Basically you get the five-piece Belgium band Black Flower, and they just released their much-anticipated third full-length album Future Flora.

With a cohesive theme surrounding the power of plants and the importance for their sustainability in this world, this new seven-track album fuses together Ethio-jazz melodies, Afrobeat rhythms, and heavy psychedelic dub grooves. Using a mixture of Western, Oriental and Ethiopian scales, bandleader Nathan Daems was able to construct complex songs that incorporate ancient sounds and tones, all backed by a strong foundational groove.

While Daems plays both flute and saxophones on the session, he is joined by a strong cast of musicians in drummer Simon Segers, cornet player Jon Birdsong, keyboardist Wouter Haest, and bassist Filip Vandebril.

This brilliant recording is the Black Flower’s most adventurous album to date, expanding their own unique sound to new heights. This group continues to prove that they are one of the most forward-thinking modern day Ethio-jazz bands right now.

Highly recommended for fans of Mulatu Astatke, The Heliocentrics, The Budos Band, and Karl Hector & The Malcouns.

Black Flower — ‘Future Flora’
(Sdban Ultra)

1. Black Flower – Early Days of Space Travel Pt. 2
2. Maloya Bud
3. Hora de Aksum
4. Clap Hands
5. Ohm Eye
6. Ankor Wat
7. Future Flora

BUY RECORD

• Ethio-jazz
• Jazz
• New Releases