Griot Galaxy - Kins (1982)

While he did receive some attention in the later years of his career – thanks to some great records on Qbico, an ongoing collaboration with Northwood Improvisers, and appearances with His Name Is Alive – Griot Galaxy founder Faruq Z Bey never really got his dues. It’s a shame, as besides being a gifted saxophonist, he was also a heavy thinker and writer, having published two books of poetry and a book of music theory, Towards A “Ratio”nal Aesthetic. His music remained steadfastly heady throughout his life; he began playing free improv in Detroit with the First African Primal Rhythm Orchestra and subsequently formed Griot Galaxy.
Kins is their debut album, though they’d existed for almost a decade beforehand, and as such it captures a group with a powerful logic on lockdown. From the moment the snare tattoos erupt on ‘Xy-Moch (1)’, Kins advances assuredly, switching between tight compositions and bleary improvisations – ‘Zychron’, perhaps their finest recorded moment, moving between both with equal ease, particularly its seasick coda for lumbering brass and weeping, tragic arco work. There are some weird funk entreaties as well, and an odd predilection for wah-wah bass – someone had to do it.

Jon Dale,factmag


Tracklist:
1. Xy-Moch
2. Zycron
3. Zenolog Aintro
4. Androgeny
5. Kins
6. Xy-Moch Theme

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