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Coming from the same act who released the frenetic single Blen, 93 Million Miles could seem like a surprisingly meditative album. Only if you didn't already know, though, about Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek: the two producers who comprise Africa Hitech. In guises like Troubleman and Harmonic 313, Pritchard has always taken an idiosyncratic approach to a multitude of genres (funk, Afrobeat, hip hop and way more). Spacek, meanwhile, worked with the late J Dilla and was also a third of the group Spacek, who produced sexy, sleek soul – best heard on their 2001 album Curvatia.
So Africa Hitech was always a project qualified to take you there. Blen landed from the leftfield, a knowing intervention on UK grime. It had said genre’s irascible energy, but was more sophisticated, referencing dancehall history while cleverly tweaking its bleep-riddled rhythms into a classic of alien ragga. As 93 Million Miles begins, underground club music is instantly relocated further back in the past, as tracks in the vein of Blen (Do U Wanna Fight, Glangslap) and a juke rework of Damian Marley's Welcome to Jamrock (Out in the Streets) are sandwiched between the title-track and Our Luv, which effortlessly integrate grime tropes and the kind of mesmeric production perfected by classic Detroit techno outfits Underground Resistance and Drexciya.
The Drexciya-sourced strain progresses in the reverberating hypnotism of Footstep, while grime dynamics are relinquished in Spirit, Light the Way and Cyclic Sun in favour of more traditional African beats, over which jazzy instrumentals dance in entranced circles. The whole effect feels like a spiritual trip back through dance and techno to the soul of Africa, concluding mellifluously with the balmy Don't Fight It.
Africa Hitech have described themselves as being about an 'ism', an African connection between rhythm and machine. Running through everything they do is a vibe that exceeds genre, a captivating fusion of Pritchard and Spacek's musical sensibilities.
--Melissa Bradshaw
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CD
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Africa HiTech is Mark Pritchard and Steve White, seasoned pro's who have been on the scene for many years in various guises. A chance encounter a few years ago in Australia sowed the seeds for this collaboration. <!--more-->Their union was borne out of their mutual appreciation for the sound system culture that's existed in the UK for over 20 years now, and as their name suggests there is a heavy African vibe running through their new album '93 Million miles'.
'93 Million miles' is an ambitious album, slipping into and out of an array of different styles. 'Out in the streets' is the first gold-plated track on the album, released as their first single and has been tearing it up in the clubs. Filled with a booming future-tech African bassline and smooth as silk twitchy groove, rumbling along infectiously. The African connection continues with 'Future Moves', delicate stabs of guitar undercutting a grimy sounding track not too dissimilar to early Wiley.
The sound sharpens up with the brittle 'Gangslap' and the head-nodding Detroit synth-funk of 'Our Luv', before returning to some soulful African dub on 'Spirit'. 'Light the way' is a soulful nu-jazz track that just lifts your spirits, and the penultimate track 'Cycling Sun' is the best track on the album. A sun-drenched Afro-jazz track with beautiful strings, perfect for the Summer months ahead.
It's obvious that 2 quite different types of musicians are clashing on this album, most tracks bleed in and out of each other without a fuss but tracks like 'Gangslap' and 'Do U wanna fight' surprise you and maintains your interest. If you listen carefully there's plenty of nods to what's currently happening in music, especially the juke inspired tempo of 'Out in the streets'. Some tracks such as 'Our Luv' and the latter tracks tread too close to their roots and sound like pastiches. But there's plenty of promise on '93 Million miles', there isn't a bad track on the album and it's a welcome addition to my summer soundtrack.
'93 Million miles' is an ambitious album, slipping into and out of an array of different styles. 'Out in the streets' is the first gold-plated track on the album, released as their first single and has been tearing it up in the clubs. Filled with a booming future-tech African bassline and smooth as silk twitchy groove, rumbling along infectiously. The African connection continues with 'Future Moves', delicate stabs of guitar undercutting a grimy sounding track not too dissimilar to early Wiley.
The sound sharpens up with the brittle 'Gangslap' and the head-nodding Detroit synth-funk of 'Our Luv', before returning to some soulful African dub on 'Spirit'. 'Light the way' is a soulful nu-jazz track that just lifts your spirits, and the penultimate track 'Cycling Sun' is the best track on the album. A sun-drenched Afro-jazz track with beautiful strings, perfect for the Summer months ahead.
It's obvious that 2 quite different types of musicians are clashing on this album, most tracks bleed in and out of each other without a fuss but tracks like 'Gangslap' and 'Do U wanna fight' surprise you and maintains your interest. If you listen carefully there's plenty of nods to what's currently happening in music, especially the juke inspired tempo of 'Out in the streets'. Some tracks such as 'Our Luv' and the latter tracks tread too close to their roots and sound like pastiches. But there's plenty of promise on '93 Million miles', there isn't a bad track on the album and it's a welcome addition to my summer soundtrack.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you like your bleeps and your bass then you will like this.
"93 Million Miles" manages to sound contemporary without straying too far from the early Warp Records blueprint...and yet it is not some po-faced pretender's effort to make a dubstep album. There's an easy-goingness, lack of pretentiousness and lightness of touch reminiscent of Warp labelmates Nightmares On Wax's classic Car Boot Soul and as such, it's hard not to like. As Dipesh Parmar rightly points out in his earlier review, this is a summer record. It sounds like it would have been as much fun to make as it is to listen to.
For me the overall feel of this LP is something like a mixture of Derrick May, Richard H Kirk, The Orb (in their more concise moments) and Basement Jaxx (YES, Basement Jaxx) with a little something extra for the dubstep generation. Indeed something for everyone - one for Warp fans old and new to really enjoy.
As I started typing this review I gave this CD four stars, but hell, I'm going to give it five!
"93 Million Miles" manages to sound contemporary without straying too far from the early Warp Records blueprint...and yet it is not some po-faced pretender's effort to make a dubstep album. There's an easy-goingness, lack of pretentiousness and lightness of touch reminiscent of Warp labelmates Nightmares On Wax's classic Car Boot Soul and as such, it's hard not to like. As Dipesh Parmar rightly points out in his earlier review, this is a summer record. It sounds like it would have been as much fun to make as it is to listen to.
For me the overall feel of this LP is something like a mixture of Derrick May, Richard H Kirk, The Orb (in their more concise moments) and Basement Jaxx (YES, Basement Jaxx) with a little something extra for the dubstep generation. Indeed something for everyone - one for Warp fans old and new to really enjoy.
As I started typing this review I gave this CD four stars, but hell, I'm going to give it five!
4 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By R. Wyatt
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Avoid at all costs. Terrible. Sounds like the product of a pair of acne ridden teenagers who have just unpacked the lastest technology gizmos purchased by their rich city professional doting parents. Actually thats probably exactly what it is. No melodic content whatsover. They obviously never found the pad presets on their new toys. Musicality completely missing. Avoid and keep all reviewers in the professional and amateur forums who recommend this sort of tosh at bay with with long barge-poles - such people should partially refund the money I wasted on this. Please treat all the above as a guideline for the more discerning listener. Obviously there are people out there who like this sort of stuff and it will probably sit nicely alongsisde the volumes of similarly sounding stuff they already have. If this is the sound of the summer god help us - its going to be a stressful/nauseating one. Perhaps Im too old/know how to find the pads on the synths purchased by my rich children who indulge my technology fetishes.
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