MEDIA
Curtis Wingfield in DRUM! Magazine
January 2008
The Afromotive
Scare Tactics
HARMONIZED
"MUSIC Despite liberal sprinklings of jazz and funk, particularly in the phrasing of the horn section, the sound of this band is all about Afro-pop, with its extended jams and endless permutations of rhythm.
DRUMMING Percussionist Justin Hunnicutt and drummer Curtis Wingfield, supplemented by lead singer Kevin Meyame's contributions on djembe, congas, sang band, and bell, tap instantly into the magic of one or another beat at the top of each track and let the feel flow in a kind of disciplined, complex ecstasy. Even the heavy, almost stumbling four-beat tread on "One Way Go" is impossible to resist.
VERDICT Welcome to Rhythm 101, where the first lesson is to consider the possibilities that lie beyond the backbeat. Hunnicutt and Wingfield treat the beat in the same way that an origami artist approaches a piece of paper, by folding and refolding it into patterns that all can imagine but few can conceive."
Curtis Wingfield in Modern Drummer Magazine
June 2008
"Fela Kuti's gone, but Afrobeat lives on! The Afromotive and Chicago Afrobeat Project both offer exciting takes on the style, moving it forward with integrity. On The Afromotive's Scare Tactics (Harmonized), CURTIS WINGFIELD's drumset interlocks with the rhythmic phrases of the horns form a kaleidoscope effect, his style punctuating polyrhythmic beats at every turn. Meanwhile, the mood of a hot, urban summer day is captured on Chicago Afrobeat Project's A Move To Silent Unrest (CAbP). On "Superstar Pt.7" MARSHALL GREENHOUSE's powerful yet relaxed groove over things along, bursting forth to spice things up. Take your pick, these Afrobeat bands are both hip-and there's a goldmine of tricky grooves here that are more difficult than they sound."
Martin Patmos
