What if Cotonoutronic exchanged his tuxedo for traditional Beninese garb and entered a realm where throbbing electronic beats collide with the primal drums of ancestors? That is precisely the sonic Adventure that Cotonoutronic delivers with their raucous track “James Bond est Béninois.”
It’s a brazen fusion of Beninese traditional percussion and modern electronic music. The heart of this incredible team is Angelo Moustapha, a man made of beats and a rhythm superstar who literally gives life to this genre-mixing sound. His beats tell stories, linking past and future, tradition and innovation, spirit and machine.
“James Bond est Béninois.” is imbued with the spirit of Benin’s Voodoo culture, one of the few deep-rooted spiritual forces in the world to define the identity of a nation for centuries. The combination of patterned electronic textures and the grounding, ritualistic energy of the drums has a futuristic and primal sound, straddling two worlds.
“James Bond est Béninois” is a subversion of the typical narratives, playfully picturing the world’s most popular spy getting lost in the beauty of Benin’s culture. And with a groove this compelling, it feels impossible not to imagine stepping into a high-adrenaline, cinematographic chase scene. This time, the scenes play out in the streets of Cotonou, set to the drum’s pulse.
0 Comments