Folks with a jones for funky instrumentals should lend an ear to the long-playing debut from Hamburg, Germany’s Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band. Inspired by Björn Wagner’s prolonged exposure to the steel “pan” drums while visiting Trinidad and Tobago, the bandleader subsequently learned the instrument and had his own built from a used oil barrel by legendary pan man Louis C. Smith. Rounding up a crew of crack players, they easily sidestep superficiality for massive grooves and an appealing attentiveness toward history. 55 is out May 6 on double vinyl, compact disc, and digital through Big Crown Records.
That Mighty Mocambos founder Björn Wagner caught the steel pan bug after travelling to Trinidad and Tobago is really not a shock, for the largely indigenous style offers a marvelous sound, but going so far as to learn how to play the drum and then forming a group prominently featuring it is somewhat surprising; 55, so named due to the 55-gallon containers that are altered into the tools of the art, may at a glance seem to be something of a novelty, but rest assured it oozes expertise from a variety of angles.
In 2007 the band’s first 45 found them tackling The Meters’ “Look A-Py-Py” and “Ease Back,” a gesture simultaneously establishing their penchant for deep funk and wholehearted embracement of steel pan music’s tradition of cover material. For evidence, please see Esso, the Esso Trinidad Steel Band’s 1971 Van Dyke Parks-produced LP for Warner Brothers, which includes interpretations of The Kinks’ “Apeman,” Paul Simon’s “Cecilia,” and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.”
The Brooklyn-based Big Crown proves a fitting home for the general astuteness of Wagner’s project. Producer/ multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels and DJ/ producer Danny Akalepse both previously helped Truth & Soul Records to guide the careers of Lee Fields & the Expressions, The Ghetto Brothers, Lady Wray, and the Michels-led El Michels Affair, while that label also gave a fresh 2014 pressing to Bacao Rhythm & Steel’s ’09 single, a cover of “P.I.M.P.” by 50 Cent.
“P.I.M.P.” and its Jamaican-styled “version” from the 7-inch’s flipside bookend 55, and they combine with a vigorous reading of Faith Evans’ “Love Like This” and Jonell’s “Round and Round” to reinforce Wagner’s passion for hip-hop and R&B. The huge bass throb and the combo of steel and traditional drum-kit immediately set the album ablaze as the use of horns provide another crucial ingredient, and not just soul/ R&B charts; elevating “P.I.M.P.” even more are a pair of exquisite trumpet solos.
Bacao’s choices reach back to the ’70s and not in predictable ways as proto-disco doozy “Jungle Fever” by The Chakachas gets infused with a thunderous beat (a recurring element over the four sides), clean guitar strum and fine work on the steel pans. Less expected is a version of “Was Dog a Doughnut?” from Izitso, Cat Stevens’ synth-pop/ electro seedling from ’78.
The set’s most hectic entry is a rendering of Dennis Coffey’s lively instrumental hit “Scorpio,” delivered by Bacao as hard-hitting ‘70s action flick car-chase music complete with Skip Pitts-style wah-wah. Additionally, there’s a swell take of John Holt’s “Police in Helicopter,” a sizeable percentage of the reggae source retained and given dub accents in tandem with the horns and pan steel.
This wraps up the cover selections as they total half of 55’s overall sequence; after “P.I.M.P” side one features three consecutive originals starting with the block party ready “Laventille Road March”; simply add heat, sweat, and booze. It’s followed by “Bacao Suave,” the a-side to their third single wielding some hearty trombone as it builds to a rousing finale. Appropriate to its title, “Tropical Heat” slows it down while keeping tabs on essential funkiness and displaying Wagner’s versatility on the pans.
Impressive is Bacao’s ability to manage qualitative equality between borrowings and their own stuff, and their range isn’t far behind as “Beetham Highway Ride” secretes synth lines reminiscent of ‘80s low-budget movie soundtracks without going overboard; indeed, “Tender Trap” and numerous other cuts illuminate potential usefulness in for film scores.
This is especially noticeable during “Queen of Cheeba,” which lays down a smoldering groove (in keeping with the titular substance) and contrasts it with a punchy and highly cinematic horn-chart. Non-gratuitous organ deepens the atmosphere, but maybe the sweetest aspect is the growing tension subsequent to everything momentarily dropping out except for the steel pans.
Also striking is the good-natured disco motion of “Port of Spain Hustle,” presented straight-up and without a hint of cheesiness, its horns transcending the standard vamping of the style to carry the tune’s midsection as Wagner steps forward with steel pulse for the conclusion. And then there’s the brightly-hued popish rhythm guitar and near Spaghetti western riffing across “Goodbye.”
55 does register as a mite long, though by the time “P.I.M.P.” comes back around any thoughts of gimmickry or conceptual shallowness have been successfully quashed. Those in love with Esso might wish for more metallic tones (and possibly vocals), but it’s to the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band’s credit that they so deftly integrate the components comprising their name.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
