Antoine Loemba - Nights & Days
Jazz? Funk? Rock? Or hip hop after all? Our drummer and composer Antoine Loemba doesn't even ask himself these questions. Anything goes, who said anything about genres? There is only one and that is music. Intensity meets simplicity, openness meets strength. 'Nights & Days' has become his self-produced debut EP, which arouses curiosity about Loemba's music and makes you want to hear whole LPs from him. Thematically he deals with his faith, chronic illnesses and growing up. Intensity meets simplicity, openness meets strength.
Born in Paris, the city of the muse, Loemba develops an obsession with sound landscapes and their colors. The energy he puts into his music is evident in the groove that runs through the beads of sound. A graduate of the Jazz à Tours music school, he is now beginning to bring his solo project to the forefront. Loemba finds inspiration in the music of Avishai Cohen, Nate Smith, Tigran Hamasyan and Alfa Mist. He first dabbles in funk and pop rock, and later in gospel, hip-hop, indie rock, folk and French music. In the last year he has participated in five albums, including : Nomade (Valentine Lambert, folk ); Outsider (L'Heure Bleue, pop ), Myosotis (Space In Bloom, indie rock). Someone is known, talented and popular. So it's no wonder that artists accept his invitation when it comes to showcasing his sonic gems. As composer and drummer, he sets the pace and the rest of the world follows, but he's also done the mixing, mastering and artwork. A self-made man.
The Fruit seems a bit of a stroll, whether it's for modern jazz dancers or rappers, the bass and piano melody on the loop provide room for almost anything. The rhythm of Loemba's playing, however, is much more interesting. He was heavily influenced here by Clyde Stubblefield's grooves in James Brown's Funky Drummer. What else stands out is the ending of the single - I love interesting breaks.
Quite delightful are the namesakes sound pearls Nights and Days, which should actually be heard together as one unit, because they are as different as day and night - sorry for the verbosity - and just because of that so wonderful together. While the dark night ripples past you in piano and soft guitar sounds like the starry sky, the day invites you to salsa dances on the sidewalk. Sounds of Westside's Story's 'America' come to mind as I follow Loemba and his fiery rhythm. One song yin, the other yang.
He ties the opposites together in the EP's closing track, my absolute favorite. Mighty is something of an anthem and in my opinion steals the show from the other gems. A mood that radiates calm and deliberation, majestic something and insistent in its aspirations, then picking up the pace only to slow down again gently. The break in the theme change occurs from minute two, when the piano takes over and the groove reaches its climax. By all means turn it up louder...
Loemba himself manages to neither bang on his drums too obtrusively nor too shyly throughout. With serene self-confidence he plays his role in the grand scheme of things, because nothing works without him anyway. A great and young artist, who will hopefully still show a lot of himself.
Listen and Repeat
