AFREAKA!

DEMON FUZZ were a psychedelic Jazz-Funk collective with a heart full of Soul! The seven members of Demon Fuzz all emigrated to Britain from Commonwealth countries in the early 1960's. THe name of the band and the title of their first album "Afreaka!" (1970) gives some indication of the funky, psychedelic-infused, African tribal rhythms you can expect to hear on this freaky debut album. A compilation album titled "Roots and Offshoots" (1976) was later released on an independent label following the break-up of the band in the early 1970's. A CD re-issue of "Afreaka!" added three bonus tracks to the original five lengthy songs on the album.

We enter the mysterious world of Demon Fuzz with "Past, Present & Future", a psychedelic trip back in time to a bygone age of half a century ago. This funky Jazz-Rock album has really stood the test of time. Stir in some Graham Bond Organisation, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Brian Auger & the Trinity, and add a liberal dose of Funkadelic (all from the same early 1970's era), and you have a recipe for success with the sound of Demon Fuzz. Altogether now..... "They don't make music like this any more!" - and that's certainly the case with this superb debut. When you hear the first burst from the acid fuzz-toned guitar in the opening, swiftly followed by a storming horn section, you know you're about to hear something rather special indeed here, and so it proves to be. "Past, Present and Future" is a 10-minute long instrumental masterpiece of bold and brassy Jazz, featuring a hypnotic captivating rhythm. This cool and groovy music is sure to delight hippyish fans of the psychedelic sixties era too. "Afreaka!" has announced its impressive arrival in no uncertain terms with a fabulous fanfare of trumpets! The second piece of music is titled "Disillusioned Man", but you certainly won't be a disillusioned man (or woman) when you hear this lively and soulful number for the first time. It's a five-minute wonder in a fifty-five-minute-long album of stonkingly good tunes. All of the Jazzy elements are here in full force too, featuring an extended sexy solo on the alto sax and with the organ player belting out some funky rhythms in dazzling accompaniment. The singer sounds in mighty fine voice too with just the kind of deep and soulful vocals needed for this kind of groovy psychedelic Jazz album. He's a Soul Brother! Our musical journey continues with "Another Country", another storming Jazz rocker in what is turning out to be an album full of highlights, and we're barely halfway through the album yet. This is eight and a half minutes of soulful Jazz-Rock heaven!

We're in a mellower mood for "Hymn to Mother Earth", an 8-minute-long devotional epic praising the joys of life on our fair planet. This is a truly beautifully angelic number featuring a heavenly choir and some lovely laid-back percussion. There's also a soothing organ to help you reach the musical equivalent of Cloud 9. This tremendous piece of music also features a soaring horn section which will lift you heavenwards on a joyous emotional high. Yes, it really is THAT good! It's a truly outstanding slice of smooth and soulful Jazz which bears repeated listening, just like the album as a whole. This is the kind of gloriously inspirational music that would have folks flocking to Sunday church in their masses, if only..... The fifth and final song "Mercy (Variation No. 1)" opens with a tribal jungle drums rhythm which rumbles along nicely before the whole band "freaks out" and goes absolutely ape-crazy strutting their funky stuff in a Jazzy free-for-all of wild and sensational improvisation. This is wonderful stuff from seven musicians at the top of their game in what is a suitably rousing conclusion to a stupendous album!

Demon Fuzz have left us with one marvellously unique album of what can best be described as soulful Jazz-Funk/Rock tinged with a healthy splash of fuzzy psychedelic colours. In other words, it's a veritable smorgasbord of musical delicacies which the band have expertly blended together to make one outstanding album. "Afreaka!" is a timeless evergreen album that always sounds great, whether you listen to it in the "Past, Present or Future".