The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Darkest Light (The Best Of)
(CD) Strut Records STRUT042CD, 2009-01-26

Tracklisting :
01. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Voodounon
02. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Congo
03. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Hihache
04. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Malik
05. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Nicky
06. Ice - Time Will Tell
07. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Darkest Light
08. Ice - Ozan Koukle
09. Ice - There’s Time To Change
10. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Soul Makossa
11. Ice - Racubah
12. Crispy & Co. - Scorpion Flower
13. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Heels & Soles
14. Crispy & Co. - A.I.E. (A Mwana)
15. Captain Dax - Dr Beezar "Soul Frankenstein" (Version)

Links :
discogs.com
strut-records.com
myspace.com/strutrecords

Press Release (french) :
Ce groupe est connu sous différents noms: Ice, Lafayette Afro Rock Band ou Crispy & Co. Au départ, ce groupe de funk a été formé à Long Island à la fin des années 60, mais s'expatrie à Paris, pour chercher le succès en Europe. A peine débarqués, le producteur Pierre Jaubert (Charles Mingus, John Lee Hooker) les prend sous sa coupe. Les huit Américains se mettent alors directement au travail.

Bobby Boy, le leader, rentre aux States et les sept autres restent à Paris, changent de nom pour Ice et sortent leur premier album "Each Man Makes His Own Destiny", en 1973. L'année suivante, le groupe récupère son nom du début, Lafayette Afro Rock Band et sort trois albums jusqu'en 75. L'année suivante, nouveau changement de nom, pour le nouvel opus, Ice sort "Frisco Disco", puis rechange la même année pour Crispy & Co "Funky Flavored" et encore Ice, en 77, avec "Thumping", "Seven American in Paris" et "Afro Afghan". Fin de l'histoire...

DARKEST LIGHT: THE BEST OF THE LAFAYETTE AFRO ROCK BAND est sorti la première fois chez Strut en 1999 et retrace l’histoire du groupe depuis le début. Cette nouvelle édition contient deux titres inédits disponibles pour la première fois sur CD. Le packaging contient un livret de 12 pages et les notes originales de James Maycock ainsi que des photos rares du groupe aux studios Parisound.

Press Release (english) :

A conglomerate of US musicians based in France between 1971 and 1979, the Lafayette Afro Rock Band was originally formed as the Bobby Boyd Congress in 1970 before escaping the crowded US funk scene to relocate to France a year later. Re-naming themselves as Ice, they began performing regularly in the North African Barbès district of Paris and caught the eye of producer Pierre “Berjot” Jaubert, before becoming the house session band at his independent Parisound studio.

The influence of their surroundings and the release of Manu Dibango’s seismic ‘Soul Makossa’ (recorded in Paris in 1972) triggered a new identity for the band and the Lafayette Afro Rock Band was born. The two Lafayette albums recorded during 1974 and 1975, ‘Soul Makossa’ and ‘Malik’, found the band at the peak of their powers, whipping up a heavyweight funk-rock fusion led by Frank Abel’s trademark “magic bag” vocoder. Both albums only achieved specialist sales on release but have both endured as underground favourites for vinyl collectors and as a significant source for samples. Everyone from Jay-Z and Janet Jackson to Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Wreckx ‘N’ Effect have plundered the Lafayettes in recent times.

The band also backed a number of other artists whilst in Paris, including jazz legend Mal Waldron, Chicago bluesman Sunnyland Slim and disco tracks for Becky Bell and Chantal Curtis, including her ’79 hit, ‘Get Another Love’. The band finally split in 1982.

DARKEST LIGHT: THE BEST OF THE LAFAYETTE AFRO ROCK BAND was originally released on Strut in 1999 and tells the story of the band from their early days as Ice including the key tracks from their two landmark albums ‘Malik’ and ‘Soul Makossa / Voodounon’. The album also features tracks recorded under one-off pseudonyms for the Japanese market, Crispy & Co. and Captain Dax.

This updated edition of the compilation features two tracks previously unavailable on CD, including an epic early Ice cut, ‘There’s Time To Change’. The CD package features a 12-page booklet including the original compilation sleeve notes by James Maycock along with rare photos of the band at Parisound studios.

For more info check: www.lafayetteafrorockband.com