A meeting of the mountains of Western North Carolina and the Malian desert of West Africa continues to evolve with the music of Toubab Krewe. The Asheville-based quintet just released a live recording of its cross-cultural fusion of traditional Afro groove and roots rock, backed by the energy of a hometown crowd at The Orange Peel. The percussive, dance-friendly sound floats melodically with Justin Perkins’ traditional string toys, the kora and kamelengoni. It also pulses with the gritty surf guitar of Drew Heller on the standout track “Moose,” which features some spoken word from Umar Bin Hassan. Add the fiddle of Uncle Earl’s Rayna Gellert on “51 ft. Ladder” and you get the full effect of a tribal Appalachian hoedown.
toubabkrewe.com
