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Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids: Afro Futuristic Dreams

By Chris May
September 8, 2023
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Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids: Afro Futuristic Dreams

Idris Ackamoor paints on a big canvas, in vivid colours. Listening to the 2023 episode of his multi-decade Afrofuturist odyssey, there are times when he and The Pyramids stir memories of

Fela Kuti

saxophone
1938 - 1997

" data-original-title="" title="">Fela Kuti's Afrika 70 and Egypt 80 bands. At other times, it is

Sun Ra

piano
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Sun Ra's Arkestra. Next up could be an unplugged

Parliament Funkadelic

" data-original-title="" title="">Parliament Funkadelic . And there are moments, when Ackamoor's tenor saxophone engages with

Sandra Poindexter

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">Sandra Poindexter's violin, that one is reminded of

Frank Lowe

saxophone, tenor
1943 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Lowe's partnership with

Billy Bang

violin
1947 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Bang.

Another foundational inspiration is

" data-original-title="" title="">Pharoah Sanders, whose broken-note-strewn tenor style Ackamoor frequently channels. Indeed, Ackamoor says that "Thank You God," which takes up most of side one of this 2-LP release, is a salute to Sanders' longform pieces "The Creator Has A Master Plan" and "Tauhid." (Check the YouTube below).

Like its immediate predecessor, Shaman! (Strut, 2020), Afro Futuristic Dreams combines the melodicism and spiritual intensity of Sanders and

Alice Coltrane

piano
1937 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Alice Coltrane with an explicit, politically engaged message. Lyrics, long and short, are features of most tracks, and Ackamoor does not mince his words. Item: "Police Dem," which opens side two. Here Ackamoor rejects police apologists' hoary old "a few bad apples" schtick in favour of couplets such as "Police dem / Some good most bad" and "Police dem / All lies no fact." Ackamoor has made a close study of Kuti. On "Police Dem" the call and response vocals, horn arrangement, lyric subject-matter, and even the sound of the tenor saxophone solo, all evoke Kuti's Afrobeat.

In a 2020 interview with AAJ, Ackamoor explained that coming of age as a musician in the late 1960s he was part of a scene where "making music was about making change happen... It was about putting community before competition... [Earlier generations of musicians had been] raised to be crabs in a bucket. From the 1920s onwards, they were brought up on the idea of the cutting school, where you'd try and best each other in head-to-head jam sessions. 'I'm badder than this cat, I'm badder than that cat.' But my generation felt that the priority had to be unification. Competitive cutting was opposed to unity... There was a race war going on in the US. We needed to present a united front." We still do.

Ackamoor's full interview can be read here.

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Track Listing

Side One: Afro Futuristic Dreams; Thank You God. Side Two: Police Dem; First Peoples. Side Three: Truth to Power; Re-Memory; Garland Rose. Side Four: Requiem for the Ancestors; Nice It Up.

Personnel

Idris Ackamoor

saxophone

Sandra Poindexter

violin

Laura Boytz

cello

Aaron Atkinson

trumpet

Greg Stephens

trombone

Margaux Simmons

flute

Bobby Cobb

guitar, electric

Ruben Ramos Medina

bass, electric

John Notaro

multi-instrumentalist

Ernesto Marichales

drums

Daria Niles

vocals

Queen Califa

vocals

Ben Maddox

keyboards

Bradie Speller

percussion

George Hearst

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Idris Ackamoor: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, Yamaha baby grand piano, Hammond organ, cymbal tree, keytar, didgeridoo, thunder sticks, pan flutes, rain stick, bells, bass mbira, talking drum, vocals; Vincent Tolliver: viola; Heshima Mark Williams: acoustic bass.

Album information

Title: Afro Futuristic Dreams | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Strut Records

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