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The interview: Lack of Afro

Written by Semper Azeez-Harris
Monday, 19 October 2009 00:00

If I told you I was meeting Lack of Afro at the frenetic Waterloo station, you could be forgiven for thinking that I am about to meet with a group. I myself thought that, and as Adam Gibbons the founder and indeed only person in Lack of Afro states, “I get that reaction all the time.”

He is, however, in many ways a group incorporated in the one body. Proficient in over five instruments from drums to guitar, a producer and a re-mixer, he can safely say he is a musician in an age where computer wizardry perhaps wrongly equals a “musician”. It is perhaps no surprise that music was his chosen field when his family are blessed with the musical gene "I come from a musical family. My grandma actually taught me to play piano when I was seven years old, then I started to learn the saxophone when I was 12. I studied music technology at university where I started to first write tracks of my own. After graduating, I spent a couple of years honing my production skills.”

Meeting over a couple of beers at a trendy bar near the London Eye - that will remain unnamed because of their infestation of brazen mice that seek to dine with you - it is clear Adam is a creative musician first. He does not create music to primarily “roll about in pots of money” but for the “love of music”.

Like two old men who have known each other for years, our conversation is easy; we first start talking about his never to be released re-mix of a Tom Jones track: "Well, I had re-mixed this track for Tom Jones and I had used a sample for the track. For some reason that I still do not know, the record company did not want to get clearance for the sample that I had used on the track. The problem was that I could not take the sample out of the track because it would completely change the track but the track would have been excellent with Tom Jones on it but that is the music business I expect.”

His first taste of success was his seminal album Press On (2006) on Freestyle records. Hailed as “one of the greatest albums of the modern funk era” Adam was going to be pushed to come up with the same high quality but indeed he has achieved just that.

In his latest album My Groove Your Move (2009), Adam once again delves into the retro world with 13 tracks influenced by the 60's and 70's jazz, funk and hip-hop. He manages with sublime ease to encapsulate those particular periods with relevant samples that create the feeling and mood while still making the tracks have a modern and fresh feel. It is awash with contemporary heavy clean beats and genius collaborations in the shape of little known but extremely talented vocalists Roxie Ray, Wax and Herbal T on the respective tracks.

The Wax and Herbal T tracks are bangers in every sense of the word as the two US rappers spit clean sixteens with aplomb. Adam does not do formulaic, and was attracted to the rappers because they did not fit a mould but were musicians: “They both can play a guitar, they both can sing, one of them plays the bass so they are really talented guys. That is what really did it for me because they are well rounded musically and I think that comes out in their delivery.”

Talking about his album, he is energetic and passionate which we agree is down to his “musical involvement” with the tracks. With My Groove Your Move out, Adam is already thinking for the future plans. With his proficiency in instruments and his belief in instrument based tracks as opposed to computer programs, his next option of touring live will materialise, “we planned a tour for November but I think it is just the wrong time. Promoters don't like to book you unless they know how the album has done and most promoters do all their bookings for November in July. The album is not out until October so we are planning a tour for February and March next year”.

As we sip on our drinks - and another brazen mouse forages - Lack of Afro's cool yet determined outlook is evident. Plans are already in motion for his third album. "There will be more vocals tracks again...for this album there were three vocal tracks out of the 13 and so maybe for the next album I will have like seven vocal tracks out of say 11. It will be more proper songs.I dread to use the word commercial, but it will be more accessible because people seem to think that I only do funk.”

A feature of Adam's work is his use of intriguing and occasionally obscure samples, but in the next album he is keen to delve more into his creative well. ”I definitely want to use less samples I am kind of trying to get to the stage where I use no samples at all which will be a good thing. I do not really know what kind of direction I will take it in really, I have not thought that far but in terms of instruments not that different very organic maybe introduce a little more electronic elements in to it. I know a really nice cello player who did a couple parts for Lack of Afro - so I will ask him to do a lot of string arrangements for the next album”.

I truly become excited when we start talking about the next vocalists that he would like to feature on his next album. Coming from his home town Exeter, Devon, one of the most famous names in the music industry, the young but ever so talented Joss Stone. "We were looking for her to feature on the second album but she was away in LA a lot of the time but now she is here more often and so it maybe possible." He positively bristles with excitement when talking about this possible collaboration. “We are in talks at the moment actually to try and get that going my manager actually knows her dad and so we will see what happens. She has just got such a naturally great voice and some of the material she has released has not done her justice. I would love to write like a real funk track or some soul track for her.”

He is certainly building a name for high quality innovative production and in many ways he is forging a name rather like a certain Mark Ronson. Significantly, he is not averse to stepping out of his perceived comfort zone, "definitely he [Mark Ronson] gets a lot of bad press but he has done really well. Producing records for other artists is something I want to do. I am doing a couple at the moment. Keeping the whole 60's and 70's influence as well but also bringing in more modern stuff. I just want people to hear my music ....I do not want to be one of those guys that makes just niche music.”

As the interview draws to a close, and the brazen mouse leaves a tip of mature cheddar for the great service, I am sure that Lack of Afro will make an impact on the mainstream. With DJs such as Russell Brand and Mark Lamarr as fans, it seems only a matter of time. And I really cannot wait for his live show in February, where Lack of Afro's particular brand of live music can be soaked up in a feat reminiscent of osmosis.

For further information on Lack of Afro visit the sites below:

www.lackofafro.com

www.myspace.com/lackofafro

Some tunes: