Missing Chapters
Moodswing, 2019
8/10
A Cameroonian born artist who is now an Atlanta resident, Moken returns with this sophomore album where African sounds are met with Avant Garde and experimentalism that is never in short supply alongside Moken’s atypical creativity.
“Your Sun Is Rising” starts the listen with warm strumming and an elegant atmosphere before Moken’s unusual baritone and warbling vocals sweep in as do bright horns, and “Sometimes” follows with emphasis on percussion and flute in the vocally expressive and cultured tune.
In the middle, “Walking Man” offers a swift setting of brass and busy instrumentation that touches on jazz, while “U Nia” resides comfortably in some variation of folk sounds with vivid storytelling.
Near the end, the upbeat “Retro Africa” certainly does take nods to earlier times with its playful and dance friendly funk sensibilities, and “Tequila Song” recruits breezy melodies in the unpredictable setting. “Sing The Song” ends the listen agile and soothing amid Moken’s inimitable delivery where sax, flute and strings all mesh in intriguing, memorable ways.
An album that saw its completion after Moken was wrongly jailed a short time, there is a visceral amount of energy here- no doubt stemming from his stint being locked up- and, quite honestly, there’s no genre that can hold Moken. This is a visionary truly carving his own path, and we’re all better off for it.
Travels well with: Fela Kuti- Gentleman; Wasis Diop- Toxu