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A deeper, spacier set from Shaolin Afronauts – and one that goes a bit further into the cosmos, as you might guess from the title and cover art – though it's still firmly rooted in timeless Afro Soul and Funk! Once again, the greatest West African soul, jazz and funk of the 70s provides the most vital inspiration for the group – but the Afronauts go further with the freewheeling jazzy atmosphere on this one – especially on the longer cuts. The majority of tracks run longer than 5 minutes, giving them plenty of evolutionary space to travel, over the funky bedrock that's paved underneath. The horns are fantastic – with nine credited players – along with stellar drums and percussion, guitar, bass, Hammond and Rhodes.Includes "Brooklyn", "Gayanamede Prelude", "Winds Across Gayanamede", "Los Angeles", "Quest Under Capricorn", "End Of A Sun", "Amhara", "Forests Of Io" and "Saturn's Dance". 9 tracks on the vinyl version.

Funky Afro Soul from Oz – the brilliant full length debut of Shaolin Afronauts! Flight Of The Ancients blasts off from the bedrock of 70s West Africa and Ethio funk influences, but their one of the rare few combos who pull it off without it feeling like a retread of past glories. Part of that success stems from their working really well in a number of modes – filtering classic funky soul and jazz funk influences with modern inventiveness and brilliant musicianship. Drums and congas bring the percussive heat with a great horn section of saxes, trumpets and bass clarinet, tight guitar grooves and heavy bass. A solid combo from the fertile Australian funk scene! Includes "Journey Through Time", "Rise With The Blind", "Flight Of The Ancients", "Shaolin Theme", "Kilimanjaro", "Shira", "The Quiet Lion" and "The Scarab".