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Review: 'ZUN ZUN EGUI'
'Shackles' Gift'   

-  Label: 'Bella Union Records'
-  Genre: 'Dance' -  Release Date: '26th January 2015'

Our Rating:
From the vibrant opening track,Rigid Man and lead single, African Tree, the global dance-friendly aspirations of Zun Zun Egui's second album are evident.

The 5-piece band formed in Bristol in late 2008 by Mauritian guitarist / singer Kushal Gaya and Japanese keyboard player Yoshina Shigihara soon after they moved to the UK.

The name comes from a Basque expression meaning 'a group of trees' which Shigihara liked because it sounded like the Japanese words for 'fast fast weird'. You can know the group from their velocity and the level of adrenaline they generate.

Kushal says that Mauritian music has been one of the primary ingredients of their sound and inspired his multi-lingual approach to singing, although English is still the dominant language of the songs.

Unfortunately, the bands infectious enthusiasm and rhythmic energy isn't always matched by the lyrical content. Tracks like Tickle The Line and The Sweetest Part Of Life consists more of banal sloganeering than meaningful lines. The groove and the riffs are all.

This is illustrated in the track Soul Search which is described as a British take on a Mauritian form of music called seggae (African island folk music known as 'sega' combined with reggae).

Recorded in London by Andrew Hung of Fuck Buttons, the tribal elements of Afrobeat on this record are strong. But there's lots of other stuff going on too. You can also trace elements of punk-funk, Ethio Jazz and straight rock .

It all combines for a fast and furious sound that has been accurately labelled as a joyful noise.

Zun Zun Egui's website
  author: Martin Raybould

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ZUN ZUN EGUI - Shackles' Gift