Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids – Afro Futuristic Dreams (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids – Afro Futuristic Dreams (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:14:56 minutes | 835 MB | Genre: Jazz-Funk, Spiritual Jazz, Afrobeat
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Strut

Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids are back with their first major new studio album in over 3 years, an epic, sprawling new work exploring the future, the past and the urgent reality of the present, ‘Afro Futuristic Dreams’.

Recorded between San Francisco and London and brought together by the genius of Malcolm Catto at his analogue Quatermass Studio, the new recording represents another bold step in Ackamoor’s ever-evolving journey in jazz, adding full, intricate scores including string sections and choral elements to the Pyramids’ trademark spiritual Afro-jazz sound. Driven by the core Pyramids members Ackamoor (sax, keytar, organ), Margaux Simmons (flute), Sandra Poindexter (violin) and Bobby Cobb (guitar), tracks range from hard-hitting commentaries about police brutality (‘Police Dem’) to celebrations of the ancestors and departed loved ones (‘Requiem For The Ancestors’, ‘Re-Memory’) and hazy cosmic journeys, including the album’s title track and the sparkling, experimental closer, ‘Nice It Up’.

The recording is the Pyramids’ first new release since the acclaimed ‘Shaman!’ in 2020 and rides a wave of interest in the band around their 50th Anniversary this year.

Alongside a box set reissue on Strut bringing together their rare early ‘70s albums for the first time, the band have headlined Le Guess Who festival in Utrecht with an accompanying exhibition of their history and have played major concerts at Presidio Theatre in L.A. and Zebulon in San Francisco. They will be playing a full European tour in Autumn 2023.

“This album has been many years in the making,” explains Ackamoor. “Back in late 2020, I set out to compose the first in a series of scores to take The Pyramids sound into brave new territory. All of the tracks involve issues that the core band is passionate about and the recording was a complex process involving many musicians and vocalists across two different time zones.”

Tracklist:
01. Idris Ackamoor – Afro Futuristic Dreams (05:29)
02. Idris Ackamoor – Thank You God (13:19)
03. Idris Ackamoor – Police Dem (09:01)
04. Idris Ackamoor – First Peoples (06:54)
05. Idris Ackamoor – Truth To Power (07:21)
06. Idris Ackamoor – Re-Memory (05:33)
07. Idris Ackamoor – Garland Rose (06:45)
08. Idris Ackamoor – Requiem For The Ancestors (06:35)
09. Idris Ackamoor – Nice It Up (07:34)
10. Idris Ackamoor – Thank You God (Short Version) (06:20)

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