I remember the words "kwassa kwassa" (and "dancez dancez") being chanted relentlessly throughout a Kanda Bongo Man gig I went to at London's Town & Country Club in the late 1980s. Kwassa Kwassa ,the dance, was created by Pepe Kalle and has become synonymous with the infectiously good time sound of soukous.
The sound of Vampire Weekend is to this brand of Afrobeat what Paul Simon's 'Graceland' was to the music of Zimbabwe. In other words, they may brazenly plunder elements from the African source to suit the mainstream palate but they do with obvious affection and style.
Comparing nature's dawn shades to the colours of Bennetton, places these New Yorkers within an urban and westernised perspective.
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Despite their rootedness in city culture, there's a quaint coyness to the sexuality of the song with the repeated quatrain : "Is your bed made? /Is your sweater on?/ Do you want to / Like you know I do". This is coupled with an arch knowingness to namechecking the, by now, Godfather of 'world music' Peter Gabriel.
The single, lifted off their widely admired debut album, has enough spirit and energy to have the desired effect of maintaining the band's momentum.
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