The Very Best open their Heart

There’s nothing like an afro/pop/dance album to keep your summer fresh even as a new semester rolls around. Still looking for your perfect fit? Try Warm Heart of Africa by The Very Best.

Produced by European-based duo Radioclit (Johan Karlberg and Etienne Tron) and vocals by Malawi native Esau Mwamwaya, the collaboration of music and vocals are so enjoyable you will ignore the fact that you probably can’t understand 90 percent of the lyrics ‘-‘-‘ unless you speak Chichewa, of course.

You may have heard The Very Best’s free mix tape in 2008. The album featured remixes of popular indie songs by Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki and ‘Tengazako,’ a spectacular rearrangement of M.I.A.’s ‘Paper Planes.’

So, it’s no huge surprise that Warm Heart features appearances from both M.I.A. and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. The title track features Koenig pondering if ‘hip-hop’s hereditary’ over a fun, bubbly backbeat. ‘Rain Dance’ with M.I.A. has Mwamwaya and Maya singing in between handclaps, whistles and whispers.

Production by Karlberg and Tron is what makes this album a success. The sound, not necessarily the lyrics, is what make the songs so catchy. The words are irrelevant, but once translated, the subject matter ranges from feeling on top of your game to facing global issues.

Paying homage to his native country on ‘Agonde,’ Mwamwaya laments over the thousands that are killed each day ‘-‘- and not by natural causes. ‘Kada Manja’ literally translates to ‘Bloodstained’ and its frantic beat and violin highlights discusses how the world oppresses the innocent. Another track is called ‘Julia,’ but the thumping bass and Mwamwaya’s voice make it impossible to know if he is loving, hating or chasing her.

With all of the recent popularity of culturally-inspired pop music, Warm Heart of Africa is just that. It’s the next facet of indie afro-pop and is a perfect blend, plus a step above what has come before it.