As if it were a night in Addis Ababa in the golden years of Ethio-Jazz: Flutes, saxophones, vibraphone in classic Amharic scales over rhythms as celebrated by Mulatu Astatke, shuffling, driving, relaxed in the groove. The Sorcerers may hail from Leeds in the UK, but on their third album, their first in four years, they are not only experts in Ethiopian styles, but also draw inspiration from other 1970s aesthetics. They are spiritually related to Mulatu Astatke. After all, he too studied music from all over the world and incorporated Latin American styles into his music, for example. But at the heart of »I Too Am A Stranger« is the kind of Ethiopian jazz that has found an audience in the Western world, especially since Jim Jarmusch’s film »Broken Flowers«. The Sorcerers embed their pieces in a lean sound that elegantly, transparently and powerfully transports the sound signatures of the 1970s into the present. Astatke himself has given them his blessing—so nothing can really go wrong.
Kamasi Washington
Fearless Movement
XL Recordings