Super review by Cal Gibson, of The Secret Soul Society and Scruffy Soul Recordings.

Stacked with six tracks, full to bursting with warmth and kindness, hearts pumped with hope, eyes fixed on a brighter tomorrow, Goshinboku is a genuinely affecting piece of work. Cross-cultural currents run deep, melodies sparkle, silvery slices of subaqua rhythms slip in and out of aural consciousness. A Night In Belice, for example, bumps to a slithery bassline, Sibusile Xaba‘s vocal spread lusciously over the soundbed – here is the fourth world party, irresistible and inviting, the lure of the dance always uppermost in the listener’s mind. Primary colours abound, sploshed all over the canvas with glee – this is multi-faceted music-making, globally-inclined, always on the move. Ease up on yourself and ease up on those around you: the message is love.

Sunrise in Lagos continues the sweet-natured jaunt, Sibusile again giving a wonderful performance. The beats swing, the synth lines are bold and beautiful – the West African mega-city metropolis reimagined as innocent child. The new day rises and everything is remade, yesterday’s sorrows take flight: be in the now, embrace the change that is surely coming. Today is all we have: grasp it and hold tight people. Keep the faith.

La Ceiba hands vocal duties to Yadira Ferrer and she slays it: Kevin Diaz‘s warm keys surrounding the groove, exchanging licks with Pau Vidal‘s flute – it’s a joyous romp through jazzual pastures, with faint echoes of Hermeto Pascoal perhaps, inhabiting a vibe not a million miles away from Ron Trent‘s recent awesome offerings. It’s soulful as hell, washed down with stunning musicianship and a keen ear for the authentic – a coming together of the tribes, a bowing-down before the gods of the dance.

They save the best for last though, with Mama: a low-slung ode to womanhood that stokes the fires of delight. Sibusile steps up again, the synths hit the DX7 groove for that indelible `80s vibe, the melodies invoking the love and pain of motherhood, the joy and terror of bringing new life into being. It packs a real emotional punch and rounds off a mini-album of many voices, many styles and a pan-global vision of unity and togetherness that we need today just as surely as we ever have done.

Goshinboku then is a compelling piece of artistry that will be cropping up in sets and scenarios all over the world this coming summer. You just can’t deny something this powerful: it’s the voice of the music-makers shouting out to everyone willing to listen what it is to love and to be loved. We know already, of course, but it sure can’t hurt to be reminded. Now someone go tell the bomb-makers and the life-takers: we come in peace for all mankind indeed.

Anthonius` Goshinboku is out now on Tokonoma Records.