Mim Suleiman

Exhange, Bristol

Mim Suleiman – a vocalist from Zanzibar who has previously appeared as part of Damon Albarn’s Africa Express – led a band of incongruous instrumentalists at the Exchange in Bristol, appearing alongside the ever-inventive and genre-nobbling Bass Clef. Singing in Swahili, Suleiman cut a slight yet imposing figure on stage, her vocals surfing a pretty impressive wave of sound from the 7 piece supporting band (British session musicians, but clearly aficionados of African rhythms and aesthetics, even if their weapons of choice included the decidedly un-African fiddle and flute). The pre-show publicity was perhaps a little misleading: Mim Suleiman was promoted as a bridge between rootsy rhythms and electronic, disco tropes. Although some of the material was layered over a metronomic disco stomp, the songs leant much more heavily on the broken beats and cyclical rhythms of more traditional afrobeat styles.

Given that Maurice Fulton has produced two of her albums in the past, a little more electronic jiggery pokery could have lifted the show to another level. As it was, the audience (strangely) spent lots of time shouting loudly at each other during and between the songs, leaving Mim to holler her between song banter (split between airing hypothetical grievances and celebrating the musicianship of the band) over the din. But by the finale of the performance – a ten minute freeform funk wig-out that featured Rhodes, drum and saxophone solos – Mim had their full attention. Proper fusion business: frisky, frenetic and soaked in soul.