Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra

Antibalas is a Bushwick, Brooklyn based afrobeat band that is modelled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music is primarily afrobeat, their music incorporates elements of jazz, funk, dub, improvised music, and traditional drumming from Cuba and West Africa.

Founded in winter 1998 by Martín Perna as "Conjunto Antibalas," the group played its inaugural concert in May of the following year. Over the course of the next few months, the group solidified with a core of eleven band members and began to develop a repertoire of original songs. Over the next few years, the band's presence grew; by summer 2000 Antibalas had released their first album "Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1" and had toured twice in England, all the while continuing to play at venues throughout New York City.

By early 2002, the horn-driven outfit had released their second album, "Talkatif," and were continuing to tour through...