Winston McAnuff & Fixi - Big Brothers (Chapter Two Records/Wagram)

The seeds for this album project where sown when in December of 2015, Winston and Fixi organized a New Year's Eve party for the trans-migrants stranded in France, with the New Year being celebrate every two hours, each time in a different language and synchronized with a different time zone. In the same vein, the ten songs on 'Big Brothers' have also become a kaleidoscope of styles, from Cuban influences in opener and title track 'Big Brother', over Fixi's funky accordion chords in 'I Cam I Saw' (one of the immediate highlights in the track list) and the gospel influences in 'Think' (in which McAnuff shares his personal credo: "Think, observe and listen!", the path that should lead to wisdom), to the folk pop of 'Black Bird' and the disco meets hip-hop of 'One Note', to which Portuguese-Angolan rapper Pongo adds an extra dimension. Again, no, this is not a reggae album, but the often socially inspired and spiritual lyrics of Winston still breathe the spirit of the genre. Excellent fascinating crossover album by two musical brothers proving age, race and descent should not be barriers for true musical brotherhood.