Project Mama Earth Review: Mama Earth

Project Mama Earth is a fascinating band, and with their 2017 debut, Mama Earth, we get to enjoy the fruits of this multi-cultural union. British vocalist Joss Stone is collaborating with a select team of musicians, led by drummer Jonathan Joseph. Comprising of Stone (vocals), Nitin Sawhney (guitar), Jonathan Joseph (drums), Étienne M’Bappé (bass/guitar) and Jonathan Shorten (keyboards). The album has a set of eleven original songs steeped in African, funk, and R&B musical traditions. The project started when British soul singer Stone and her former musical director Joseph hit on the Mama Earth concept of an album driven by the dynamic rhythms of Africa. The whole project is about Mother Nature. The music is full of infectious dynamic singing and dance-ready Afro-pop and soul-infused grooves all framed with Stone’s environmentally conscious lyrics. The album contains six vocal tracks and is rounded out with five instrumental interludes that further showcase the group’s world music-informed connectivity. The music is a wonderful collection of the melding of Cameroonian, Mangambe and Bikutsi rhythms with American funk grooves. Music to feed the soul, and that’s the short of it!