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Demon Fuzz’s 1970 album "Afreaka!" is one I play on loop for many times, and every time I listen to it, it gives me the BEST 70s vibes! It is a happy-psychedelic loop. 🎇

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"Afreaka!" is the debut studio album of British (rock? soul?) band Demon Fuzz, which was active from 1968 until 1972. It is also the band's only record during that time. The album is an excellent illustration of the genre-bending spirit of early 1970s experimental music. It's fusion in short, with every conceivable 70s vibe present – jazz fusion, progressive rock, funk, psychedelic soul, and jazz rock. 🌟

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In the same year, they also release a 14-minute maxi-single (3 singles) that includes a cover of "I Put a Spell on You" by the well-known Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Although every version of "I Put a Spell on You" is fantastic (the original is, of course, the craziest one), I always favor Nina Simone's version above other versions. However, this one from Demon Fuzz might be my runner-up! 

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The group is commonly compared to (and found similar to) acts like Funkadelic and Cymande. I do understand the Cymande reference, as both bands are British, and all these bands share an experimental approach to their music, blending various genres; still, I think each has a distinct sound. And here, Demon Fuzz has a great story behind their music:

When founder Paddy Corea and his former bandmates (from "Blue Rivers and Maroons") travel to Morocco to perform at an event, they are deeply influenced by what they describe as "Sufian Arabic music."

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Here is a quotation from Klemen Breznikar’s interview for PsychedelicBabyMag

"The rhythms, the sufi arabic musical scale, the twirling heads, and of course kiff (hashish). Our experience was a transformation for some of us. Demon Fuzz was born there. Not the name but the idea.

The concept behind the album is the concept behind the band. Get away from the three chord music with the 2nd and 4th snare drum beat that was the all encompassing rhythm pattern for most of the music we heard and played. We had a lot more to say musically."

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As they get back to the UK from the Sahara, they form this new band, “Demon Fuzz,” for a new kind of music.

 

And it continues with Matthew Court’s article for WaxPoetic

“It was while in Morocco that my idea for a different kind of band and a different kind of music was born,” says Corea. “I was at this time exposed to a new kind of music that didn’t have a Western European scale. I learnt the Sufi Arabic scale and the pentatonic scale there. I heard all these tribal musicians from the interior playing various drums, reed instruments, and a kora, which is a stringed instrument with a calabash as a resonator. These chaps would play the hell out of this thing, as good as a Yehudi Menuhin. All this synthesized into what influenced me to try a different approach to my music. Some of the members of the Maroons understood and appreciated my ideas, and were thinking of similar things, so we formed Demon Fuzz on our return to the UK.” 

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I –naturally- searched for “Sufi Arabic scale” and the pentatonic scale. The "Sufi Arabic scale" seems to be a term used to describe “the unique melodic modes and scales used in Arabic music,"  particularly in Sufi contexts. 

So what Paddy Corea describes as learning the 'Sufi Arabic scale' during his travels likely refers to his exposure to the unique melodic structures (maqamat) used in Arabic music. Arabic music traditionally uses a system of scales called "maqamat" (singular: مقام, maqam). “A maqam” is not just a scale but a set of rules and conventions that guide the melodic development within a piece of music, and each maqam has its own distinct mood and character. Maqamat is said to use microtones, which are intervals smaller than the semitones found in Western music. These microtones are what give Arabic music its unique, richly nuanced sound.

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Also, the mention of a pentatonic scale alongside the "Sufi Arabic musical scale" suggests they encountered music based on five notes per octave. This is said to be a common feature in many musical traditions around the world, including some forms of Arabic music. The pentatonic and hexatonic scales are said to be common in many traditional and folk music styles across the Middle East and North Africa, including Sufi music.

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After listening to a couple bands from the 1970s in Morocco (like Attarazat Addahabia!), I could hear the "Habibi Funk" tones in "Afreaka!" and their 1970 maxi-single more clearly! “Afreaka!” is one of the most beaming and trippy jazz rock albums of the 1970s, a great fusion of several elements!

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"I Put a Spell on You"—although not on the "Afreaka!" album—with Demon Fuzz's funky take on this classic is definitely my favorite! 💎

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Gülben - 05/2024

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📖 Gabe Vodicka for TinyMixTapes

📖 Peddy Corea Interview @ TheSelfPortraitGospel

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🎶 Genre: Funk

For other Funk content on site: CLASSIC GROOVE FUNK

For all archive: FUNK ARCHIVE

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