Somnambule - Writing About Music

Hu Vibrational ~ Beautiful

Preceeded only by an ep of bewitchingly mellow and deeply soulful percussive stylings, this cd sees Hu Vibrational stretch their initial template out over almost 50 minutes, occasionally expanding their lineup with guests from the West Coast hiphop scene. The group are a duo comprising Hamid Drake on trap, udu and slit drums and Adam Rudolph on a wide variety of other percussion instruments (let your eye play over some of their names: kalimbas, cajon, qarqarba, surdo, dusu’ngoni, gimbre...) From the first moment Hu Vibrational’s music communicates with remarkable delicacy and clarity and casts a series of wholly natural spells. Bewitched, it seems as if you might look down to discover an earth floor beneath your bare feet while the transparency of the recording makes it seem as if Drake and Rudolph were playing right in front of you. An album of percussion duets might appear a little daunting, but there’s great tonal and sonic variety throughout. It’s difficult to resist the impulse to get up and move to this music: the whole recording in fact is full of irresistible rhythms centred around hypnotic grooves to which my children dance smilingly. Hearing Hu Vibrational is like encountering an unexpected oasis of generosity, warmth and fascination.
Colin Buttimer
March 2004
Published by Jazzwise magaziine