For nearly 15 years, the gifted band The Volunteered Slaves has been captivating audiences with their incandescent blend of jazz, funk, pop, and Afrobeat. Four years after The Day After , the group returns with Ripcord, an album that's just as groovy but more vocally driven, featuring four young hip-hop singers (Indy Eka, Mafé, Kiala Ogawa, and Raphaela Cupidin) and slam poet Allonymous, who has performed with Walkmen, Dafonk, The Afrorockerz, and Doctor L. Always in search of the "danceable sound," the collective has also invited organist Emmanuel Bex and bassist Geraud Portal.

The group, which takes its name from Roland Kirk's "Voluntary Slavery," once again takes us on a festive and eclectic sonic journey, singing in English, Creole, Japanese, and Arabic. After blasting through Herbie Hancock's "Rock It" and Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" on their previous album, The Volunteered Slaves now deliver spacey versions of Pink Floyd's "Us and Them," the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," and The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." With perfectly crafted orchestrations, dazzling funk rhythms, politically charged lyrics, and top-notch original tracks ("Kahina," "Watersplash," and "The Gambler"), this new album is an invitation to both daydream and dance.

- Guillaume Schnee for FIP, Radio France-

Olivier Temime - Sax

Emmanuel Duprey - Keyboards

Emmanuel Bex - Organ

Akim Bournane- Basse

Julien Charlet - Drums

2021@DayAfterMusic