SXSW Records

Chico Mann

New Jersey's Chico Mann is the alter ego and solo side project of Antibalas guitarist Marcos Garcia. On Analog Drift: Muy ... Esniqui, Mann explores the outer realms of Afrobeat with a Casio keyboard and a mother ship full of synthesizers. Call it 8-bit Afrobeat. In the wake of Antibalas' and Fela Kuti's recent mainstream accolades, every U.S. city of size has spawned an ensemble of devotees. Mann separates himself by taking the music in new directions, connecting Lagos and Latin America while updating the sound for 2010 and beyond. Mann's funky off-kilter chants are mostly sung in Spanish, soaring over soundscapes at once ancient and futuristic. "Go to That Place" and "Guáadal (El Silencio)" thump with 808 fury, while "Ilusión de Ti" and "All That Is Rising" enchant like the best of the Black President. The curveball: a reimagining of the Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime." Analog Drift is the same as it never was. (Thu., 11:15pm, Scoot Inn.)