Released on Funk Night Records, this self titled album, introduces Kenako as a fully formed groove unit rather than a tentative first step. Pressed in the US as a 12" LP and tagged “organic grooves” by distributors, the record fits squarely into Funk Night’s lineage of deep, drummer‑led funk and global soul, yet carries its own particular flavour: a lean, horn‑heavy sound with a strong South African and pan‑African inflection, designed to hit hard at 45‑friendly tempos.
Across cuts like “27 Women,” “Ebonyphonics,” “Protea” and the title track, the band work a classic recipe with unfussy precision. Drums are dry and up front, riding crisp backbeats and syncopated fills; bass lines move with rubbery insistence rather than flash; rhythm guitars chop and ring in all the right gaps. Over the top, horns carry the melodic weight: punchy riffs, short call‑and‑response figures and occasional, compact solos that favour tone and phrasing over fireworks. “27 Women” opens the set with a mid‑tempo strut that feels instantly familiar yet hard to place, its horn line threaded through a groove that could slide into a DJ set beside deep‑cut ’70s sides without breaking stride.
Elsewhere, the palette widens slightly. “Ebonyphonics” hints at township jive and highlife, its sax and trumpet lines tracing bright, memorable shapes over a lightly shuffling rhythm section. “Protea” slows things down into a more contemplative, minor‑key space, the guitar leaning toward soul‑jazz voicings while the horns sketch a melody that lingers long after the track ends. Throughout, the production is intentionally unvarnished: instruments are close‑mic’d but not overly separated, a bit of tape grit and room sound left in to keep everything feeling present and human. It’s the kind of sound that rewards both needle‑dropping for breaks and full‑side immersion.
As a Funk Night LP, Kenako sits comfortably alongside labelmates who draw on Ethiopian jazz, Afrobeat and rare‑groove traditions, but it never collapses into pastiche. The playing is tight but relaxed, suggesting a band that knows this language well enough to inhabit it rather than mimic it. Melodies are strong enough to carry repeated listens; rhythms are locked yet nimble, allowing DJs to ride them and listeners to get lost in them. The fact that Funk Night’s own channel has pushed tracks like “27 Women” and “Ebonyphonics” via standalone uploads hints at how instantly usable these cuts are in the wild.
