Project Mama Earth's vibrant 2017 debut,
Mama Earth, finds soulful British vocalist
Joss Stone collaborating with an elite cadre of musicians led by virtuoso drummer
Jonathan Joseph on a set of original songs steeped in African, funk, and R&B musical traditions. Initially, the concept for the
Project Mama Earth band was born out of
Joseph's love of the traditional Cameroonian rhythms Mangambe and Bikutsi. A longtime
Jeff Beck associate and former musical director for
Stone,
Joseph had previously written a percussion manual detailing the connections between these African rhythms and American funk grooves. He invited
Stone to work on songs based around these concepts, eventually bringing on board guitarist
Nitin Sawhney, Cameroonian-born bassist/guitarist
Étienne M’Bappé, and keyboardist
Jonathan Shorten. Convening at
Stone's Devon-based home studio in June 2017, the
Project Mama Earth band began jamming together, writing and recording these songs over an intense and fruitful ten-day period. Impossibly, the plan worked and
Stone and her bandmates produced six original songs that belie their improvisational origin. Cuts like the title track, "Spring," and "Entanglement" are dance-ready, Afro-pop and soul-infused anthems rife with
Stone's environmentally conscious, globally aware lyrics and the band's kinetic, jazz- and soul-informed arrangements. Rounding out what would essentially be a six-song EP are five evocative instrumental interludes that further showcase the group's world music-informed connectivity. ~ Matt Collar