J. P. BIMENNI & The Black Belts

JP Bim-Nyi is a Burundian artist based in the UK. Burundi is a small East African country with a bloody history that Bim-Nyi is no stranger to – he survived the infamous Kibimba school massacre when he was 16 and just months later he nearly lost his life for the second time in a gang shootout that left him seriously injured. He moved to the UK and has lived there ever since where he found his sonic calling channelling the spirit of Otis Redding. But he hasn’t forgotten his homeland, and as time goes on he tries to make sense of the society he grew up in and music helps him follow this path. A self-taught musician, he has been part of a multitude of bands and projects since 2002. A process that brings us to The Black Belts, a band of 6 renowned musicians from the Madrid scene formed in the studios of TucXone Records, where they have shaped their debut “Free Me”, a work brimming with ‘swamp soul’. Guitars, keyboards, a horn section, and the enveloping voice of Bimeni, all prepared to make you dance to the rhythm of rhythm’n’blues.

He doesn’t see the world through rose-colored glasses, but he radiates optimism in his second album, Give Me Hope, oscillating between the classic soul sound of the 60s, psychedelia and afro-funk. Powerful compositions with a restless rhythm supported by Bimeni’s voice, rich instrumentation with the presence of horns and an aftertaste of other negroid traces such as funky and R&B. Inspired by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and James Stern and driven by the wisdom of prolific creators like Lee Scratch Perry, without losing the pop sensibility.

An addictive and danceable track that doesn’t invent anything but revives the laurels of classic names of the invention like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Terry Callier, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes or Curtis Mayfield