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Ray & Tettey
Bongo Fury
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Bongo Fury
Ray formed one of Australia's first percussion bands 'Bongo Fury' in 1992. The band thrilled audiences all over Australia and overseas with their powerful drumming (conga, djembe, timbales, dun-dun and drum kit), percussion (shekere, cowbells), and vocals, based on Afro-Cuban and West African rhythms. Members of the band included Javier Fredes, Elvis Aljus and Cristian Silva, who are now established as some of Australia's finest and most in-demand Afro-Cuban & Latin percussionists.
Bongo Fury released their self-titled debut album in 1995 to rave reviews. 'Bongo Fury' was voted as one of the Top Ten Australian CDs of the Year by the Sunday Age Newspaper and runner up in Rhythm Magazine's Reader poll from the Best World Music Album. The music on the album covers freedom songs from South Africa, drumming from the Santeria cult of Cuba, Sri Lankan fishing songs and the arresting rhythms based around the djembe drum from West Africa.
Ray released a second album 'Home' in 1997, developing the sound of Bongo Fury to embrace the kalimba of Valanga Khosa, the guitar of Ross Hannaford, sax, bass and balafon.
Below are some samples from 'Home'
Track 1. Abidjan 370kb (Stereo 128k bits/second)
Track 3. Makola Market 370kb (Stereo 128k bits/second)
Track 5. Retreat Song 370kb (Stereo 128k bits/second)
From the press....
MELBOURNE -- Top Australian percussionist Ray Pereira has assembled some of the city's finest young percussionists to produce a delicious taste of Cuba. Basing itself on Afro-Cuban rhythms and chants such as Bembe, Guaguanco, and the Comparsa, his talented ensemble -- Bongo Fury -- creates the nearest thing to a Cuban carnival atmosphere the city is likely to get. The hypnotic rhythms, interspersed with some brilliant soloing, leave the audience with uncontrollably gyrating hips and the percussion fanatics inspired to go home and do hours of practice. It's quite unusual in Melbourne and a show well worth catching. The audience response has been tremendous. By Scott Lewington http://jinx.sistm.unsw.edu.au/~greenlft/1992/74/74p21b.htm
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Nii Tettey Tetteh
"Bongo Fury have produced.. a seamless flow of Cuban, West African, South African and Sri Lankan sounds. The result is spectacular.. Delicious rich rhythmical textures. Definately one to check out."
"Pereira along with his outstanding ensemble has fashioned a wonderfully eclectic recording... deserving a much wider audience."
CD of the week
"The album is resolutely divine.. Manage to somehow peacefully reproduce overlapping musical spaces while also cultivating a distinctively rampant "Bongo" personality... A culturally vibrant and finger smacking piece of recorded music."
