Lawrence English writes that "their unique sound is difficult to categorize as they draw from a wide range of musical reference points, preferring to combine sonic elements freely to create fresh compositions. Their sound is an electrifying mix of often unrelated musical styles, similar to Robert Rauschenberg's 'combines,' resulting in something greater than the sum of its parts." Australia's percussion guru Ben Walsh says they are "one of the best Australian fusion bands I have ever seen come out of Australia."
Founded in 1997 after a series of low-key jams, Afro Dizzi Act began building a reputation as one of Brisbane's most impressive and vigorous live acts. The band's dedication to funk, jazz and odd-time rhythmic explorations led to the release of a limited run of CDs recorded at the Woodford Folk Festival in 1999.
In 2002, Afro Dizzi Act released their debut studio album, "Audio Cookie”, which blended hip hop, drum, and bass and propelled the band onto the Australian festival and touring circuit. The band began to attract international attention by headlining festivals such as the Woodford Folk Festivals, the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival, The Big Day Out, the Valley Fiesta, and Livid.
While continuing to tour and grow its reputation in Australia, the band pursued jazz and world music sensibilities. They attended Nepal's premier jazz festival, Jazzmandu, for two years and Jazz Mahajalis in Dubai, where they performed alongside Trilok Gurtu. The band's invitation by the Indian government to perform on Indian Independence Day led to their tour of North East India, making them the first Western band to tour there. These experiences culminated in the release of the band's "Go with the 'Fro 2000-2003" album, showcasing their sonic palate and global influences.
Their funky crispness led to partnering with cult record store Butter Beats, which resulted in two instrumental tracks, “Welcome Speech” and “Let Yourself Go” that received extensive radio play throughout Australia and are available globally as collectable 45's.
The band's tours of North East India and Nepal influenced their creative output, as evidenced by their second studio album, "Walkin”. Featuring Nepal's tabla maestro Dheeraj Shrestha and Senegambian Kora master, Jali Buba Kuyateh, the album "shows off the band's penchant for dizzy instrumentation coupled with the understated fun." Flagship track "Drop Off" was licensed by Ubiquity Records for the soundtrack "Under the Sun".
A distribution deal with Vitamin Records in 2008 allowed Afro Dizzi Act to consolidate their existing work and focus on developing new material for their third studio album, "Peace, Love Unity". A collaboration with Kuyateh, the album affirmed the band's cultural diversity and global perspective. "Peace, Love, Unity" was voted in the top 10 world music albums by JJJ listeners in 2008 and was showcased at AWME (Australian World Music Expo) in Melbourne in 2009.
Unifying the eclectic sound of Afro Dizzi Act is the depth, feel, and telepathy developed from over 20 years of playing together, their collective compositional skills, and exceptional musicianship. As respected industry professionals, the members of Afro Dizzi Act are regularly enlisted as session musicians to perform with many highly acclaimed Australian artists such as John Butler, Xavier Rudd, The Whitlams, Ash Grunwald, Bernard Fanning, Greg Sheehan, Katie Noonan as well as International artists like Robert Randolph, Marcio Bahia, Jason Rabello and Don Burrows. The band curated 2017/18 New Year's Eve performance to 10,000 festival goers on the Amphitheatre stage at Woodford.
Line Up
Nick Aggs – Saxophone (JZ Big Band – China’s premier jazz big band)
Ant Aggs – Keyboard (Xavier Rudd, Toni Childs)
Shannon Sol Carroll – Guitar (Bernhard Fanning)
Oj Newcomb – Bass (John Butler, the Whitlams)
Charles Wall – Drums (Bobby Alu, Xavier Rudd)
- ‘PEACE, LOVE & UNITY’ - ALBUM REVIEW:
As one of Brisbane/ Nth NSW’s most active and wildly talented funk collectives, Afro Dizzi Act have been forging a path through Afrobeat, dub, and heavy funk for more than a decade, bringing a ton of good vibes to the masses over the years. Since hooking up with Senegalese Kora master and vocalist Jali Buba Kuyateh four years ago, they have headed deeper into the heart of Africa, and this is reflected on their latest release, ‘Peace Love & Unity’. A brilliant live band, Afro have captured their vibe perfectly here - anyone who caught them at Island Vibe can attest to their power. This is true Afrobeat, strongly influenced by masters such as Fela Kuti - layers of simple rhythm cascade and mesh together to form a hypnotic and, overall, complex beast of a sound that can’t fail to get feet tapping and heads nodding. Throughout tracks like ‘Toubabau’ and ‘The Pilgrim Returns’, there is a sunny, heady vibe that just screams authentic, good time summer music. The rhythm section (OJ Newcombe and Mark Henman) is bedrock, keeping the whole band nailed down with finesse and feeling throughout, while Sol Carrol and Nick Aggs provide the melody and flourish. Marcello jumps up for a suitably infectious wail on ‘Do You Love’, and the overall impression is that this is a band completely hitting their straps in terms of confidence, knowledge and musicality.
There is a bonus disc available with a pile of dope remixes from the album. Afro Dizzi Act are an essential part of the musical landscape up here - this release says they’ll be around for a long time. - SCENE MAGAZINE 25.11.09
“One of the best Australian fusion bands I have ever seen come out of Australia.” Ben Walsh (The Bird, Circle of Rhythm).
“Having travelled to several international jazz festivals in Dubai and Kathmandu, the group are currently preparing for their next jaunt overseas to India. It's no wonder Afro Dizzi Act have been successful in the exportation of their sophisticated jazz grooves – they’re easily the most skilled and versatile of their local contemporaries and rarely fall short of expectations.”
(Lawrence English, Timeoff Magazine July 23rd 2003)
"The extraordinary fusion of jazz, funk, rock, hip hop and electronic sounds of Brisbane's super group Afro Dizzi Act had the whole crowd up on their feet and swarming to the stage area. Hundreds started swaying and jumping to their funky grooves and catchy lyrics."
(Nepali Times 2003)
Afro's rhythmic jams have become the stuff of inner city legend. They manage to combine a natural approach to their music with a deadly precision when it comes to both arrangement and instrumentation." Gavin Sawford (Editor. Rave & Street Press)
-"Afro dizzi Act have a lot to answer for. They're partly responsible for giving Brisvegas its reputation a city that knows how to fuse its funk, jazz, rock & hip hop." Joel Dullroy (Courier Mail)
