Afrobeat was real popular about 40 years ago, and it’s even bigger now. However, flying the Kuti offspring down under is not a particularly cost-effective exercise, so a bunch of Melbourne cats got together and decided to do it themselves. Public Opinion Afro Orchestra are seriously talented and more than that, they’re seriously good fun. There’s 16 of them in the band, which means plenty of horns, oodles of percussion and all the other stuff you won’t get from your average Pitchfork act. Norman Jay carries the beat on after the show, and he has an MBE and everything. There you have it; world music, officially recommended by the Empire.
