Antibalas: Live from the House of Soul

The 12-piece Afrobeat collective Antibalas plays a live set in Daptone Records' Brooklyn backyard in this entry from the label's concert series, interweaving black-and-white interview segments between the full-color song performances. Director Philip Di Fiore employs fancy camerawork, including sharply-angled shots, deeply saturated color, and blurred-out backgrounds on the four-song brass-and-organ-heavy set list, featuring "Dirty Money," "The Ratcatcher," "Him Belly No Go Sweet," and "Såré Kon Kon." Trumpet player Jordan McLean credits a party he attended in London for introducing him to Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, who was a primary influence on Antibalas's jazz-funk sound, in which call-and-response vocals play a secondary role to instrumental interplay. Other speakers include singer and percussionist Duke Amayo, saxophone player Martín Pena, and 21-year-old drummer Miles Arntzen, who joined the band when he was only 18 (although he could play in clubs while underage, he had to leave immediately afterwards). Because Di Fiore keeps his focus on the band, it's hard to tell whether an audience actually witnessed the set while it took place, especially since the musicians mostly look at their instruments or at each other. Unfortunately, weighing in at a mere half-hour plus, this feels more like an introduction to the group instead of a full-fledged documentary, despite the band's spirited playing. Presented in stereo, this is a strong optional purchase. (K. Fennessy)