Afro-funk bandleader Bibi Tanga and groove-heavy accompaniment The Selenites are excited to team up with Nat Geo Music in preparation for their American debut release of Dunya on June 1. Joining forces once again with producer Professeur Inlassable, Bibi Tanga and The Selenites -comprised of Arthur Simonini on violin and keyboards, Rico Kerridge on guitar and Arnaud Biscay on drums- follow up after the acclaim of their 2003 release Yellow Gauze and 2009 It's The Earth That Moves EP. Though they've already made a stir in France, the group now unites with Nat Geo Music to bring their fashion-forward funk vision to audiences worldwide.
"It was like magic," states Bibi on working with Professeur Inlassable. "He knew exactly what we wanted and exactly what he wanted – and knew how to bring it out of us... but also how to get out of the way!"
Dunya takes listeners on a wild, eclectic tour through the history and pre-history of funk, layering Afrobeat rhythms over electro-tinged soul and cosmopolitan trans-Atlantic grooves. Together with The Selenites, the duo forges a stunningly original new sound, and creates a space where Afro-futurism meets steampunk, Fela Kuti jams with Sidney Bechet, and Marcel Duchamp gets down to Chic. A seamlessly appropriate fit for the internationally focused National Geographic music label.
