Albums and Singles
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Band Bio
🇬🇧 AfuriKo is an African infused jazz duo comprised of percussionist Akiko Horii and pianist/keyboardist Jim Funnell. Like a modern-day griot, they celebrate traditional heritage from around the world through the prism of spellbinding rhythms and eccentric harmonies. On stage, Jim and Akiko engage in a quasi-telepathic dialogue. The ancestral stories of the djembe, integrated into a full hand percussion set alongside congas and cajon, blend seamlessly with the more modern colours of the acoustic piano, electric keyboards, and synth bass.
Their third opus Tao (2019), successfully funded on Kickstarter and released to critical acclaim with reviews on London Jazz News, All About Jazz, and Festival Peak, is a shamanic jazz journey from ancestral Africa to NYC, steeped in deep grooves with shades of Funk, Pop, Reggae, Bulgarian, and Enka music. The duo was featured on Congahead and has toured extensively in the UK (London Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s), the United States (ShapeShifter Lab), Japan (Kanazawa Jazz Street), France (Sunset-Sunside, Le Baiser Salé), Iceland (Skuggabaldur), Belgium (JAZZ), Switzerland (Territet & Co.), Uruguay (Jazz a la Calle), Germany (JazzLab), Holland (Theater Vrijburcht), Nepal (Jazzmandu), and South Korea (Jazz Alley).
🇫🇷 AfuriKo est un duo jazz infusé d’Afrique composé de la percussionniste Akiko Horii et du pianiste/claviériste Jim Funnell. Tel un griot des temps modernes, ils célèbrent ensemble un vaste patrimoine traditionnel à travers le prisme de rythmes envoûtants et d’harmonies atypiques. Sur scène, Jim et Akiko se livrent à un dialogue quasi télépathique. Les histoires ancestrales du djembé, intégré à un ensemble complet de percussions à main aux côtés des congas et du cajon, se mêlent sans heurts aux couleurs plus modernes du piano acoustique, des claviers électriques et de la basse au synthétiseur.
Leur troisième opus Tao (2019), financé avec succès sur Kickstarter et chroniqué dans des médias tels que London Jazz News, All About Jazz et Festival Peak, est un voyage jazz chamanique qui nous mène de l’Afrique ancestrale au New York contemporain, imprégné de grooves profonds avec des nuances de Funk, de Pop, de Reggae, de musique bulgare et d’Enka. Le duo s’est notamment produit sur le plateau de Congahead et en tournée au Royaume-Uni (London Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s), aux États-Unis (ShapeShifter Lab), au Japon (Kanazawa Jazz Street), en France (Sunset-Sunside, Le Baiser Salé), en Islande (Skuggabaldur), en Belgique (JAZZ), en Suisse (Territet & Co.), en Uruguay (Jazz a la Calle), en Allemagne (JazzLab), en Hollande (Theater Vrijburcht), au Népal (Jazzmandu) et en Corée du Sud (Jazz Alley).
Recent Videos
Press Quotes
“… a tuneful, joyous album that brings about a life-affirming sense of sunshine and light.“
– Graham Spry, London Jazz News
“… Tao blends African, Asian, and Western influences into a joyous melting pot of notes and rhythms.“
– Bob Hatteau, Improjazz
“… Tao is full of dualities…: simple and complex, exotic and highly listenable, bare-bones in format while busy and full in execution.“
– Geno Thackara, All About Jazz
“AfuriKo’s new music really flies in the face of jazz, opening up your ears to a world of possibilities.“
– Carol Banks Weber, Festival Peak
“Music that breathes, pulsates, bifurcates, trifles. That is unclassifiable and played with exquisite delicacy… Elaborate yet sincere and spontaneous all the while. AfuriKo is an absolutely atypical duo. … I urge you to discover them and slowly enter their world.“
– M. M., Afrique Asie
SoundCloud Audio Playlist