Strut Records

Ackamoor, Idris & The Pyramids – Afro Futuristic Dreams – [2xLP IMPORT] – New LP

$ 34.00

Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids are back with their first major new studio album in over 3 years, an epic, sprawling new work exploring the future, the past and the urgent reality of the present, ‘Afro Futuristic Dreams’.
<a href="https://idrisackamoor.bandcamp.com/album/afro-futuristic-dreams">Afro Futuristic Dreams by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids</a>

Recorded between San Francisco and London and brought together by the genius of Malcolm Catto at his analogue Quatermass Studio, the new recording represents another bold step in Ackamoor’s ever-evolving journey in jazz, adding full, intricate scores including string sections and choral elements to the Pyramids’ trademark
spiritual Afro-jazz sound. Driven by the core Pyramids members Ackamoor (sax, keytar, organ), Margaux Simmons (flute), Sandra Poindexter (violin) and Bobby Cobb (guitar), tracks range from hard-hitting commentaries about police brutality (‘Police Dem’) to celebrations of the ancestors and departed loved ones (‘Requiem For The Ancestors’, ‘Re-Memory’) and hazy cosmic journeys, including the album’s title track and the sparkling, experimental closer, ‘Nice It Up’.

The recording is the Pyramids’ first new release since the acclaimed ‘Shaman!’ in 2020 and rides a wave of interest in the band around their 50th Anniversary this year.
Alongside a box set reissue on Strut bringing together their rare early ‘70s albums for the first time, the band have headlined Le Guess Who festival in Utrecht with an accompanying exhibition of their history and have played major concerts at Presidio Theatre in L.A. and Zebulon in San Francisco. They will be playing a full European tour in Autumn 2023.

“This album has been many years in the making,” explains Ackamoor. “Back in late 2020, I set out to compose the first in a series of scores to take The Pyramids sound into brave new territory. All of the tracks involve issues that the core band is passionate about and the recording was a complex process involving many musicians and vocalists across two different time zones.”

releases September 22, 2023

2023, Strut Records - a division of K7 Music GmbH

The Pyramids originally came together in 1972 at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio where teachers included renowned pianist, Cecil Taylor. After forming in Paris and embarking on a “cultural odyssey” across Africa, the group recorded three independent albums, ‘Lalibela’ (1973), ‘King Of Kings’ (1974) and ‘Birth / Speed / Merging’ (1976) and became renowned for their striking live shows, mixing percussive, spiritual and space-age jazz with performance theatre and dance. After migrating to San Francisco, they disbanded in 1977. 35 years later, the band reunited in 2012 following growing demand for their music from vinyl collectors.