Flamingods are a four-piece, multi-instrumental, multi-cultural band who originally met and formed in Bahrain & now call London home. The band was founded by Kamal Rasool and now consists of Rasool, Sam Rowe, Charles Prest & Karthik Poduval. The group puts a focus on exploration and experimentation, often taking influence from different cultures around the world by use of an extensive collection of instruments from as far as Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan and Tanzania.
Levitation is the follow-up to Flamingods’ breakthrough 2016 album Majesty and follows the ‘Kewali’ EP for Moshi Moshi and a one-off release with Dan Carey for his Speedy Wunderground singles club in 2017. During this time, they’ve performed live sessions at 6Music (with Gilles Peterson & Lauren Laverne), KEXP, Boiler Room and travelled the globe spreading their exotic psychedelia to the masses, getting people dancing from Austin to Amsterdam. The LP is inspired largely by the disco, funk and psychedelic sounds coming out of the Middle East and South Asia in the 70s, the album channels these influences through a vision soaked in mysticism, positivity and sun-drenched imagery. During the process of writing and recording, Flamingods found themselves living in the same continent for the first time in four years and it’s this new unified feel that defines the confident and eclectic sound of the album.
The stand out tracks come from opener ‘Paradise Drive’ which its Black Devil Disco Club vibe, the first single ‘Marigold’ a multi-sensory psych-rock trip that oozes fun out of every pore, a perfect antidote to turbulent times. ‘Astral Plane’ sounds like the great psych sounds coming from the Californian coast and you could be forgiven for getting a bit confused with it and ‘Moonshine on Water’ is a more melodic offering all together. ‘Club Coco’ utilises Eastern instrumentation cleverly to make something unique yet accessible and ‘Nizwa’ invokes imagery of hazy Arabian nights, with more than a hint of a sand dance.
This LP is a treat for anyone who likes their psych with world influences and a powerful, funky vibe that permeates throughout.
