Elements of Life

MAW man Louis goes off on a solo tip for this project. Where Kenny revels in all things hip-hop on his one-man missions, Louis’ territory is jazz, funk, soul, bossa and latino. And while some of it is dangerously close to Dunnes Stores territory (‘A Better Day’, ‘Ma Mi Mama’), the soulful stylings of ‘Cerca De Mi’, the heavy, percussive afrobeat-influenced ‘Summer Night…’ and ‘Africa/Brasil’ and the mambo-tastic ‘Quimamabo’ are excellent. Not for the casual MAW fan then, but open-eared types and world music fans should lap this up.