Makes a King

The Very Best are a duo, Johan Hugo and Esau Mwamwaya, who met in London's Hackney. They won a good deal of attention with their 2009 debut Warm Heart of America and 2012's MTMTMK. Things have been rather difficult for the duo, due to Mwamwaya's visa problems: the UK government declined his visa and he resettled in Malawi. That's where Makes a King was recorded and their sound is fuller and more relaxed. Still, this is in no way a ‘return to roots.’ They have often been compared to Paul Simon's fusion of pop and South African music on Graceland and the comparison is equally apt here. Which is no bad thing – Makes a King is smooth, sunny, sweet music, with Mwamwaya's glorious voice soaring above Hugo's rich, melodic bed of keyboards. The songs vary between straight pop (‘Hear Me’) and more African-flavoured tunes (‘Mwanga Wanga’). Occasionally recalling the successful Nigerian-English pop duo The Lighthouse Family, Makes a King could well replicate such success.