Extra Golden occupy an interesting place in the modern indie scene. While so many bands base their sounds off of African-inspired themes, largely via the influence of Paul Simon's seminal record Graceland, Extra Golden themselves are actually borne out of African traditions, without the distillation of westernization process and the watering-down effect of simulacra. Members Alex Minoff and Ian Eagleson were members of the now defunct Golden, a band whose technical acrobatics, stylistic versatility, and the fact that they had far too much soul for a bunch of academic white boys rendered them under the radar of mainstream acceptance. Drummer Jon Theodore went on to man the set for the Mars Volta; no mean feat for a drummer. Eagleson, a fervent student of ethnomusicology, followed his interest in African music to Kenya, where he immersed himself in the Benga style of music popular in Kenya. Combining with Opiyo Bilongo, Onyango Wuod Omari and Onyango Jagwasi, the American ex-patriots have managed to organically create a music that straddles different musical cultures but compromises neither.

I had a chat with the band on the smoking Patio behind the Echo prior to their first ever Los Angeles show. The band was noticeably stressed from having to deal with visa issues for a proposed tour of the United Kingdom, guitarist Alex Minoff especially. I got the sense that he pulls the strings in the business aspect of the band. The Kenyan members were endearingly shy at first, both in person and on stage. They spoke in hushed tones and didn't speak out of turn, a sharp contrast to Minoff who took the reigns in the interview. Even when prompted, their responses were almost inaudibly whispered under their breath in a broken English. Congruously, they began their performance timidly, looking out over the audience with wide eyes and hiding behind their instruments. As the show wore on, however, and as they realized that the crowd, though small, was fervently in support of their music, the performers in them began to spring forth. By the end it looked like they were having a great time on stage. This energy bounced back symbiotically from the crowd. There was not an unbobbed head or an untapped toe in the house.

Their performance was wonderful, one of the most inspiring shows I have been to in ages. They played for almost an hour and a half, all of songs ten minutes in length or greater--and I never got the feeling of itchy feet once. They were tight, driven by Omari's incisive drumming, which he managed to accomplish while also undertaking vocal duties. The songs were all upbeat; an integral tenet of Benga music is its entertaining and uplifiting nature. Many of the songs on the new album Hera Ma Nono have themes of longing and sadness, concepts largely driven by the death of original lead singer Otieno Jagwasi (brother of Onyango). I asked the band if the creation of high-tempo songs made to please and entertain posed a juxtaposition with their more melancholy themes. Minoff responded by telling me that in Benga music and Kenyan culture, the instrumental music does not dictate the mood of a song but rather presents a stage upon which the lyrics can tell a story.

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of the LA2DAY exclusive with Extra Golden!