I'm listening to The Very Best as I write this and I'm feeling a strange emotion I think might be happiness. This band just has that effect on people (well, on me anyway).

The Very Best are from all over the place. Technically based in London, countries of origin between the three members include Malawai (singer Esau Mwamwaya), France (Etienne Tron; 1/2 of the Radioclit DJ duo) and Sweden (Johan Karlberg; the other 1/2). Together, this jubilant electro-Afropop trio creates crazily catchy club beats that will get the kids of any nation up and dancing.

There's something entirely life-affirming about The Very Best listening/live experience. Mwamwaya often sings in his native Chichewa language (and other languages, English among them) so I don't have conclusive proof that these songs are all about joy. But it sure sounds that way.

Since they first started putting out well-received underground mixtapes, the band has seen a rapid rise. They've already collaborated with some big names including M.I.A. (they remixed her very early on... guess she liked it), Santogold, The Ruby Suns, and most notably Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (he sings on their standout track "Warm Heart of Africa" --- The Very Best also admirably covered Vampire Weekend's "Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa").

When a band makes pretty much everyone who listens to them feel good all over (ok, maybe I'm just talking about me again), I'd bet my money they'll be sticking around for awhile. Yes, this is definitely happiness.



The Very Best play Lincoln Hall, on Friday, August 17th, and at The Dixon Stopover, on Saturday, August 18th.