"A new level of urgency, a new level of groove, this is an incendiary new album from a band that has built its reputation on a live experience over the last few years. I promise it will knock your socks off. This is music on a different level."
- Luka Symons, CKUA, Edmonton
"Formidable - a group of Canadians take on difficult Afrobeat syncopations behind a Nigerian poet, a man bursting with startlingly dramatic diction and much presence, and emerge with credit. Ikwunga The Afrobeat Poet may in waking life be a lovely personality, but in performance he sounds very cold and very cross, exactly the sort of man you wouldn't willingly disappoint. The title Deep Sleep refers to the trance state into which African leaders have been lulled and corrupted. Remind you of someone? Yes, the late Fela, and indeed Ikwunga has been a regular performer at The Shrine in Lagos. So, some pedigree, and the musicians are up to the task: they are sharp, inventive and well-muscled."
- Rick Sanders, fROOTS (UK)
"...classic Afrobeat characteristics including syncopated melodies, technically compelling grooves and layered vocals [...] Fela’s legacy remains well-maintained here in Toronto. - Chris Bilton, EYE Weekly, Toronto
Praise for the first two albums / live reviews:
"And finally, the awesome, Juno-nominated Mr. Something Something (easily one of my favourite band-names in all of music) brought the evening to a rollicking conclusion with their superfunky Afrobeat concoctions. What amazes me about their music is that in spite of all the busy-ness of the horns, guitar, bass, drums and vocals (not to mention the on-stage dancer and lead singer Johan Hultqvist's mesmerizing and tightly controlled flailing) there is a kind of spare-ness to the arrangements that almost let you visualize lines of music spilling off the stage and spreading among the dancers in the house - each one a kind of personal muse for movement."
- Jowi Taylor, CBC Radio Two
"If you were with us at Supermarket on Friday for ‘On the Map’ you know what these guys are capable of. Everybody in the room was dancing, me included, terrifyingly enough. This is why, Mr. Something Something, a song called The Wanting. ...taken from a CD, which is really fantastic, called the Edge. If you’ve never seen them before, trust me when I tell you that they put on a fantastic live show."
- Matt Galloway, host of CBC Radio’s Here & Now
"...it's all here: punchy horn riffs, jazzy drums, percolating guitars and percussion galore.... these guys rank with any Afrobeat in the world today."
- David Dacks, EXCLAIM!
"Featuring more exotic instruments than you can shake a Gun-gon stick at, local Afrobeat sextet Mr. Something Something mix such tongue-twisting tools as Kpanlogo drums, borborbor hand drums, Ashanti gourd rattles and Frychiwa metal castanets with more conventional noisemakers (tenor and baritone sax, bass, guitar) into an infectious blend of percolating polyrhythms, layered horn punches and hot-stepping basslines. ...The Edge makes for an album-length extended groove that can, in a live setting, spell dancefloor heaven..."
- Ryan Watson, eye Weekly
"With authentic African rhythms, a fantastic horn section, hand drums and rattles from Ghana, spirited male and female vocals it's almost impossible not to be moved by the sheer intensity of Mr. Something
Something's desire to get funky."
- Jordy Yack, PULSE
"You catch this Toronto band live, this Mr. Something Something, and you're a changed person. Next day, you're still dancing, hypnotized by the entrancing rhythms carried first hand across the waters from West Africa and made personal by this distinctive team."
- Halley Southgate, MUZIK ETC
"...a celebration exploding with rich tones and vibrant beats, a throwback to something primal, infectious and seductive. ...dares even the dance–challenged to try and sit still
during a live performance.“
- Peter Klaassen, VIEW Magazine
"Throughout a two-hour set at the Casbah, the sextet of Mr. Something Something proved that they rank with any Afrobeat in the world today with soaring, vibrant horn lines rolling through passionate vocals filled with conscious lyricism..."
- Shain Shapiro, EXCLAIM!
“…suggestive of hot climates, late-night clubland communion and head-swiveling propulsion. In a word, it’s groovy baby!”
- Dean Gordon-Smith, Vernon Morning Star
"...loaded with spirit, welcomed exuberance, and rhythmic muscle. [...] A careful blend of inspired vocals and instrumental punch make each piece a gem in and of itself."
- Randy McElligott, Jazzreview.com
"Mr. Something Something have the West African-style groove-thing down pat. The beats are infectious and the horns are big, bold and beautiful."
- Chris Watson, VIEW Magazine
"...a welcome new flavour in the Canadian musical landscape."
- Doug Taylor, The Coast
"...you can't help but feel the vibe....cool and infectious..."
- Dylan Ferguson, The Manitoban
"...West African style that blissfully combines catchy lyrics with a variety of horns to make their fans get up and dance. Known not only for the music they make, but also for promoting a strong social conscience and for their sometimes acrobatic use of (often limited) stage space, these guys are worth seeing, midterms or no midterms!"
- McGill Tribune
"...all the ingredients of complete and utter afro-funk goodness. ...perhaps one of the most diverse bands on the Canadian independent scene."
- Valentino Assenza, Latchkey.net
Deep Sleep