Genesis Owusu | Adelaide Festival 2022 review

Owusu’s music may span ragga, electro pop, hip-hop, soul, R’n’B and rock but it’s always underpinned by the funk.

Australian artist Genesis Owusu. Picture: Supplied

Genesis Owusu

Contemporary Music – Australia

ADELAIDE FESTIVAL

The Summerhouse

March 4

How does one begin to describe a gig by Genesis Owusu and the Black Dog Band without repeatedly using the word “funky”?

Owusu’s oeuvre may span ragga, electro pop, hip-hop, soul, contemporary R’n’B, rock and dash of punk – often mashed and meshed together in varying combinations – but it is always underpinned by the funk.

Funkiness isn’t confined to his music either: Owusu’s body can barely contain it, bursting out of his torso and every limb in a frenetic display of strutting dance moves beneath blood red lights to the ska rhythm of opening number The Other Black Dog.

“Who’s the pet and who’s the teacher?” he asks in its lyrics.

Adelaide Festival 2022. The Summerhouse – Genesis Owusu. Picture: Supplied

It’s often difficult to tell with Owusu’s music, which relentlessly mines the 1980s for inspiration, yet still comes out sounding fresh and original.

The Ghana born Australian singer slides into a falsetto for the smooth synth pop of WUTD (What You Tryna Do), which is part Prince and part Terence Trent D’arby.

His voice drops to a deep, semi-spoken rumble while the lights and smoke effects turn to a purple haze for Waitin’ on Ya, there’s a dub feeling underneath the rap of Gold Chains, and a grinding guitar to introduce a dash of Red Hot Chili Peppers on Black Dogs!

The band even dares to mash up 80s rivals on Whip Cracker, quoting the “ma-ma-se, ma-ma-sa” lyrics of Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ with a jam lifted straight from Prince’s old band The Revolution.

It’s singalong time for the young, sellout crowd on the pure pop of Don’t Need You, the Mi-Sex meets Real Life computer game synths of Drown (which also seems to borrow some of its vocal melody from Bryan Adams’ Summer of ’69), and the dreamy ballad A Song About Fishing.

Backing singer and rising neo-soul star KYE deserves a little more of the literal spotlight, but gets a chance to show off her vocal chops on a soaring, gospel-infused rendition of No Looking Back.

The joint was jumping for the jaunty, appropriately titled closing number Good Times, but it didn’t take much to lure Owusu and his band back for a frantic encore rendition of Anarchy in the UK, which owed more to Devo than the Sex Pistols.