Antibalas

The Afrobeat band Antibalas were formed in Harlem, New York in 1998. The band was the brainchild of Martín Perna, a teacher who worked in Brooklyn. During the next few months Perna began to shape the band, eventually settling on an 11-piece format although this has remained fluid during the band's career and at times with a full horn and rhythm section the band can have as many as 15 players. They have toured internationally performing shows across the globe including Europe, the UK and South America. One of the band's best-known tracks is "Dirty Money" from 2012 a slickly-produced afro-groove which was accompanied by a video featuring muppet characters. The track and the accompanying video projected the band's sound around the world and helped to build the band's international following. Following Liberation Afro Beat Vol. 1 under the name Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra in 2001, Antibalas have recorded the studio albums Talkatif (2002), Who Is This America? (2004), Security (2007), Antibalas (2012), Where the Gods Are in Peace (2017), Fu Chronicles (2020), and Hourglass (2025).