“After hearing the finished track, I thought, ‘Wow, I never knew how busy playing one note could sound’”: The story behind the deceptive bassline on a politically charged ’70s anthem that was later covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

“It’s the most syncopated bassline I’ve ever played.” So said funk legend George Porter Jr. about the Meters’ 1974 anthem Africa.

Speaking to Bass Player in August 2021, Porter cited Africa as one of his very favorite Meters basslines for its use of space and melodic simplicity.

The politically charged song – also covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a swingier groove, on their 1985 album Freaky Styley – arrived at a time when young African-Americans were taking pride in Africa as the motherland, a “reset of our roots,” as Porter described it.

The 1974 session took place at Allen Toussaint's Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans, which was later destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. The late, great pianist Toussaint featured the Meters as his label house band and produced six of their seven albums.

Guitarist Leo Nocentelli, keyboardist Art Neville, drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste, and Porter cut the song live, using headphones.

“Zig and Leo were the main writers on the song, and they wanted Art to sing it, but he thought the lyrics were too controversial, so Zig sang it while he played drums. I think we ran it down to solidify our parts and then we went with the first or second take, including Zig's lead vocal. Later, Allen recorded the horns and background vocals, and I believe Cyrille Neville added percussion.”

Porter played his famous “Frankenstein” Fender (since road-retired), a ’70s Fender Precision Bass body with a ’63 Precision neck, strung with Fender half-rounds. It was recorded both direct and via a Fender Bassman 50 head and 2x15 cabinet, inserted in the alcove between the studio and an outside door.

For the first verse at 00:21, Porter dials in a syncopated groove made up of two-bar phrases – the main variation being that he plays the downbeat of beat three in the first half, and pushes beat three by an eighth-note in the second half.

“My recollection is that I was trying to avoid playing on Zig's backbeat. Overall, his drum part is very busy, and Leo has a steady part going, so I tried to stay out of the way; someone had to play simply and ground the song.

“On the flipside, after hearing the finished track I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I never knew how busy playing one note could sound.’”

As the verse moves on, Porter anticipates the ‘and’ of three more often, and also adds some slides into the octave and the 7th, to “spice up the repetition.”

In the first chorus, Porter establishes a track-long pattern of playing the first turnaround (Bb, F, G) down low and the next three up an octave. The second verse introduces some subtle variations.

“To be honest, I probably forgot what I played in the first verse, and I was trying to lock into it again.”

This creates some interesting rhythmic creations, as at 01:35, where the new rhythm in the second half of the two-bar phrase (featuring a note on the ‘and’ of beat two) leads Porter to lay off the downbeat. He continues to favor a note on the ‘and’ of two right into the second chorus.

The 20 measures at 02:22 were thought to be an instrumental or solo section at the time of tracking. It ended up being eight measures of groove, with horns added, followed by 12 bars of Modeliste's vocal improvisation.

Porter adds the 5th and the 6th (D and F), as well as capping each two-bar phrase with an upper-register fill, for the first eight measures.

“I knew the section was going to be open, so I stepped forward and got a bit busier. We actually vamped for quite a bit longer than where Allen faded out.”

“The space is as important as the notes; it's what you don't play that really makes the pocket. Feel-wise, I'm leaning forward a bit. Relax but keep it driving.”