This was the last gig in a nationwide tour for this hybrid band put together by London-based musician and DJ Charlie Dark, organised by the Contemporary Music Network and the first event in the new Oxford Contemporary Music season. Described as "a culture clash of African rhythms and digital beats", the band, headed by Charlie Dark on samplers and electronics, featured on the digital' side Mark de Clive-Lowe on synth and Fender Rhodes and F-IRE collective guitarist David Okumu. Nigerian Chief Udoh Essiet and Richard Olatunde represented the African side of the equation.

In reality, this was not so much a culture clash as a highly effective merging of sounds in which the African influence was by far the stronger. Although the heavy back beats from Dark's drum machine, syncopations from the keyboards and repetitive phrases from guitar laid down a strong multi-layered background of sound, it was the sharp counter rhythms from Essiet and Olatunde that really sparked the music into life.

The sound of talking' drum and djembe played with stick produced those complex potent rhythm patterns that are strangers to the London club scene. Add to this, Chief Udoh's performance as a singer. He projects an audio/visual image of rhythm through the absolute precision of his phrasing and the utterly loose and idiosyncratic movements of his lean body. There was a notable drop in attention when the Chief' left the stage, allowing Clive-Lowe and Okumu to put together a short, more complex, improvised piece. The evening was undoubtedly the Chief's.

This was music of untangling delight that only the most tight-laced could fail to enjoy, and yet the upstairs room at the Carling Academy was at best only half full. This seems like a conundrum and there is a suspicion that this was not despite the gig being part of the Oxford Contemporary Music's spring season but because of it.

It would often be easier for supporters of OCM if each season's programme had a clearly defined musical intent rather than attempting to attract a wider audience than is actually feasible. Those looking for new directions in music are not easily drawn to backbeats and talking drums, however great they are.