For the uninitiated, Safri Duo is a classical percussion duo consisting of Morten FRIis and Uffe SAvery, two Danish musicians who studied at the Royal Danish Conservatory. Together, the twosome has performed at prestigious venues around the globe, including New York’s Lincoln Center, Sydney’s Opera House, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. Two years ago, the team signed to Universal Denmark and began collaborating with Danish trance DJ/producer Michael Parsberg. The fruits of their labor are displayed on Episode II, which could very well be to clubland what Stomp is to the world of off-Broadway theater. Already a smash in Europe, the set’s first single “Played-a-Live (The Bongo Song)”—which earned the duo a Danish Grammy Award for best club hit of 2000, as well as a Danish Music Award for best Danish club hit—reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart earlier this year. Such album tracks as the anthemic, Brazilian-hued “Samb-Adagio” and “Snakefood” will surely please those who can’t get enough of the act’s frenetic bongo beats.—MP
