THE NARCOTIX IS A WEST AFRICAN ART-ROCK BAND WITH FEATHERS ALL OVER.

Quansah and Foinchas met in an elementary school chorus class in the ghostly woodlands of Woodbridge, Virginia. The daughters of African immigrants (from Cote D’Ivoire and Cameroon respectively), they soaked up influences as far-flung and varied as choral symphonies, math rock, soukous and highlife, distilling them through a unique lens. The Narcotix was born in the front seat of a Toyota Corolla and has been described at various times as “a joke gone too far.”

While attending the University of Virginia, Foinchas and Quansah met Sierra Leonean guitarist Adam Turay, showing him their compositions and bonding over a shared love of both avant-pop music like early Grizzly Bear and Stereolab and African music like the intricate soukous guitar rhythms of Koffi Olomide and the pulsing chimurenga of Thomas Mapfumo. They became interested in applying these ideas to popular western forms, using unconventional ways to arrive at accessibility. Quansah, Foinchas and Turay relocated to Brooklyn in 2017, developing their West African-inspired psych-folk concept and playing at various clubs and DIY spaces in the city.

The full ensemble came together after a few years in the city. The Narcotix met New England Conservatory alum Jesse Heasly in Brooklyn’s “weird rock scene,” and his pocket bass playing and avant-garde sensibilities provide an ideal complement to the music. Rounding out the rhythm section is Matt Bent, a virtuosic jazz drummer, DJ and producer who has as much love for Tony Williams and Wayne Shorter as he does for Aphex Twin and SOPHIE. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.