The album is the result of the bands’ studio jams. Bibi Tanga and the Selenites includes Le Professeur Inlassable on loops, Arthur Simonini on violin and keyboards, Rico Kerridge on guitar, Arnaud Biscay on drums, and Tanga on bass and vocals.
There is straight ahead 1970s-inspired American-style funk on 40° Of Sunshine with English vocals on pieces like Poet of the Soul, My Heart is Jumping, Can’t Handle This, Laughing Song, Dark Funk, and the title track 40° Of Sunshine.
Bibi Tanga and the Selenites introduce African flavors, with Sango vocals and rhythms from Central Africa on Banda a Gui Koua and Kangoya (kangoya is palm wine). A few pieces step out of the mold, such as the rockish Do what You Wanna Do; the bilingual Happy Dustman with electronic beats, vocals in English and French, funky bass and guitar and strings; the hip hop beats of People Are Working.
In 2000, Tanga joined French funk collective Malka Family and recorded his first album Le vent qui soufflé. In 2003, he met Professeur Inlassable (The Tireless Professor), another musician with a similar pespective, and recorded Yellow Gauze, his international presentation.
On 40° Of Sunshine, Bibi Tanga and the Selenites have put together a sizzling funk party with an African twist.