"If James Brown grew up in Africa, he'd sound like us," is how Victor Sila, the Kenya-born vocalist of Sila and the Afrofunk Experience, describes his band. The 10-member sonic explosion, including talking drum and djembe players, gives a slightly different spin to the Godfather of Funk's trademark jittery gyrations, calling up the ghost of Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti to join the mix. But don't pigeonhole Sila's often political grooves: "Afrofunk isn't just Afrobeat and funk — it's a fusion that also contains Ghanaian highlife, Congolese soukous, Zairean zouk, reggae, and even rock." Rock, especially, will come to the fore on the live sensation's new, yet-to-be-titled album — the follow-up to the hip-popping Funkiest Man in Africa (Vasila, 2006) — coming out in December.

You can catch the wonder that is Sila and the Afrofunk Experience's live musical journey Oct. 10 at the Independent (www.independentsf.com) in a special tribute to Fela Kuti, which includes DJ Jeremiah and the Afrobeat Nation. Check out www.victorsila.com for more.

SFBG Live music seems to be taking over the dance floors lately — even cutting-edge DJs have added live elements to their sets. How do you translate the amazing energy and danceability of your performances to your recordings?

SILA It's true that the band is in the energy exchange business. We give it and we get it back in droves. So we had to figure out how to record our upcoming album without the crowds. We decided to record the whole band live and I'm extremely happy with the results. I just closed my eyes and reflected on the angst of being an African immigrant, the war in Iraq, genocide in Sudan, the corruption and political strife in my country Kenya, getting my heart broken the nth time.... You can feel it in the music.

SFBG You came to America with the intention of becoming an R&B singer.

SILA All young musicians in Kenya want to be Michael Jackson and Babyface. I submitted my music to labels here, but my Kenyan accent was too much for them. Couldn't hide the fact that I was from Africa. I got rejected. I moved to San Francisco and saw Baaba Maal at the Fillmore — and decided that I have totally abandoned my culture and was trying hard not to be African. So I started a new band and found some cats that have been playing in the scene for a while who knew their shit. I am blessed to have some of the most talented musicians in the Bay Area playing with me.

SFBG Many new indie bands are adopting or foregrounding elements of the Afrobeat sound to great popular dance floor success. I'm thinking of Vampire Weekend, Foals, Dirty Projectors, Yeasayer ...

SILA Fuck them. If people want to hear the real, authentic shit, take a trip to Africa or a bus to Amoeba records and get some education from these artists: Kanda Bongo Man, 4 Etoiles, Boubacar Traore, Sam Mangwana , Oliver Mtukudzi, and Baaba Maal.

PHOTO: Lars Howlett

LOCATION: Outside Lands Festival

INTERVIEW: Marke B.

CLOTHING: African Outlet, Callou Design, Energie, Entour, Guess