Afrobeat Vinyl 561 Items

12" | 2021 | EU | Original (La Casa Tropical)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Acapella versions of every! single! track! from Off The Meds’ self-titled debut album released in late 2020. The Swedish-South African super group’s front man and vocalist Kamohelo Khoaripe standing alone in the spotlight this time, his unique Zulu-Tsotsitaal-English flow lovingly recorded and processed by the Off The Meds production team. Each track comes with a short/sweet musical introduction, fully optimised for the modern professional discjockey. Out now as a super limited hand-stamped 12′’ vinyl .

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Morgan

Vakonwana

Idrissa Soumaoro Et L´Eclipse De L´Ija

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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"A Bangin South African bubblegum tune, with house club mix on the flip!"

The start of the 90's brought the final wave of House music that would cement it as the future of South Africa’s music scene. In the years leading up to the new decade, Disco had already naturally evolved into the very early stages of what would become South Africa’s signature House sound, with Instrumentals and Dub Mixes earning themselves spots on the Pantsula records leading the charts of the late 80s, it would be an influx of remixes appearing on import singles that would make the “House mix” the premier b side sound for those bubblegum artists trying to stay relevant in the 90’s. The House remixes coming from Chicago and New York dominated the airwaves at first, eventually gaining genre status by the later part of the decade as International House or just International for short. At the time this would have been synonymous with House music everywhere else in the world. After a years of these tracks getting remixed by the touch of the local talent, International no longer fit the description of what the music was and Kwaito became the sound of the streets. In the studio, Kwaito was the sound of the next generation of producers that was coming up under the Disco legends of 80s. In total it took less than 5 years total for the sound to evolve. It would be in this transition period between International and Kwaito, with the help of the new wave of studio talent, that we find the ingredients that gave birth to a short lived yet unique African House sound. After a long career with the soul group The Savers, Morgan Kwele cut two solo records under his own name in the late 80’s. Without much success and after being dropped by EMI, Morgan was picked up by Peter Snyman and independent Sounds of Soweto. At the time it was becoming a premier label for the emerging house sounds. M’du and Joe Nina would both end up working at Snyman’s studio, and it would be their collaborating project LA Beat that would launch their respective careers further. For his new album Morgan would team up with legendary producer and long time friend from the 70s Koloi Lebona. They would work together once more and record what most likely became Morgan’s final Album. The title track Vakonwana became the lead single, with the original bubblegum version on the A side for the old timers and the Club Version on the flip for the late nite parties.

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Nissodia Mike D Edit Black Vinyl Edition

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Mr Bongo)

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (La Casa Tropical)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Legend' is lofty praise that is often used lightly, however, Mike D from the Beastie Boys certainly is one in the truest of spirits. We are delighted after over 30 years of being involved in music to finally release a project involving such a hip-hop pioneer and icon as Mike. In keeping with the maverick attitude of the Beastie Boys, you don't always get what you expect. For this release there isn't a hip-hop beat, instrumental-funk or hardcore-punk joint in sight, rather an electronic-African club banger. Mike took it upon himself to rework Malian artists Idrissa Soumaoro and L'Eclipse De L'I.J.A. and their track ’Nissodia', which is taken from the 'Le Tioko-Tioko' album originally released in 1978 on the German Democratic Republic (gdr) label Eterna. The song was also featured on 'The Original Sound Of Mali' compilation released on Mr Bongo back in 2017. It was November 2019 and the day before a Mr Bongo 30 years celebration event in Paris at the Pedro party in the 'New Morning' club, when out of the blue the remix landed in Dave Mr Bongo's inbox. We loved it straight away and decided to road test it the next night in the club. Whether it be a remix/re-edit/rework, it doesn't matter, what does matter is that it works spectacularly in the club and had people jumping on the stage to dance at the party. A sensational track and one which leaves a beautiful memory of good-times from a night out in Paris (and one which is in retrospect is even more poignant as the late-great maestro Tony Allen was in the club that night), and we are sure it will light up many more dancefloors to come.

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The Bees

Mamezala / Never Give Up

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Autonomous Africa)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The Bees are a textbook case of the chew and spit cycle that was the late 80’s South African music industry. Although their unknown story is likely unique, it is just as likely that it is no different to that of many other young artists who dreamed of getting their music heard at the time. By 1988, the independent record label was no longer as uncommon as it had been at the beginning of the decade. As the 80s went on, more seasoned A&R reps and Producers that had gained experience and connections from their work under major labels would be trying to cash in on a market they helped create. Without the need of big rooms or expensive recording equipment, the digital advancements allowed many Producers to open or work in smaller studios and promote unknown artists under their own imprints. They would then have their catalogs marketed and distributed by the same major labels they had been working for just years prior. This would open up the possibility of a new era of stars as potential talent no longer had to be pitched to major labels in hopes of them taking a chance on a new signee over their already established artists. With the market growing and a struggle to keep up with the demand for new sounds this agreement would allow the major labels to put new emerging artists or groups on their catalog with little investment and high reward if it happened to be a hit. ON Records was just one of the independent players at the time. Ronnie Robot had just signed the unlikely trio The Bees in hopes of adding a hit group to his label roster that consisted of solo acts. Despite the debut’s fresh house inspired sound, it failed to catch on was outsold by the bubblegum disco the label was known for. Over the years unsold back stock and promos would build up with the distributor. Luckily this allowed sealed copies from the label’s catalog to survive into the 90s when the distributor’s stock was unloaded and picked up by legendary Johannesburg jazz shop Kohinoor. Here sealed copies of the Bees first attempt sat under appreciated for over 20 years before becoming a hot title after they started circulating online and became club staples. This is how the first album of an unknown group with no success was able to become a collectors item and earn a reissue over 25 years later. With their first record behind them The Bees were ready move forward and get back into the studio. A suggestion from producers had the trio change camps and go work with the newly formed Creative Sound Recordings, the label that promised “Music for the Future” and ended up being an essential studio in the early years of Kwaito. They would work with producer Chris Ghelakis and guitarist George Vardas, while a young Marvin Moses sat behind the desk. Musically the sophomore album was as good as a follow up as you could get. Building on the first album, Mashonisa delivers catchy melodies backed by heavy drum programming that would score points with any Pantsula. The Black Box inspired “ Never Give Up” was one of two tracks chosen to be pressed as the promo for the album, hoping to trick listeners with their catchy version of the hit( A year later the label would release their first volume of Black Box covers sang by neo soul diva BB, it would be a great seller). The label printed up an unknown amount of these in a last attempt to push the release in Shabeens and on Radio. The cheaper route of flooding the market with promo copies would only pay off 25 years later when unplayed copies started being rediscovered and had survived the years in a quantity that original run of the full album could not. Once again it was clear that with no mainstream appeal, the quality of the music on its own was not enough to garner any success at the time. The album flopped worse than their first and failed to make it past it’s initial run, making it one of the harder titles to get from the CSR catalog. Mashonisa would be the last attempt from the Bees. They would disappear from the scene as quickly as they appeared. Of the three members it is only known that lead Singer Solomon Phiri continued in music fronting a wave dance group before he mysteriously vanished in 1993, never to be heard from again. Through a combination of luck and circumstance the group, which is unknown in South Africa to even the most plugged in musicians, producers and radio hosts of the time, managed to finally get some of the recognition they deserved 30 years later. Unfortunately this small blip of fame would happen with none of the band members present to give their side of the story, or even aware of how their two albums became popular enough to be printed on different continents in a new millennia. The Bees suffered the same fate as countless other artists of the time, who thanks to emerging independent labels and willing producers were given an opportunity to have a short career, only to be replaced by the meat grinder of the music industry when they failed to produce a hit.

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The Green Door Allstars

Youth Stand United

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (La Casa Tropical)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In 2015, Optimo’s Autonomous Africa label released Youth Stand Up!, a triangular recording project hatched at Glasgow’s Green Door Studio that brought together young musicians from Belize, Ghana and Glasgow for ten tracks of cross-cultural collaboration. The result was an infectious cocktail of traditional Caribbean and West African rhythms, hip hop, highlife and Glaswegian post-punk, featuring contributions from Optimo Music regulars Golden Teacher and Whilst, among others.

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Patience Africa

Wozani

LP | 2018 | EU | Original (Heavenly Sweetness)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The career of Patience Africa Spanned over 40 years. After almost a decade of success on a major label with her Zulu Disco sound, and a few years in the early 80s experimenting with a more soulful sound, the funky synths of the 80's would force her to stay relevant in the quick changing times. It would be in 1987 that she would sign to the independent Ream Music which with the help of their tight knit in house production team had released hits for upcoming disco artists Makwerhu, Ntombi Ndaba, Sunset, Athena, Percy Kay and more. The label's success in the traditional market made Patience a perfect fit and could have been their first crossover artist.
With the help of owner's Danny Antill and Clive Risko they would cut a 4 track EP that like many others of the time ended up being lost in to the hyper saturated market of the emerging Bubblegum demand. Two tracks would be written by Patience, including the title "Wozani La" Musically these were more aligned with her sound of the 70's accompanied by a purely digital production, but it's the two songs written by label boss Danny Antill that appear on this release. These two songs are unlike anything heard at the time. Embracing full commitment to the digital studio and some extensive and risky experimenting the trio managed to slide heavy house bordering electro pop and a haunting swing beat groove alongside the compositions of Patience to complete this EP for both markets. Although the album had great potential, poor promotion and low sales led Patience to feel cheated and after not earning a cent for the record left the label and took her first break from music since the early 70's. She would later return to her original sound recording up to til 2006 when she released what would be her final album before her death the following year. Still loved by her fans and those who knew her, she is remembered through the Patience Africa Foundation. Founded by her son Mangaliso in 2017 to help create a better South Africa in our lifetime.

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Edmony Krater

An Ka Sonjé

12" | 2018 | EU | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2018 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Following the reissue of his cult album “Ti jan pou vélo”, Heavenly Sweetness decided to continue the collaboration with Edmony Krater and record a new album! The first one in 30 years! As an avant-gardist percussionist, singer and trumpet player, Edmony Krater has always worked to develop and promote the Gwoka music of Guadeloupe and to feed it with different influences, from Jazz to Reggae.

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The Mauskovic Dance Band

Down In The Basement

On Se Pousse Yoruba Soul Remixes

Release: 2018 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Soundway Records presents the debut EP from The Mauskovic Dance Band – a heady, tropical blend of cumbia, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and space disco, resulting in a vibrant hypnotic groove destined for bustling dancefloors.
The Mauskovic Dance Band is the brainchild of the Amsterdam-based producer and musician, Nicola Mauskovic. A seasoned drummer, he finds himself constantly in demand – as part of Turkish psychedelic outfit Altin Gün, a recent tour with the revival of Zambian legends W.I.T.C.H., and a worldwide tour with psych-pop artist Jacco Gardner, with whom he then went on to form the dance-oriented duo Bruxas (released on Dekmantel). Throughout this hectic schedule Nic still found time to begin studio experiments that would eventually lead to several 7” singles, released on Swiss label Bongo Joe Records in 2017 under the name “The Mauskovic Dance Band”.
Following this, he tapped long-time collaborators Donnie Mauskovic (vocals, keys, effects), Em Nix Mauskovic (guitar, synth, percussion), and Mano Mauskovic (bass) to make the jump from record to stage. Soon they caught the ear of fabled underground Cumbia producer Juan Hundred, who left his home on a Caribbean island to join the band on drums.
With each band member of varying heritage, the group draws inspiration from diverse genres: primarily Afro-Colombian styles such as champeta, palenque, cumbia and the picó soundsystem culture, as well as the Afro-Disco and No-Wave scenes in their current base of Amsterdam. The city’s hotbed of underground producers has also brought an electronic edge to the band, with vintage drum machines and synthesisers effortlessly melding with Afro-Latin rhythms and slick guitar riffs to create a contemporary sound rich with cultural influence.
Having toured extensively through Europe in 2017 as a staple of festival stages and clubs, The Mauskovic Dance Band continues to build exciting momentum – with appearances at Eurosonic Noorderslag 2018 and an extensive tour of the Netherlands coinciding with the launch of the EP.

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Vaudou Game

12" | 2017 | EU | Original (Hot Casa)

Fela Kuti, Moblack, Emmanuel Jal & Henrik Schwarz

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A 12inch single from the incredible French Afro Funk band including remixes by the one and only Osunlade under the collective name of Yoruba Soul!
Since their first acclaimed album Apiafo and its irresistible single “Pas contente”, these Lyon (France) natives never turned down the heat over 160 stages across Europe, Africa, Canada, Japan... Peter Solo has displayed his amulets, voodoo chants and charisma around the globe. When it came time for them to harness their Afro Soul sound for the second time, they turned their attention once again to their analog strengths. On the road Peter Solo and Osunlade met and could share their musical visions. It was obvious that this two will share their spiritual music experiences.
Kidayu is the name of the second opus which means “sharing”: it’s exactly what those versions of “On se pousse” are about: a true futuristic Hi-life, a great meeting of two ardent defenders of the Afro Soul sounds ! Limited press, mastered by Carvery.

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International Thief Thief (I.T.T.) (Armonica & Moblack Mix) / Chagu 2024 Repress

12" | 2020 | EU | Reissue (Defected)

I.S.C.A.C. Band / La Bruno

Release: 2020 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2024 Repress

These are the words of legendary Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti, words that remain as true as ever over two decades since his untimely death. A pioneer of the Nigerian revolution, his fight against police oppression remains an ongoing conversation in the country. Now, Defected pays tribute to the vital work of Fela with a special 12” release, as Armonica and MoBlack revisit Fela Kuti’s ‘International Thief Thief (I T. T.)’ as the fight against systemic corruption continues to be a pressing issue in Nigeria. The A-Side features Armonica & MoBlack’s flawlessly executed and ever respectful remix of the record where Fela called out and directly attacked former Nigerian president General Obasanjo and Moshood Abjola, the CEO of Nigeria’s biggest national telecommunications conglomerate I.T.T and Decca Records. Their homage to Fela brings a powerful and culturally relevant piece of music to the forefront of dance culture in 2020.

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Igbo Nwe Egwu / Instant Reaction

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Dig This Way)

Kokoroko HHV Exclusive White Vinyl Edition

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Dig This Way Records is proud to announce his new MAXI 12" Serie!
Side A Featured Soki Ohale with his I.S.C.A.C. Band project , the track is call Igbo Nwe Egwu and is a mix of Highlife , Boogie and Electronic sound from 1986. It was pressed on a limited and raw LP sponsored by
Imo State Council for Art And Culture , the audio have been restored and remastered by our friend Bassi maestro @Press Rewind Studio
Side B Featured La Bruno - Instant Reaction + Instant Rap , the original LP is litterally impossible to be found , we have been lucky to Locate a clean copy in our 2nd trip to Nigeria and even more lucky to meet La Bruno himself just walking around Owerri in the east side of Nigeria!

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Kokoroko

12" | 2019 | UK | Reissue (Brownswood)

Release: 2019 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Limited to 500 copies on white vinyl!

Inspired by Fela Kuti, Ebo Taylor, Tony Allen and the sounds of West Africa, London 8-person collective Kokoroko presents its first EP. The four tracks reveal a musical vision of Afrobeat, soul, West African roots and inner-London jazz nuances. The wonderful "Abusey Junction" was already included on last year's Brownswood sampler "We Out Here", which was frenetically acclaimed by the trade press (Wire, Monocle, New York Times, etc.) and named compilation of the year 2018 by the London Rough Trade stores.

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The Rough Guide To The Music Of West Africa

LP | 2017 | UK | Original (World Music Network)

Release: 2017 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Rough Guide To Urban Mali

LP | 2020 | UK | Original (World Music Network)

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Rough Guide To Spriritual India

LP | 2020 | UK | Original (World Music Network)

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Tomede Ehue & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo

Bella Bello

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Canopy)

Mpharanyana & The Peddlers

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The third release from Canopy features the title track from a tough to catch Afro funk 7” originally released on private press in Benin in the 1980s. While information on the mesmerising Tomede Ehue remains elusive, she is backed by the Beninois powerhouse, the truly almighty, “TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou”.

Electrifying cosmic voodoo disco grooves, heavy bass pulsing, blistering horns and spooky organ riffs set the tone on this transcendental dance floor afro funk cut.

A modernised tropical disco remix from bosq & an Afro - acid version from Sam Redmore revitalise this mysterious dance floor incantation and launch it into the present day.

These tracks strike a balance between moody afro psych-funk and more punchy electronic aesthetics, while maintaining the subtleties of the original composition and performance.

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Disco

12" | 2021 | EU | Original (Kalita)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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San Proper & The Love Present L.O.V.E. Part 3

San Proper

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Dopeness Galore)

Isaac Birituro & The Rail Abandon

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Mini LP with insert. The musical vagabond returns to spread his Gospel of L.O.V.E. San "Dr." Proper presents his third EP on Dopeness Galore with a selection of kindred sounds and spirits encountered around the earth while on tour. The result is an intriguing six-track EP that documents the musical collaborations that sparked to the pulse of cities like Casablanca, Bogota, Amsterdam and Medellin, straight back to the dungeon of Volkshotel where they fused these tracks in an Amsterdamic fashion. "where we did some afternoon-jams alongside some after-effects to spread the gospel of sentiment and love.” L.O.V.E. part 3 features upcoming artists such as Mr. Cruz, Elias Mazian, Bobbi and V. Bannier as well as local musicians from studios around the world, moulding a colorful record with traditional Arabique, Latin-Americain and western influences to create that unmistakable Proper sound.

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Kalba

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Wah Wah 45's)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Pingipung)

Odd Okoddo

Auma

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Les Disques Bongo Joe)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Odd Okoddo is a Kenyan/German duo consisting of Olith Ratego and Sven Kacirek. The two artists met in Kenya, about a decade ago, when Sven Kacirek was recording his "Kenya Sessions", an album that put Kacirek on the map of outernational producers. It was reviewed as a "World Music 2.0" (de:bug magazine), whose "fascination endures" (The Wire). Olith Ratego also made an appearance on the "Kenya Sessions”, on the track "Too Good To Be True".

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Amami

Giant

On -The Sound Of On Records 1987-1989 Part II

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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New band from Bongo Joes agitated hometown Geneva! Just somewhere between dub tape, afrobeat and dancehall... like a lost gem of a retro-futurist soundtrack or a dusty trap song from outer space. Just listen to IVORY to catch the vibe : furious claps, deep kick, melow synth and souly vocal. Drum machine and madness are maybe the two feet they stand on. So free your mind and just dive into this post-tribal dance.

As three face of the same coin, Raphaël Anker (Imperial Tiger Orchestra), Gabriel Ghebrezghi (Ghostape, Tapes Adventure, Uberreel) and Ines Mouzoune will catch you on their spinning game... and you'll not stay indemn.

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Mafika

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Egoli)

The Bees / Little Big Man

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The late 1980s in the rainbow nation was a time when disco was mutating into what was becoming known as Bubblegum: pop music aimed at the black population of South Africa.
Bubblegum was a response to Western styles like disco and the fast spreading house music which originally came from the black ghettos of Chicago and New York. When the second Summer of Love took over the UK in 1988, first house, and other electronic music styles conquered South Africa as well. DIY - do it yourself - a motto that had already appeared in the punk movement, lifted the young local scene to the next level. With a minimal set up - keyboards, some drum machines and samplers it was suddenly possible to make music without having to rent expensive studios.
1 of 3 12" in a compilation of tracks from The ON label which was active in South Africa between 1987-1992, an era following the end of the apartheid regime and defining the new sound of Young Black South Africa in the early 90s

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On -The Sound Of On Records 1987-1989

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Egoli)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Vinyl Passion)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The late 1980s in the rainbow nation was a time when disco was mutating into what was becoming known as Bubblegum: pop music aimed at the black population of South Africa.
Bubblegum was a response to Western styles like disco and the fast spreading house music which originally came from the black ghettos of Chicago and New York. When the second Summer of Love took over the UK in 1988, first house, and other electronic music styles conquered South Africa as well. DIY - do it yourself - a motto that had already appeared in the punk movement, lifted the young local scene to the next level. With a minimal set up - keyboards, some drum machines and samplers it was suddenly possible to make music without having to rent expensive studios.
The Bees are probably the best known group, releasing only a few album in 1988-1989 and a handful singles that are now highly collectible. Their sound is electronic, hypnotic and highly danceable.
As is the case for Themba Wawelela is a prolific South African artist/producer who is best known under the monniker ''Little Big Man''
1 of 3 12" in a compilation of tracks from The ON label which was active in South Africa between 1987-1992, an era following the end of the apartheid regime and defining the new sound of Young Black South Africa in the early 90s

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Serge Gainsbourg

Avant Gainsbarre

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Black Savage / Majek / Ovid

CBS EP

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Afro7)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Afro7 is back and this time we’ve dug deep in the CBS Kenya vaults and found four fantastic soulful reggae tracks of early 80’s origin! First song is the bouncy ‘FIRE’ by Kenyan Black Savage Band (played out on the Worldwide show by Gilles Peterson back in the start of Summer 2018) Track two on the first side is Nigerian Sheila and Desmond Majek’s laidback soulful ‘GOT THE FEELIN’ and flip it for two fantastic tracks by the Kenya coastal outfit Ovid, check out the synth drum machine laden KARIBUNI and the party number OPERATOR. Mastered by Frank The Carvery. EP comes in super deluxe cardboard jacket made in Thailand with silk screened coastal-inspired artwork made by California resident Steve Roden. Limited to 500 copies, one copy per customer.

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Dexter Story

Bahir

Movements-Boogie Down In Africa

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Dexter Story is an artistic spirit in the truest sense of the phrase. From his work as a multi-instrumentalist for acts like the Sa-Ra Creative Partners, to his management role with Snoop Dogg and his turn producing Daymé Arocena’s 2017 album Cubafonia, Story understands the business from every conceivable angle.
Initially inspired by the music and cultures pervasive throughout the Horn of Africa, Story translated his experiences there into his previous album Wondem, followed closely by the single Wejene Aola featuring jazz luminary Kamasi Washington, both on Soundway Records. If Wondem was a brief glance into Story’s new creative vision, Bahir is a pinpoint refinement of that purpose, the fine-tuning and expanding of the world he created on his Soundway debut.
On Bahir, Story steps in front of those influences and melds his world into the one he fell in love with so strongly while in Africa. One way in which he’s done so is by incorporating musicians from both sides of this coin. LA luminaries are featured throughout, as are African contemporaries he encountered throughout his travels. Sudan Archives gives a show-stealing vocal performance on “Gold”, while the Ethiopian producer Endeguena Mulu adds impenetrable and psychedelic texture to the album’s title track.
So Bahir finds the polymath musician not stuck between two worlds, but as a member of both. We get Ethiopian jazz tonalities, Tuareg grooves, ekista dance rhythms, Afro-funk, Somalian soul and forays into more contemporary jazz rhythms, too. Angelenos like Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Josef Leimberg give the record its backbone, while African artists like the Ethiopian singer Hamelmal Abate give Bahir its glimmer and shine.

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Willy Nfor

2LP | 2018 | EU | Original (Odion Livingstone)

LP | 2016 | EU | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2018 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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For the 7th release on his label,Temi Kogbe compiles Willy Nfor's greatest songs from his solo works. The session player (bass) was involved heavily in the African boogie / funk scene with a impressive credits list.
Willy is little-known master bass player who left his country for Nigeria at 20, formed the Mighty Flames with made a name for himself as a session player played with Bongos' The Groovies, William Onyeabor (Crashes in Love), Odion Iruoje at Phonodisk where he played on several releases, left for Paris, became a sought-after session player, formed Ghetto formed Ghetto Blaster
(with Fela Kuti's Egypt 80 alumni), joined Mory Kante band toured the world on the back of the Global Hit record, unfortunately, he died before the world could really know him.
This compilation (from three rare Nigeria-produced LPs; Mighty Flames' Willie Nfor, Feel So Fine, My Turn) capture Willy's vision of a free world where love, music and breaks migrate freely. His afro-boogie nods to Bootsy Collins and Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) but it invariably afro and inalienably Willy's music, a space funk with deeply rooted rhythmic grooves that has made these LPs highly sought-after by music aficionados and selectors worldwide.

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iZem

Hafa

LP | 2013 | US | Reissue (Black Mesa)

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Journeyman, DJ, radio presenter, beat raconteur – it’s been hard to keep up with all of iZem‘s movements lately. The innovative Lisbon-based French producer has been hard at work on his debut LP Hafa, exploring the sounds of Latin America and North Africa in a vivid analogue-digital, genre-defying soundscape that is sure to leave your head spinning. Inspired by cultural greats like Jack Kerouac, Paul Bowles, Tahar Ben Jelloun and Matisse, iZem spent time soaking up the atmosphere at the inspiring Café Hafa, an idyllic cliff-pop joint overlooking the strait of Gibraltar, in Tangier, Morocco, which has formed a golden backdrop to his debut LP. Brimming with soulful exoticism, personal narratives and adventurous collaborators, Hafa has been an experiment in taking on the afro-centric sounds of his journey to-date by incorporating modern, introspective songwriting and hybrid beats.
Often writing music whilst crossing continents, the only place iZem allows dust to settle is in the heart, heat and rhythms of his local-global future sounds. A decade of nomadism between Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Ireland and Portugal made way for a series of critically acclaimed EP’s and remixes for Soundway, GAMM, Far Out, Agogo, ZZK records, Wah Wah 45s, and Mais Um Discos. Arrival on the global, forward-thinking, artistically leftfield scene was predicted by Gilles Peterson, XLR8R, Okay Player and fellow tropical hed Quantic. iZem is an acronym for “In Ze Early Morning” and his debut album “Hafa” evokes new days dawning in far-off lands and stirring horizons of the present. So if you aren’t hearing iZem’s pastiche of future tropical rhythms and organic grooves on stations such as BBC, KCRW or Funkhaus Europa, then make sure you you catch him raising the dance floor temperature on one continent or another.

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Tim Easton

Not Cool

Release: 2013 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Sanba Yo Pran Pale DJ Koze Remix

Lakou Mizik & Joseph Ray

10" | 2022 | EU | Original (Anjunadeep)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bjornston, Ivar & Einar Selvik

Hardanger

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (By Norse Music)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ivar Bjornston & Einar Selvik

Hardanger

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (By Norse Music)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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10" | 2021 | EU | Original (Radicalis)

Meimuna

Courage

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In This Town You're Owned

Robert Vincent

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Robert Vincent Music)

18,69 €* 21,99 € -15%

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2018 | EU | Reissue (20th Century Masterworks)

Bob Dylan

Debut Album

Release: 2018 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Pura Vida Sounds)

K.O.G.

Zone 6 Remixed EP

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Heavenly Sweetness)

David Walters

Bow Down EP Remixes

7" | 2022 | JP | Original (The Wind Blows Softly)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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David Walters is an explorer. Not just one of those who show off on the screen. Like his Grandfather, David has not hesitated to cross seas or oceans to fulfil his desires fit. His mother's father left the Caribbean island of St Kitts for New York and started a family in London with a woman he met on the boat. David, on the other hand, travelled from his home in Marseille to Sheffield, London and Manchester to record this EP and to give a new twist to his career by musically extending the link that binds him to his grandfather, and more generally to his ancestors. "In Africa and its diasporas, as in the world for those who know how to see them, the elders are always at our side", he says in a soft voice.
"Music comes first".

It was on Guts' advice that David Walters changed his working habits. He and the French producer/beatmaker and DJ know each other well. "He offered to accompany me artistically on my new album, to be my third eye, or my third ear," says David. "He is someone I respect for his work, his discretion and his questioning, his desire to never repeat himself" he explains. "We often exchange ideas. We don't necessarily always agree, but whatever we think of each other, it's the music that comes first.” So when Guts told him about Tom Excell, David went for it. He headed for Sheffield where Excell, the producer, guitarist and percussionist had his own studio. The contact was direct. "We took the instruments and played like children", remembers David, still under the spell of the encounter. "Tom is part of the new English scene that combines jazz, soul, hip-hop and world grooves. He’s associated, as a musician, producer and remixer with Nubiyan Twist, Onipa, K.O.G., Me & My Friends and so many others. He has the freshness of the English sound. I like his approach. Over there, people have grown up with The Beatles, The Specials, Depeche Mode, The Clash or Apache Indian playing in the background in supermarkets. They have a different musical culture, a different musical culture that is part of the décor regardless of the genre, and that's a game changer," David says excitedly. "If people like it, they make room for you right away. I'm a fan".

"More personal and more open"
In three sessions at Tom Excell and David built these 4 tracks. “No One” which opens this E.P., was the first to be finalised. As always with David, everything is played - the Rhodes as well as the percussion, the bass as well as the drums - before being sampled. Even the electronic rhythms are sampled on the hi-hat or cymbal. Hence this organic sound. ”No One is a word of advice, an incitement to trust yourself, to listen to no one but your own instinct. This is something the singer already defended more than fifteen years ago on “Awa” the song that gave its name to his first album. "No One” is now more peaceful and serene than “Awa” was," he says. “Bow Down”, initiated with the Lyon-based producer Patchworks, is reinvented here in a lighter version. ‘It's a nod to New Orleans and the Afro-descendants, those men and women who kept their heads up despite slavery and mistreatment," says David, who recorded and produced the Nola is Calling project (2019) in a colonial house in New Orleans he transformed into a studio. The expression "Bow Down" is both a tribute to the Amerindians who came to the aid of African slaves and an affirmation of strength and resilience. Hurricane Kathrina is still on everyone's mind. As David explains, “Yemaja is the Cuban goddess of the sea. In Africa, she is called Yemoja”. There is no doubt that the sea is David's element. “The sea acts on me like a sort of great "reset". It's a place where you can also lose yourself," he says. “Baby Love”, the last track, echoes “Baby Go” from the album
Nocturne (2021), an opus recorded with cellist Vincent Segal, kora master Ballaké Sissoko and percussionist Roger Raspail. "In the end, these four tracks (+ a disco edit of “No One” by the American producer Captain Planet) are put together like a rebus, to tell a story that makes sense to me: Nobody is going to fall apart, thanks to Yemaja", David sums up with a warmth and smile in his voice.
David Walters is a true explorer, and doesn't intend to stop there. Future sessions are already scheduled in Tom Excell's studio in order to finalise a full length album which is due to be released early in 2023.

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Zoe's Shanghai

Laziz / Open & Hoping

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Gusstaff)

Release: 2022 / JP – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The long-awaited 7-inch version of the single released in 2022 by Zoe's Shanghai, a neo-soul band based in Paris, France! They made a splash with their album "Lava Love" released in 2021, and this year, 2022, they are releasing two singles in physical format for the first time! Must-check release for fans of Hiatus Kaiyote / Moonchild

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Black Mango

Quicksand

Idrissa Soumaoro Et L´Eclipse De L´Ija

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Based in Bamako for sixteen years, Philippe Sanmiguel has been the producer of albums by the famous Malian bluesman Samba Touré since his international debut. Over the years, Philippe has expanded his work with other artists such as the legendary Tuareg band Tartit, Anansy Cissé, Mariam Koné or Djimé Sissoko among others.

While working on the albums of these artists, he often had the inspiration to add influences from his original rock culture but in small measures. That's how Black Mango was born, to gather his favorite musical collaborators around his own compositions and expand the vision. It started with an EP released on Glitterbeat Records in 2014 from which the idea for a full-length album was born.

Black Mango's Quicksand album was recorded in Bamako over a period of several years, in various recording sessions, giving each musician free range to play on a rhythmic and melodic basis prepared in advance. The alchemy was immediate in all cases, often from the first takes.

Philippe originally met producer and musician Hugo Race with Chris Eckman during their stay in Bamako for the recording sessions of Dirtmusic's Troubles & Lion City albums. Hugo loved the raw feeling of the tracks and offered to remix the album in his Melbourne studio, bringing his own unique touch.

The fruit is ripe!

Recorded at Akan Studio & Funhouse Studio in Bamako, Mali by Konan Kouassi & Philippe Sanmiguel Produced, mixed and mastered by Hugo Race at Helixed Studio

A few words about the main " stars " :

- Samba Touré is Samba Touré. - Anansy Cissé is a young songhoy artist for whom Sanmiguel has produced two albums, including the recent and acclaimed "Anoura". - Mariam Koné is one of the most beautiful voices of Mali, who has a self-produced album and teaches music at the conservatory of Bamako. - Singer Bocar Sana Coulibaly & Ali Traoré are singer and guitarist from Niafunké, nephews of the great Ali Farka Touré and have a band called Espoirs de Niafunké.

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Nissodia Mike D Edit Orange Vinyl Edition

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Mr Bongo)

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Afrosynth)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Kamazu

Korobela

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (La Casa Tropical)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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New anthology on Afrosynth Records brings together six songs by South African disco star Kamazu, spanning his career from 1986 to 1997: two of his biggest hits, ‘Korobela’ and ‘Indaba Kabani’, two more obscure songs from his catalogue, ‘Victim’ and ‘Why’, and two tracks from his kwaito comeback, ‘Mjukeit’ and ‘Atikatareni’.

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Skyf Connection

Ten To Ten

LP | 2019 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Skyf Connection (pronounced skAyf) was a short lived project by long time friends Anthony Mthembu and Enoch Nondala. At the time they were working for Annic Music, an independent label run by married couple Anne and Nic Blignaut. Although the label was known mostly for Zulu, Sotho, Tsonga and other traditional styles, they had a few Disco releases on the label including groups like Keith Hutchinson’s Focus and Enoch’s discovery Lena, who went on to have huge success under the name Ebony a few years later.
In 1984, when an artist didn’t show up for a booked session they decided to make use of the studio time and began working on a demo. At the time Anthony and Enoch had been playing for a year at a new club called Gamsho, located on a farm on the outskirts of Kliptown Soweto. Along with Blackie Sibisi, Sepate Mokoena and Elijah “chippa” Khumalo they made up the resident house band. Due to cultural boycotts and American artists refusing to perform in the country, locals took it upon themselves to fill the market with the American sound the crowds demanded. The demo they recorded at Blue Tree Studios was going to be their product they could use to promote their brand of the American sound. They then took the demo to Universal Studios where their friend and trusted engineer Jan “fast fingers” Smit was working. It would be here that they would polish their demo into something they could take to their bosses and have pressed. Equipped with a DX 7, Linn Drum and some Juno synthesizers they were on their way. Jan lived up to his name and programmed the drums, it is rumoured he could program in almost real time, a skill that translated to the local arcade where he held high scores on many machines. Enoch would be singing and playing guitar while Anthony would do all the Bass and Keyboards. The result was 4 funky party anthems with synth work like no other recording at the time. Their take on what they believed the crowd would want to hear at the beloved club they called home.
From start to finish the 4 tracks portray what would have been a standard night at the Gamshu. Although the club would open earlier and the standard hours of most clubs was 6 to 6 , the band would start playing at 10pm. With their standard set time and Anthony and Enoch unique view on what a Disco should be, they chose the motto Ten to Ten as the album title because those were the hours when they were the stars and Disco ruled the dance floor. To get to the club was a bit difficult, you needed to drive along an empty road where thieves waited for any patrons trying their luck walking after dark. Since there was no transport during the night, the safest way to get home was to wait till the next morning to walk home. Even though in the summer months of Johannesburg light begins to peek in just after 4am, crowds refused to leave and stayed enjoying good music and company until 10am. The lead off track “Let’s Freak Together” has powerful lyrics encouraging people to let go of their worries, put aside any differences and let the music bring everyone to freak and dance together. The whole album is about the joy we can all feel when we share the same moments and how music can bring people together in a unique way, a philosophy shared with the original nightclubs of 70s New York. This approach to music is where the name Skyf Connection comes from, translating from slang to mean the connection we create through sharing, in this case Music and good times.
Skyf Connection would go on to play at Gamsho till the club’s closure in 1986. In those years their popularity lead to being booked for private events like weddings and birthday parties, as well as gigs in some other venues like Mofolo Hall. They would share the stage with many artists through the years learning artist’s songs and providing support as a backing band. After the club closed Anthony would go on to join the house band at The Pelican, another famous club located in Orlando East, as well as dabbling with songwriting for artists like Phumi Maduna and helping Enoch on many projects through the years. Enoch would ditch live music altogether and immerse himself in studio work, starting full time as a house producer and A&R for the recently formed Ream Music. He would go on to produce hit albums for pop artists like Percy Kay and Makwerhu but made his mark discovering countless artists that would become stars in the traditional market. They would remain friends until Anthony’s passing in 2016 and although Anthony is no longer with us his spirit lives in the grooves he left on this one of a kind record. His wife Vinolia will be accepting his portion of the profits on his behalf.

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Sourakata Koite

En Hollande

18,99 €* 19,99 € -5%

LP | 2018 | EU | Original (Born Bad)

Release: 2019 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Senegalese kora master Sourakata Koite began music from pretty much day one. "All the Koite are musicians!," he says. Indeed he is a member of a family of djeli (or griot in french), the hereditary caste of musician-storyteller-historians in West Africa. After moving to Paris in the late 70s he began to play in different bands and for musicians like Manu Dibango, Toure Kounda, Mangala, Mah Damba and more. During a festival in Holland, a music producer form Plexus Records heard him and asked to make a recording. In 1984 in an old chicken coop near Delft, Koite recorded the entire album in one take, including overdubs. The rich sonics and deep sound beautifully presents Koite's virtuosic and entrancing renditions of traditional and original tunes. With the reissue of en Hollande, Awesome Tapes
From Africa continues its mission of bringing tapes posted on the ATFA website over the years, including this one, to music fans all over the world.

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Cannibale

Not Easy To Cook

LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Born Bad)

Release: 2018 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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If Cannibale's members brought their breakfast back up when talking about 'Not Easy To Cook', their listeners would be surprised. There's a world of difference between the beginning of Cannibale's success story and this second album. The most surprising thing about 'Not Easy To Cook' is the sultriness that emerges. It's hard to sum it up other than by comparing these 10 songs with some pressure cooker in which bits of dancehall, London ska and Hawaiian dub would have cooked together. Here's the small miracle achieved by this LP recorded by the band in its remote French village: sounding French, but Polynesian French. A very psychedelic mixture of cumbia, African rhythms and garage music. Or, if you will, a kind of missing link between Fela Kuti, The Doors and The Seeds!

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Group Doueh & Cheveu

Dakhla Sahara Sessions

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (GMO - The Label)

Toi Et Moi

N'allume Pas Le Feu

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Elefant)

Soleá Morente

Aurora Y Enrique

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Elefant)

Soleá Morente

Lo Que Te Falta

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Northern Underground)

Dudu Tassa

El Hajar

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Kokoroko w/ damaged sleeve

Kokoroko

12" | 2019 | UK | Original (Brownswood)

18,99 €* 19,99 € -5%

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2018 | Original (Choux De Bruxelles)

Jaune Toujours

Europeana

19,49 €* 25,99 € -25%

Release: 2018 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2022 | Original (Nettwerk)

Wild Rivers

Songs To Break Up To

19,94 €* 20,99 € -5%

Release: 2022 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Nettwerk)

Old Sea Brigade

5am Paradise

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Magical Thinking (with Seamsplit)

Chico Mann of Antibalas

2LP | 2013 | UK | Original (Soundway)

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (X-Ray)

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Chico Mann’s fifth album will be anticipated by the single "Same Old Clown", featuring the sultry vocals of New York based Kendra Morris.

Displaying his mastery over an arsenal of studio weapons and synthesizers, Chico Mann (aka Marcos Garcia) scores his fifth long player against a backdrop of pop sensibilities and guest vocalists. The album draws as much on 80's funk, boogie and electro as merengue and Afro-beat.

A member of Antibalas, multi instrumentalist and guitarist, Garcia has in the past worked with the likes of TV On The Radio, The Roots and Dam Funk as well as remixing Little Dragon and Alice Russell.

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Tambour Battant

Galore

Yebolala Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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After two years in the making, Tambour Battant delivers its new album "Galore", 13 tracks that outline the contours of genres and reinvent them. Very eclectic sounds makes this new album: from Brazilian-flavored tracks with the artists Flavia Coelho and Faktiss to heavy-weighted Trap beats with Miscellaneous (of Chill Bump) and Jman. On the other tracks, the duo takes us on an electrifying ride that will pleased all the lovers of heavy bass and powerful kicks. As its name suggests, this new album "Galore" is distinguished by its profusion of styles and influences.

For the original artwork of this new album "Galore", the duo appealed to Pablito Zago, a famous street artist / illustrator who brings his style rich in colors and collages to this album more than explosive!

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Nebeyu Hamdi

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Sheba Sound)

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Heavenly Sweetness)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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This is a recent recording straight out of Ethiopia, courtesy of the Sheba Sound crew.

Sheba Sound tour the Ethiopian hinterlands, capturing the mesmerising sounds of local talented musicians, using state of the art pop-up recording studios.

The process was captured in the highly acclaimed, award-winning documentary: Roaring Abyss, by Joaquin PiÃ±ero:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roaring-Abyss-Quino-PiÃ±ero/dp/B08329VLRL

The hugely anticipated next release from the Sheba Sound archives, under license to NuAfrique (My45) features crazy, untapped talent of Nebeyu Hamdi, with the Sabat Bet Gurage Band, based in Welkite, western Ethiopia.

The original recordings from 2013 receive ethio-funk bassline overdubbing treatment from Addis Abeba's inspired masenko-bass man of the moment, 'Bubu' Teklemariam.

The full package receives ultimate mixing treatment at The Yard Studio by master dub producer Nick Manasseh (Roots Garden).

The B-side of this EP release features 3 exclusive ethio-dub cuts. Manasseh's inspiration of deep masenko bass and tribal drum rhythms is evident through his dub treatment of the originals. Playing the tracks back through his mixing desk like it was an instrument, the results are completely unique pulsating, punctuated Ethio-dub rhythm tracks.

Watch out Shaka â€“ the Ethiopians are bringing their own dub cuts to town!
Interactive acoustic map of Ethiopia: http://shebasound.com/
Info & DJ bookings, contact: jonbanes@gmail.com

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Edmony Krater

J'ai Traversé La Mer

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Mr. Manager (Expanded Edition)

Zazou Bikaye

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Crammed)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Sounds Of Subterrania)

Junglelyd

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Out Here)

Santrofi

Alewa

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Even without an album out: they have already set the world on fire freaking out audiences all over Europe on their 2019 summer festival tour including Sines in Portugal, WOMAD in UK, Roskilde and WOMEX in Tampere. This young allstar band from Ghana brims with gifted musicians and energy on stage. The 8 piece collective is made up of a young generation of awarded musicians who have backed anyone in Ghana from Azonto sensation Sarkodie to Nigerian superstar 2 Face Idibia, but their passion isn't local pop but Highlife. And their mission is to bring it back; not only to the world but also to Ghana, where the young generation has forgotten all about this great music.Santrofi's debut album Alewa now brings you a new wave of fresh highlife rooted in the past with a knowledge of the future directly from the streets of Accra. Santrofi was founded by bassist and producer Emmanuel Ofori who rose from the source having played with Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band and has now formed his own band collective: Santrofi. The 8 musicians are deeply rooted in vintage Ghanaian highlife music in all its forms. The influences range from the riveting fast-paced pulse of 70s dance-guitar highlife, or the other-worldly sound of Highlife funk to the polyrhythmic beats and melodies that took Afrobeat across the globe. The members have toured the world with legends like Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Osibisa, George Darko and many, many others. They have learnt from the masters and are now ready to take highlife into the future.

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Kinshasa 1978 (Originals & Reconstructions)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Crammed)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP+CD | 2019 | Original (No Wahala Sounds)

Orchestre Shika Shika

Hit After Hit

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Contre Jour)

Release: 2019 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A selection of uptempo guitar-driven singles recorded by Congolese supergroup Shika Shika who formed in Kenya in 1981. While Shika Shika were only around for three years, during that short time they recorded four albums and over 80 singles on at least 16 labels. Members of the band had followed the trail of many Congolese musicians who headed to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi which was the man East African hub for recording and also offered plenty of opportunities for playing live. Bandmembers include main songwriter and singer Jimmy Monimambo, singers Lovy Longomba and Moreno Batamba and guitarist Siama Matuzungidi. As was typical in Kenya at the time, all songs were recorded with 45rpm singles in mind, and so the tracks were originally split into Parts 1 & 2 on either side of the disc.

Released in October 2018 and received airplay from Gideon Coe on BBC 6music, BBC Radio 3 Late Junction, DJ Ritu on SOAS Radio, Roger Hill on PMS BBC Radio Merseyside, Steve Barker On The Wire on BBC Radio Lancashire, and DJs Zoe Baxter and Debbie Golt on Resonance FM. Tracks were played by London-based DJ collective Village Cuts at their African music nights. A track featured on Rhythm Passport's monthly downloadable compilation in November 2018. Positively reviewed by David Hutcheon in Mojo magazine in March 2019.

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Habib Koite

Kharifa

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A Journey Into Cameroonian Music

Los Camaroes

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Nubiphone)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Rebel Up)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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For its 3rd releases, Nubiphone is proud to present you a compilation of the best early 7inch releases of the mythical Cameroonian band Los Camaroes.
10 raw tracks taken from various singles from 1968 to 1975, that present the musical diversity played by those seven young people: Bikutsi, Afro-Funk, Jerk, , Soukous, Rumba & Blues music. The band led by the charismatic lead vocal Messi Martin that managed to modernized Cameroonian music.
Deluxe edition that includes an 8-pages booklet, with exclusive pictures, biography in both English and French languages, and a HQ digital download card.

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Tropikal Camel

Awakening Spirits

LP | 2018 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A download code is included. Berlin-based, Jerusalem-born artist Roi Assayag (a.k.a Tropikal Camel) is set to serve up his new album, Awakening Spirits, on Brussels' Rebel Up.

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Hailu Mergia

Lala Belu

Release: 2018 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

Professor Rhythm

Bafana Bafana

LP | 2017 | UK | Original (Africa Seven)

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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First time on vinyl.
Key producer of early South African house music and kwaito Professor Rhythm is
the production moniker of South African music man Thami Mdluli. Throughout the
1980's, Mdluli was member of chart-topping groups Taboo and CJB, playing
bubblegum pop to stadiums. Mdluli became an in-demand producer for influential
artists (like Sox and Sensations, among many others) and in-house producer for
important record companies like Eric Frisch and Tusk. During the early '80s, Mdluli
projects usually featured an instrumental dance track. These hot instrumentals
became rather popular. Fans demanded to hear more of these backing tracks
without vocals, he says, so Mdluli began to make solo instrumental albums in 1985
as Professor Rhythm. He got the name before the recordings began, from fans, and
positive momentum from audiences and other musicians drove him to invest
himself in a full-on solo project. It was the era just before the end of apartheid and
house music hadn't taken over yet. There wasn't instrumental electronic music yet
in South Afric a. As the '80s came to a close, that was about to change. Professor
Rhythm productions mirror the evolution of dance music in South Africa. They
grew out of the bubblegum mold - which itself stems from band's channeling
influences like Kool & the Gang and the Commodores - into something based on
music for the club. His early instrumental recordings First Time Around and
Professor 3 mostly distilled R&B, mbaqanga and bubblegum grooves into vocal-less
pieces for the dance floor. Musically, these were a success and commercially the
albums all went gold. There were countless bubblegum albums flooding the
marketplace, with nearly disposable vocalists backed by mostly similar-sounding
rhythm tracks. Most of the lyrical content was light and apolitical. But the
keyboards used formed the musical basis for what would come next. By the time
Professor 4 and this recording Bafana Bafana - the name references South Africa's
national soccer team - were released in the mid-1990s, k waito had fully emerged.
Access to instruments and freedom of expression helped its rise in influence
among youth. According to Mdluli, "Once Mandela was released from prison and
people felt more free to express themselves and move around town, kwaito was
becoming the thing." Lyrically, kwaito championed the local township lingo while
adapting "international music," house music, into the local context. "International
Music," as house music and early kwaito were interchangeably known, in many
ways reflects the sounds coming from America. But South Africans made it their
own. Today, the largest part of the music industry is occupied by house music and
its relatives.

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Sorry Bamba

Du Mali

LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2017 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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One of the most pivotal figures in the history of Malian music is Sorry Bamba. His work spans five decades and his music bridges the gap between Mali's cultural traditions and new the music which arose from the musical cross overs which occurred in Mali's post-Colonial period. Bamba was born in 1938 in Mopti. This is dissected by both the Niger and Bani rivers and known for its rich cultural diversity. Bamba's father was a distinguished veteran of Emperor Samory Toure's military and a nobleman in Malian society; however, this meant young Sorry was forbidden to make music, as under the nation's caste system, music was an art form reserved for the Griots.

At the age of 10, Sorry's parents died and in traumatic times that followed the young teen found solace in music. He first taught himself to play am African six-holed flute. As he progressed he began to absorbed the rich tapestry of music of his surroundings; traditional Malian music, highlife from Ghana, local accordion master Toumani Toure, European singers and musicians. In 1957 Sorry formed his first band, Group Goumbe, named after a popular Ivory Coast dance style. In 1960 Mali gained independence from France, Bamba and his group benefited from a new openness toward local music on the state-run radio network Radio Mali. Sorry then went on to form two award-winning, further collectives Bani Jazz and later the Kanaga Orchestra. They fused Latin jazz, Western R&B, Psychedelic and funk, and traditional Malian styles made them a favourite in Mali and beyond.

In 1977 Sorry produced his second LP for the Paris based Sonafric group. Long out of print Africa Seven is pleased to be re-issuing the LP. The re-issue benefits from extensive restoration and re-mastering to a spectral analysis level, bringing and polishing long lost and distorted sounds.

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The Movers

Kansas City

LP+CD | 2017 | EU | Original (Schema)

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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An extremely rare and in-demand record from the disco-funk group has been unearthed and restored. The Movers enjoyed huge success in the 1970s, releasing album after album of ground-breaking sounds, including fusions of South African marabi jazz, funk, disco and jive. The line up of the band shifted throughout its existence - however this particular album produced by David Thekwane features musicians Jabu Sibumbe, L Rhikoti, Lloyd Lelosa and Sankie Chounyane.

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Gino Conte

Nell’Anno Della Luna

Township Jive & Kwela Jazz Volume 4

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A deep mystery surrounds the movie “Nell’anno della Luna” (In the year of the Moon) and its soundtrack, which was released one year later. A beautiful work that lingers in between swing and melodies, in a fad that was popular a few decades earlier, complemented by some elements of novelty borrowed from beat and rock. The title track, “Alla brasiliana” and “Samba Querida” sound more traditional, while titles like “Afro Swing”, “Underground”, “Beatmania” (all featuring the vocal ensemble I 4+4, led by Nora Orlandi) represent a more adventurous side of this soundtrack.

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Various

LP | 2016 | EU | Original (Ubuntu Publishing)

LP | 2015 | EU | Original (Sterns)

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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On this great compilation you’ll find 16 early vocal & jazzy tunes from the Golden Age of Jive & Kwela in South Africa. All released originally on fragile shellac discs only, which is a very delicate material but the music survived thanks to the archives of ILAM. A truly great source of South African music is being preserved here for new generations, to inspire young and hopeful musicians and singers from all over the world. These treasures of musical genius were recorded in the glory years of Jive and Kwela, the years 1940-1965.
On side A it is not very difficult to recognize the similarities to American popular music like R&B and small combo close harmony singing. But most of all notice that typical South African swing, that Jive, that incredible smooth form of African Jazz on side B; Kwela!

The rarest and most treasured finds are collected here, some with the original spoken intros, ‘sketches’ as these were called. Characteristic conversations between the musicians, often in a humoristic slang, always extremely funny. The record is pressed to 180gram vinyl.

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Yaaba Funk

My Vote Dey Count

Township Jive & Kwela Jazz Volume 2

Release: 2015 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Emerging from London's African drum and dance scene, Yaaba Funk is an extremely dynamic group of musicians. Their sophomore full-length offers an irresistible collection of Afrobeat, Hi-Life and solid African funk grooves!

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Various

LP | 2013 | EU | Original (Ubuntu Publishing)

2LP | 2013 | UK | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2013 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Soul Safari presents volume Two of the Township Jive & Kwela Jazz compilation, featuring 18 rare gems from South Africa, recorded between 1930 and 1962. All titles on this compilation have been carefully handpicked from the ILAM Archives (the International Library of African Music), in Grahamstown, South Africa.

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Chico Mann of Antibalas

Magical Thinking

Make It Fast, Make It Slow

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Rob

LP | 2012 | UK | Original (Soundway)

LP | 2018 | EU | Reissue (Afrosynth)

Release: 2012 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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ROB was an enigmatic recording artist from Ghana who cut two albums for the legendary Essiebons label in 1977. Neither of these were big domestic hits at the time and have since become prized amongst collectors in recent years. The title track from this LP was always one of the most popular on the first Soundway release Ghana Soundz and over the years we have been asked many times to re-issue the LP in it’s entirety. A stranger, slower offering than his more dancefloor funk-laden and Spartan first LP, this record sees ROB in similar territory but with the tempo switched down and the introspection turned up.

ROB’s trademark horns dominate and are supplied by the Mag-2, an army band founded by leader Amponsah Rockson, who named it after the army unit the band played for – the “magnificent” second battalion. In 1977, Rob traveled to the coastal town of Takoradi in search of Mag-2, which had an entire section of its line-up dedicated to horns, with the intension of laying out his proposal to them. Luckily for Rob, the band took him up on it.

With religious overtones and a broody, slightly off-key atmosphere at points it’s certainly one of the stranger afro-funk records to come out of West Africa but with tracks like Loose up Yourself and Make it Fast, Make it Slow he nails it for sure.

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Ntombi Ndaba & Survival

Tomorrow 2024 Repress

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Budabeats)

Release: 2018 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Incl. her in demand tune "Tomorrow" . Six-track anthology of South African singer Ntombi Ndaba, featuring 2 songs from 3 of her solo albums, Mina Ngiljaji (1988), Mama Nature (1989) and Why Me (1991).
Ntombi Ndaba first rose to fame in 1985 with Ntombi & Survival, becoming one of the most popular singers of the bubblegum era. After setting up the independent label Anneko with her producer A.T. ‘Rubber’ Khoza in 1988, she went solo. Following Khoza’s death in the early 1990s, Ndaba never recorded again.

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The Mabon Dawud Republic

20,69 €* 22,99 € -10%

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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10" | 2022 | EU | Original (NTS)

Pamoja V Sisso

Singeli Sound

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Born Bad)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Discover the essential high tempo Singeli Sound that currently echoes throughout Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. This accompanying release to the mini-documentary on the scene from NTS, focuses on two of the central studios in the scene and their singular takes on Singeli; with Pamoja, helmed by Duke, and the inimitable DJ Sisso

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Star Feminine Band

In Paris

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Shika Shika)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Star Feminine Band: a 2020 debut, first journey and a 2022 return!Though not exactly a world music label, Born Bad took up the challenge and released Star Féminine Band's debut album in late 2020. Heaps of acclaims and praise and the whole shebang, then boom: the tour that was to materialize, live, all of the band and its entourage's hopes got cancelled due to Covid. After a long delay, the band finally managed to get to Europe, performing on the Transmusicales Festival, as well as for TV stations like Arte, TV5 and BBC to much acclaim. "Once they played, Born Bad and the band clearly had a "mission accomplished" feeling - that all the energy put into this was worth it, starting with the critics who abounded at the Transmusicales to weigh the phenomenon. They left convinced, just like the audience, enthralled by the direct, live formula. The sequel to the adventures of these new ambassadors for Unicef? They persist and sign with a feverish and energetic soundtrack in which nabo, peulh and waama are enlivened with drum lines and spiced up with more "modern" sounds, spreading words of tolerance and kindness. Simple and direct, they speak of their reality, of the ills of young women who don't always have a choice. Often out of school and destined to selling peanuts, bananas or gari on the roadside, most of the girls around there don't have a future. Forced marriage, precocious pregnancies_ "These kids are heroines!", continues Born Bads JB who, by welcoming them in a record studio, allowed for the formula to be sharpened into a sort of garage band with an afro twist. Thanks to the English lessons that their manager Jérémie Verdier has been providing every Sunday night for two years over videoconference, the girls even experimented with English lyrics in "We Are Star Feminine Band" and "Woman Stand Up". In Paris is the happy outcome of that challenge.Vinyl LP in printed under sleeve with French + UK linernotes + Download code * Digipak CD includes 12 pages booklet with French + UK linern...

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Barrio Lindo

Espuma De Mar

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Compass)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In 2019, whilst touring Japan, Barrio Lindo found himself moving away from the dance floor, instead getting lost in his headphones while listening to music that dismissed genre, oscillating between jazz, chamber orchestras and electronica. As a producer at the forefront of Latin America’s folktronica scene over the last 10 years, Agustín Rivaldo, to give Barrio Lindo his given name, has proven himself more than adept at crafting soundscapes that can transport listeners, full of detail and nuance, but they always had to pander to the club and its duty to keep revellers energised. The epiphany in Japan necessitated a change in direction, to make music that people could get lost in,and which also meant he could revert to his younger self, that guy in his twenties playing guitar with his friends, just for fun. So he booked a studio on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in early 2020 and invited some friends over; the idea was simple, let’s play some music and see where it takes us.
Espuma de Mar is the result, those initial sessions refined over the intervening years, new collaborators brought in where necessary, the production crafted in the same manner as his previous electronic-focused output, but the feel here, the ambience, is completely different. Like the espuma de mar, the sea foam that gives the album its name, this music has a fleeting quality, it arrives, imperfectly, and never stops transforming; it replenishes, it diminishes, it breathes.

The biggest difference between this album and Rivaldo’s previous works is the increased tension, and the sense of space; whereas beats and sequencers, as per their design, propel constant rhythm, here every note has intent, only played if necessary to the composition. This is felt on “Llegada”, a minimal groove soothed by kalimba thumb piano and fidgety synths while layers of trumpet take the lead until a surprisingly sombre piano motif brings the song to a close. The title track has a similar feel, whereby the music sounds improvised, each instrument free to roam, yet each note hits you in the stomach; here, we get an ominous opener, spare notes of trumpet, charango, snare drum and heavily-reverbed piano taking their turn until a rhythm begins to develop, albeit a rhythm that refuses to retain its form, flutes, synths, bass and detached vocals all playing their part as the song refuses to stand still.
Rivaldo has stated that it was the sounds of German-Senegalese group Mark Ernestus' Ndagga Rhythm Force and the UK-based project Hidden Orchestra that had the biggest impact on the album’s sound, and it is certainly possible to see the affect of the latter in the mixture of field recordings and percussive symphonic jazz. For this record, Rivaldo has worked with a small ensemble of Nicolás Lapíne on trumpet, Ignus and drums and Federico Estévez on percussion, as well as invitees such as flautist Mariana Iturri and violinist Alex Musatov. With Rivaldo himself adding guitar, synth, bass and piano, the effect is of a modern chamber orchestra and the drama that can bring. Opening track “Seguí” is a great example with its crashing piano chords and pulsating violin, and there’s no denying the euphoria of a track like “Oasis”, whose woozy trumpets can’t help but recall prime Beirut.
But there’s a reason Rivaldo is thought of so highly within the folktronica scene, and it’s for his attention to detail. No two tracks on the album are the same, it goes from the percussion-heavy “Migrante”, whose breakbeat and jerky synths show a love for hip-hop and 80s funk, to a beguiling track like “Azufre” that has a vaguely-Caribbean cadence until a tenor sax solo from Camila Nebbia takes it into more overtly-jazz territory. Then there’s a track like “Periferia” whose use of close- mic’d percussion makes it feel like the speaker is literally shaking with rhythm, alongside “Tac Tac Tac” that is full of warm, reverberant bass notes, albeit offset by hand claps and the only-discernible vocal on the album. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that Rivaldo is also a luthier, using some of the instruments he’s created on the album; there is a meticulous mind at work. Espuma de Mar is that rare beast, an example of an artist reinventing themselves, yet somehow sounding completely like they’ve always sounded. As Bandcamp once said in a feature on Barrio Lindo, his music is “carefully composed, revealing an underlying sense of wonder and joy”, and this continues on his latest, an album that is destined to provide someone else with an epiphany as they get lost in the music on their headphones, whether that be in Japan or elsewhere.

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Mr.Sun

Extrovert

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Kujua)

Shane Cooper & Mabuta

Finish The Sun

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Meet Me There)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Finish The Sun, the second offering from Shane Cooper & Mabuta, is a glowing and energetic album, rooted in grooves from all over the African continent. The six-piece outfit draws on influences from Mali, Nigeria, the Sahel, Morocco; and the many sounds that make up their native South Africa. This musical trip seamlessly dances through Afrobeat, maskandi, funk and hip hop, to moments of cinematic beauty. All embedded with subtle hints of 70s psychedelia. The core group of Shane Cooper, Bokani Dyer, Sisonke Xonti, and Robin Fassie invited international guests on drums including: Jamie Peet, Arthur Hnatek, Christopher Cantillo, and more…

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Saltpond City Band

Boko A Ko

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Introducing the 'Saltpond City Band'. A buoyant 8-piece outfit hailing from Ghana, blending soulful highlife and percussive funk in their new album 'Boko A Ko', forthcoming on Meet Me There Records.

The Saltpond City Band was initially formed by the legendary Ghanaian highlife musician Ebo Taylor and is now led by his son, keyboardist and lead vocalist, Henry Taylor.

The album 'Boko A Ko' is a blend of highlife, funk and afrobeat, woven into a refreshing take on traditional Ghanaian highlife. With the core of the band set deep in the highlife experience, Taylor and company deliver a combination of driving horns, fluid percussion and earthy vocals. The album features Ebo Taylor himself on 'Mennbo Wobi', which also showcases Ghanaian flute extraordinaire Dela Botri adding fine elements of melodic escape.

The forthcoming album is set to be released on the brand new label 'Meet Me There Records' (mmtr). Mmtr is a community-based project aiming to put the artist first. With profits split 50:50 between artist and label, 25% of the label profits will go directly towards the building of a recording studio in the local community of Dzita in West Ghana, Wornana Studios, which will become one of the first accessible recording studios in the Volta region.

'Boko A Ko' is already receiving praise from highly acclaimed artists and DJ's, but is also an example of what else is to come from Mmtr and is paving the way for new and unexplored talent that is coming out of the Ghanaian and West African music scene.

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Jazz In South Africa - Township Jazz From The Golden Age

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Honeypie)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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South Africa is in fact the only country in the whole African continent that has developed a strong Jazz tradition. Initially influenced by the great American stylists, (Ellington, Gillespie...) South Africa gradually developed its own soulful style based on a distinctive taste for melody and a deep sense of groove. Masterfully selected from the so-called Golden Age of the genre, (late Fifties / early Sixties), this compilation represents the best introduction to the work of a large and varied body of musicians and composers who inevitably developed their music as part of the historical Anti-Apartheid struggle, and as means of self expression in the dark times of exile. Kippie Moeketsi, Hugh Masekela, Dollar Brand, Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Mongesi Feza, Barney Rabachan, Nick Moyake and of course the queen Miriam Makeba are just some of the main voices represented here. A bunch of true warriors. in one word: A must!

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LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Comet)

Afro Rhythms Volume 2

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Sounds Of Subterrania)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Comet Records presents Afro Rhythms Vol. 2, the first repress of Comet’s singles and Remixes from 2009 – 2017 with floor filler tracks from Tony Allen Afrobeat pioneer 'African Man" remix by Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer along with the afro deep house reedit of "Cotton’s Field" by French producer Jeff Sharel, the "Awakening" remix from Krazy Baldhead, former artist of Ed Banger and producer of electro malian band Donso and finally Africaine 808 to end this Afro Rhythms comp with their stunning remix of Afrobeat classic tune "Afrodiscobeat". A proper trawl through the vaults of Comet Records.

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Ipek Yolu

Tropical Anatolia

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Wah Wah)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ipek Yolu is the Turkish name for the Silk Road which connected the East and the West. This band does not deal in silk but they connect flavors, smells and sounds from different corners of the globe, connecting the world.
The band merges bass-heavy electro-tinged cumbia grooves, saz riffs and surf guitar into a multicultural melting pot of South American rhythms, Anatolian folk music and 60s psychedelic rock. A unique universe of sound that bridges the tropical jungles and the dusty deserts in a kaleidoscopic blend of music. Ipek Yolu has used 2020 to write their debut album Tropical Anatolia and are ready to hit the venues and festivals.
The members of Ipek Yolu first got together for an improvised jam session during the Aarhus Roots & Hybrid Festival in 2018. The show was set up as a special one-time-only show merging members from the bands Hudna & Junglelyd. The show ended up lasting for almost three hours. It didn’t take them long to discover they were onto something special. If you know any of these bands mentioned you know you’re in for a body-shaking party, characterised by musical curiosity and improvisation.
The three members of Ipek Yolu have all been part of the Danish music scene for several years. The band leader, Orhan Özgür Turan, is a well-known and respected saz player all over Denmark, and has made a name for himself through his efforts in the Anatolian Folk band Hudna. In 2018 he won an award as Global Roots Artist of the year at The Danish World Music Awards. Olaf Brinch and Lasse Aagaard have worked together for many years making high energy cumbia with their band Junglelyd and Afrobeat with their band African Connection. Olaf is also an integral part of the Danish band AddisAbabaBand. In addition, Olaf and Lasse have toured and recorded with great musicians such as CC Yoyo, former drummer of Fela Kuti, in both Ghana and Denmark. All of the past experiences collided to create Ipek Yolu.

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Bazali Bam

Action

Nebeyu Hamdi & The Sabat Bet Cultural Gurage Band

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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Extremely rare, under the radar afro-psychedelic LP from South Africa. This mysterious band was produced by African funk master, composer, guitarist and producer Almon Sandisa Memela, who was active since the mid 1950s, first as a musician and guitar teacher and then also as a producer. He is famous for his 1970s Afro funk works Funky Africa and the very sought after Broken Shoes.

Action features a cool mixture of incipient afro-funk and garage pop/psych, with one of its songs having been compiled on the famous Next Stop... Soweto compilation series that helped ignite the current fever for African music.

Riyl: Ofege, Blo, Aktion, The Apostles, Sjob Movement, Soweto and the likes.

First ever vinyl reissue, reproducing the original sleeve artwork and with remastered sound. 500 copies only.

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Yebolala Red Vinyl Edition

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Nu Afrique / Sheba Sound)

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Rebel Up)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Sheba Sound tour the Ethiopian hinterlands, capturing the mesmerising sounds of local talented musicians, using state of the art pop-up recording studios. The hugely anticipated next release from the Sheba Sound archives, under licence to Nu Afrique features crazy, untapped talent of Nebeyu Hamdi, from the Sabat Bet Cultural Gurage Band, based in Welkite, western Ethiopia. The original recordings from 2013 receive ethio-funk bassline overdubbing treatment from Addis Abeba’s inspired masenko bass-man of the moment, ‘Bubu’ Teklemariam.

The full package receives ultimate mixing treatment at The Yard Studio by master dub producer Nick Manasseh (Roots Garden).

The B-side of this EP release features 3 exclusive ethio-dub cuts. Manasseh’s inspiration of deep masenko bass and tribal drum rhythms is evident through his dub treatment of the originals. Playing the tracks back through his mixing desk like it was an instrument, the results are completely unique pulsating, punctuated Ethio-dub rhythm tracks.

Watch out Shaka – the Ethiopians are bringing their own dub cuts to town!

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Dandana

Free The System

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Captain Pouch)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Dandana is a musical collective with musicians from the Netherlands, Senegal and The Gambia with members Bas Ackermann, Ebou Gaye Mada, Filly Dioma, Jackson Loman, Joop de Graaf and Modou Joof. Inspiration is drawn from West African psychedelic mandingue pioneers Guelewar, Ifang Bondi & Touré Kunda and the synth-driven vibes of bands like Air & Tame Impala. ‘Free the System’ will take you on a journey through a new universe.

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Touki

Right Of Passage

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Unreleased Sounds Of Top Rank

Aba / Nigeria

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Dig This Way)

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Zephyrus)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Reggae & Dancehall

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It's been a long journey from the day in Nigeria when we found, inside an Alpha Kuffa - Messiah I sleeve, a blank test press of the Yangaman Bob Lp with a little Top Rank sticker on it to the day we met the producer, the great and brilliant George Dureke, who gave us the test presses of the remaining unreleased albums from his Top Rank label, till to the complicated audio Restoration handled by Colin Young and Bassi Maestro. After two years of hard and intensive work it's finally arrived the time for this compilation to be ready and see the light! Eight Unreleased Digital Roots tracks made in Nigeria in the late 80s, never released or pressed, if not on a couple of test presses made on recycled plastic. Surely it includes some of the most interesting Reggae Music made in the Roots Land call Nigeria! Now Ready to be spreaded worldwide!

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Proyecto Secreto

Alto

Medianos Exitos Subtropicales Volume 2: El Relincho Del Tiempo

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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After a short break since 2007, Proyecto Secreto is back (Bruce Lee not yet). A few smashing performances later, culminating in a comeback at the last Ghent Festivities with Lien De Greef and Paolo Marquez as guests,there is now a new release with skalosal songs that include Dave Hillyard and Vic Ruggiero from The Slackers. The album was mixed by Latin Grammy Award winning engineer en dub master Victor Rice.

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Los Siquicos Litoralenos

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Hive Mind)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Afro7)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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“The unique and magical sound of Los Siquicos Litoraleños (The Psychics of El Litoral), fermented in the rural north of Argentina, land of gauchos (Argentine cowboys), mate tea, chamamé folk music and Psilocybe Cubensis. In this remote region, cut off from the fashions of the city, Los Siquicos were able to nurture their obsessions, hone their craft, and develop a singular style that takes the traditional chamamé folk music of rural Argentina, then throws it in a blender with Latin-American cumbia and chicha, the tropicalia of Os Mutantes and Tom Ze, the free music of Sun Ra, Captain Beefheart, The Residents, UFO conspiracies, radical philosophy, and a strong dose of the absurd. Out in the hinterlands, they fully embraced the spirit and ethic of DIY punk, gaining a reputation for wild, open air shows on the backs of flatbed trucks, or from makeshift set-ups in village squares and at local fêtes and fairs, where confused locals half recognise the twisted sound of a chamamé beamed in from another planet.

Hive Mind Records are delighted to help bring Medianos Éxitos Subtropicales Vol. 2: El Relincho Del Tiempo (Medium Subtropical Hits Vol. 2: The Neigh of Time) out into the world. The album features a number of brand new songs alongside tracks chosen from Los Siquicos' extensive archive of home recordings. El Relincho Del Tiempo contains the soupy dub-cumbia of Para Ser Un Gran Hombre, the fantasy radio-hit La Danza Del Brontosaurio, and the shamanic ecstasy of Los Ninos Del Brasil or Dostoyevski En El Minimercado.
Los Siquicos Litoraleños invite you to take a leap into their world in which the sounds of the future and the past blur into one, where the music of the whole planet is digested and spat out in new shapes, where the noise is joyful.“

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Yaseen & Party

Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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A collection of 12 fantastic taarab songs from Yaseen Mohammed (Mac & Party) rich in exotic tone colour, full of swing and groove, compiled from the elusive Mzuri catalogue, Mombasa, Kenya 1960’s. Comes with with a large 4 page fold-out insert with extensive background story and never-before-seen pictures.

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Osondi Owendi

LP | 2019 | UK | Original (Hive Mind)