Afrobeat Vinyl 825 Items

Jazz In South Africa - Township Jazz From The Golden Age

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Honeypie)

Over Fields And Mountains White Blossom Vinyl Edition

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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Branko Mataja

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Numero Group)

Pape Nziengui Et Son Groupe

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Recalling Ennio Morricone spaghetti westerns, the electrified belly dance music of Omar Khorshid, and '90s bedroom psychedelia at once, the music of Branko Mataja is from its own epoch. Snatched from the streets of Belgrade as a teenager,Mataja spent World War 2 in a German work camp, escaping the insanity of postwar Europe to settle in North Hollywoodto live out the American Dream to its fullest. Crafting handmade music on homemade guitars throughout the 1970s,Mataja taught himself to play in order to pay homage to his ancestral home of Yugoslavia, a place he would never returnto except through these guitar meditations.

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Kadi Yombo

2LP | 2022 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

30,99 €*

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it's Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music. Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution. Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo's capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists. On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui-not only the musician, but the man-someone whose age hasn't altered any of his freshness or authenticity.

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LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Comet)

Afro Rhythms Volume 2

The Strings Of Sao Domingos

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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The Ano Nobo Quartet

2LP+Book | 2022 | US | Original (Ostinato)

16,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Reissue (Sonorama)

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the small inland town of São Domingos on Cape Verde's Santiago Island, The Ano Nobo Quartet delivers a fresh take on Koladera, a guitar-driven, subtly rhythmic sound of a lighter spirit. Their sound tells a global story with Cape Verde at its center, a creole melting pot in the middle of the Atlantic attracting the best from four continents: hypnotic, haunting Koladera guitars inflected with twangs of Salsa Cubano, Spanish Flamenco, Brazilian Samba Canção, Jamaican Reggae, Argentine Tango, Mozambican Marrabenta, and finished with a dash of Black American Blues. It's all here. Absent percussion, the quartet's sound still drips with rhythm. Rich, raw acoustic music you can dance to.

This album was recorded in three locations on Santiago Island: at homes, by the sea, and on the volcanic hills of Cape Verde. Each location used a mobile recording studio equipped with different mics placed near and far to capture both the Spanish and Chinese-made guitars and the natural environment that shapes the saudade, a melancholic longing, of Koladera. Each space has its own atmosphere heard in the interludes.

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Kapingbdi

Take A Look Outside

Release: 2019 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Reissue (Sonorama)

Kapingbdi

Born In The Night

Release: 2019 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Siti Of Unguja Transparent Vinyl Edition

Siti Muharam

LP | 2022 | Original (On The Corner)

North Mississippi Allstars

Release: 2022 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Following the immense critical acclaim of Siti Muharam'salbum 'Siti of Unguja', On The Corner release a limited run of 500 transparent vinyl. Crowned Album of the Year 2021 by Songlines, 'Siti of Unguja' was also selected The Guardian' sGlobal Album of the Month, The Wire's No.1 Global Album and included in best albums of the year lists in NPR and The Vinyl Factory.

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Set Sail Black Vinyl Edition

LP | 2022 | US | Original (New West)

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Angola Soundtrack Volume 2

2LP | 2013 | EU | Reissue (Analog Africa)

Idrissa Soumaoro Et L´Eclipse De L´Ija

Release: 2013 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In 2010, against all odds, Angola Soundtrack Vol.1 was awarded the German Record Critics' Prize in the category "Black music". This victory was all the sweeter for its triumph over the predicted winner, Aloe Blacc's multi platinium record, "Good Things". Many were surprised that the award was handed to a compilation that covered obscure music, but it didn't surprise the team behind Analog Africa who believed such award should have come much earlier. Since discovering the music of Angola 15 years ago, styles such Kazucuta, Rebita and Semba have become an addiction for Samy Ben Redjeb, the compiler, who proclaimed a serious warning in the first edition liner notes:

"Listening to these tracks may cause addiction and provoke heavy rotation!"

Angola Soundtrack Vol.2 - Hypnosis, Distortions & other Sonic Innovations 1969-1978 - The unique blend of incomparable musicianship, passionate delivery and regional rhythms that make these tracks so combustible are no accident. An exceptional set of circumstances existed in the history of Angola before Independence that created the giant leap in the style and standard of bands and recordings of the time.

When Portuguese repressive measures prevented the small Turmas, street musician groups, from being able to perform in Carnaval celebrations in 1961, a Portuguese civil servant, entrepreneur and Angolan music fan named Luis Montês was already in a position to capitalise on Luanda's need for a live music scene. His self-designed "Kutonocas", Sunday afternoon live music festivals, delighted a Luandan population hungry for a communication between the city and musseques (townships). It also forced groups to adapt to a different style of playing that would accommodate large stages and broader audiences. They equipped themselves with electric guitars, and fed on the musical influences from Cape Verde, Congo and the Dominican Republic, while staying patriotically true to their own musical legacy and unique rhythms.

The intimacy of those participating in this musical revolution meant they playfully and professionally wanted to trump each other's style; communication between the groups was frequent as everyone studied each other's records and concerts and players were under a lot of pressure to outdo each other due to the limited recording and performing opportunities. Development of skill and ingenuity was a must, as well as addressing the highly politicised climate. The optimism of Independence can be heard in these recordings; a common goal between the audience and musicians.

Upon reading the characteristically generous liner notes of this new Analog Africa release, you will be given more hints of the crucial melting pot that allowed this short period to have such an outstanding productivity. Featuring 44 pages acquired in coordination with the National Library of Luanda and the art magazine "Note E Dia", Analog Africa head honcho Samy Ben Redjeb has managed to collect newspaper clips, extremely rare pictures of the bands on stage and printed interviews from the 70s.

The stunning pages of passionate photography and artistic design also include interviews with many of the original artists and their families, biographies of the three labels that made it all possible, and of Luis Montês, who was the pulse of the live music scene in Luanda. This compilation is a dedication to the short lived recording industry in Angola, a brief moment of history between 1969 and 1978 in which three recording companies produced approximately 800 records, mostly singles. They are rare jewels, each song with a significant story and feel behind it. You will hear exciting music blazed with the anticipation of emancipation, tracks fuelled with a sense of unity, community, importance and immediacy.

This addictive, outlawed music from Angola shakes and grooves with the smoothness of staccato machine gun fire. Do yourself a favor and submerge yourself into some of the most addictive music created by mankind!

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Nissodia Mike D Edit Orange Vinyl Edition

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

18,99 €*

Nebeyu Hamdi & The Sabat Bet Cultural Gurage Band

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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Yebolala Red Vinyl Edition

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

Yebolala Black Vinyl Edition

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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Nebeyu Hamdi

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

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Mais Um Discos)

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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Dona Onete

Feitico Caboclo

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Hallelujah Chicken Run Band

Take One

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

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

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In 1972, the country of Rhodesia – as Zimbabwe was then known – was in the middle of a long-simmering struggle for independence from British colonial rule. In the hotels and nightclubs of the capital, bands could make a living playing a mix of Afro-Rock, Cha-Cha-Cha and Congolese Rumba. But as the desire for independence grew stronger, a number of Zimbabwean musicians began to look to their own culture for inspiration. They began to emulate the staccato sound and looping melodies of the mbira (thumb piano) on their electric guitars, and to replicate the insistent shaker rhythms on the hi-hat; they also started to sing in the Shona language and to add overtly political messages to their lyrics (safe in the knowledge that the predominantly white minority government wouldn’t understand them). From this collision of electric instruments and indigenous traditions, a new style of Zimbabwean popular music – later known as Chimurenga, from the Shona word for ‘struggle’ – was born. And there were few bands more essential to the development of this music than the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band.

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San Proper

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Dopeness Galore)

Le Mali 70 Black Vinyl Edition

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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Omniversal Earkestra

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Trikont)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Rebel Up)

Kaito Winse

Kaladounia

14,69 €* 20,99 € -30%

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Rebel Up)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Vinyl LP ((incl. Download Code*) Kaito Winse comes from a Burkina Faso griot music family, where from an early age he was formed in the tradition of his family and the region of Sourou in the north of Burkina Faso.Kaito Winse comes from a Burkina Faso griot music family, where from an early age he was formed in the tradition of his family and the region of Sourou in the north of Burkina Faso. Kaladounia means ‘Here the world’. As a griot, Kaito is the message bearer for the traditions of Burkina Faso. This debut album takes its impetus from the desire to perpetuate these traditions.

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Dandana

Free The System

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Heavenly Sweetness)

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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Edmony Krater

J'ai Traversé La Mer

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Mot Aykerim (You Can't Cheat Death)

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Now-Again)

7" | 2020 | EU | Original (Newentun Resistance)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin’s music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin’s recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums – the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin’s uber-rare 7” single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Mot Aykerim gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7” single releases. Contains an oversized 11” x 11” 16 page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin’s role within it.

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Tito Pontet

La Fera Dub / La Fera

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

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Reggae & Dancehall

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One of the most successful bands in the Valencian Community who sing in Catalonia. It is an afrobeat song with a mix of rocksteady and its corresponding dub version by Roberto Sanchez, the most international Spanish reggae producer.

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Faratuben

Sira Kura

Mr. Manager (Expanded Edition)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Between Aarhus and Bamako lie 6,593 kilometers – and a deep socio-economic divide. This is why people have long been drawn from Africa to Europe. Unfortunately, the opposite is rarely the case. “Sira Kura”, the debut album from the Danish-Malian band Faratuben, shows what is possible when musicians move out of their comfort zones and meet at eye level. The music from this Bamako-based band is not just another variation of Afrobeat, nor a retrospective reminiscence of Fela Kuti. It is an electrified version of the centuries-old Bwa and Bobo music, and differs from the traditional Kora sounds of a Toumani Diabaté and Salif Keïta with its increased pressure and tempo.
The three Danes, Mikas Bøgh Olesen, Jakob de Place and Mads Voxen, came to Mali as part of an exchange program of the Conservatoire de Arts et Metiers Multimédia (CAMM), where they heard traditional Bobo music for the first time. Bobo is what the French colonizers called the Bwa people, an oppressed minority living in Burkina Faso and northern Mali. The percussive music of the Bwa is driven by various percussion instruments and the sound of the balofon, a type of xylophone with calabashes suspended below. The three Danish music students were completely enthralled with this dynamic sound that accompanies religious ceremonies as well as weddings and parties in Mali.
Guitarist and studio owner Dieudonne Koita, vocalist Sory Dao and balofon virtuoso Kassim Koita, formed a band that was originally intended to perform only once: at the Bamako Jazz Festival. The name Bobo Jazz Experience was used on the posters at the time. But the performance was too grandiose not to continue. At the Bogolan Studio in downtown Bamako, the musicians recorded the songs “Terete” and “Pari” a short time later, which rapidly went into heavy rotation at the TV station ORTM and on various Malian radio stations. In the meantime the band had decided on the name Faratuben, a combination of the words “farafin” (black) and “toubabou” (white).
The musicians often live and rehearse together in the mountains outside Bamako, in a village called Kati, which the Koita family calls home. The Koita family is a large clan that has produced many important musicians. “Electrification is quite new in our tradition, and the first person to play Bwa music on an electric guitar was our father, Pakuene Koita”, says Dieudonne. His brother Kassim has been voted best balofon player in Mali four times. Faratuben are also becoming more and more successful in Mali, playing at weddings, parties and increasingly at big festivals like “Spot on Mali Music”.
In short, it was high time for a debut album! “Sira Kura” is extremely varied fusion, in which the pulsating polyrhythms of Bwa music are organically combined with elements of jazz and art pop – played at a dreamlike higher level. “A modern mix of 10CC and Osibisa”, as keyboarder Mikas calls it. And indeed, such overwhelming melodiousness and such complex songwriting is rarely found in Afrobeat. In Bambara, one of the many languages spoken in Mali, “Sira Kura” means “new direction”.
But Faratuben is about more than parties and good moods. The rousingly combative “Mi Njan Mure Mure” tells of days when Mali was a French colony: “You took our land, you took our space, you torture us, you treated us with barbarity.” The musicians see their band as living anti-racism. As Dieudonne says: “I never thought before that I could meet white people on an equal footing and on one level. That white people live, eat and sleep in my house and live together with my family, just like I do. Such a thing is very rare in Mali. We are happy and proud that through Faratuben we can show that it is possible to create a community beyond race and skin color.”
Meanwhile, the band has also gained a loyal fan base in Scandinavia. In Denmark, where the album was released last year, “Sira Kura” was awarded the Danish Music Award for the best “globalpop” album. And in August, the musicians also received a nomination for the DMA Roots Award.
Faratuben are now back again after being stuck in Aarhus from March to August due to Corona, and could only return to Mali at the end of the month. In their luggage, they carry the songs for their second album, which were written during their quarantine. But, until then, “Sira Kura” will ensure that autumn in Germany sizzles. Bwa music rules!

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Zazou Bikaye

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Crammed)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | Original (Now-Again)

Witch

Introduction

Release: 2020 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Tewedije Limut (Let Me Die Loved) Black Vinyl Edition

LP | 2020 | Original (Now-Again)

Release: 2020 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin’s music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin’s recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums – the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin’s uber-rare 7” single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Tewedije Limut gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7” single releases. Contains an oversized 11” x 11” 16 page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin’s role within it.

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Che Belew (March Forward)

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Now-Again)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin’s music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin’s recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums – the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin’s uber-rare 7” single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Che Belew gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7” single releases.

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Good Aderegechegn (Blindsided By Love)

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Now-Again)

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Rare And Or Interesting)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin’s music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin’s recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums – the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin’s uber-rare 7” single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Good Aderegechegn gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7” single releases. Contains an oversized 11” x 11” 16 page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin’s role within it.

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Joe Sembene

14,99 €*

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Lokalophon)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Newborn french label Raoi Records is proud to release for the first time a remastered and fully licensed compilation of the two sought after records of Joe Sembene: Heart of Africa & Weur Di Dane/Le P’tit Quinquin. Side A is "Heart of Africa" with the songs "Gorelle" & "Autrefois", two timeless and unparalleled afro/electronic tracks. The first song on Side B is "Weur Di Dane", a perfect blend of afro and boogie vibes. The voice of Joe's wife, Josy Sene, stands out all along the track, a pure bliss! This is followed by a cover of a traditional song from the north of France called "Le P'tit Quinquin", but Joe gives it a strong reggae twist in the vain of Serge Gainsbourg’s "Aux Armes Et Cætera"! However, it had little success at the time... After recording these two remarkable and hard-to-find 7 inches at September Records in Lille (Fr), Joe suddenly disappeared… Who knows where Joe Sembene is right now?

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Zonke Family

At The Studio

Disco Highlife Reedit Series Volume 3

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The members of the Zonke Family from Nyamapanda, Zimbabwe, belong to the few remaining master musicians of the matepe, a type of lamellophone which belongs to the family of the mbira. This complex interlocking music is played on each instrument with four fingers, each employing independent rhythmic patterns which effects many psychoacoustic tricks on the listener's ear. This is the first time ever a full matepe ensemble is captured on a studio album. We hope this album is a step towards bringing this music to new audiences – as well as a contribution to its preservation.

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Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Comet)

LP | 2020 | UK | Original (R2)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Comet presents the third release of its new Disco Highlife series, featuring remastered originals by Ghanaian legends Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas and disco re-edits by Trus’me and Tiger Tigre. On Side A, “Yes Indeed” is a heavy afrobeat piece out of the legendary LP Super Sounds Namba recorded in Togo and released in 1981 on Abotar Records. This awesome synthetic afrobeat is featuring the two biggest stars of Ghana Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas. Trus’me Version is cross Atlantic production between Trus’me from Lisbon and Benjamin Tierney from LA. An effortless collaboration of musicianship and production, using the seductive Simmons drums, Ensoniq Esq-1 on percussion, Casio Cz-5000 on the lead & a solid Moog rogue on the bass. The additional production complimenting the original direction, whilst intoducing it to a modern day eclectic dancefllor, courtesy of Prime Numbers Records. On Side B, “Yesu San Bra” is a strong funky disco highlife anthem by Ghanaian legend Pat Thomas. This disco highlife classic has originally been released in 1980 on the Ivory Cost label Pan African Records. Tiger Tigre’s rework is a mysterious secret weapon deployed to decimate dance floors. Adding with his characteristic bleepy twist, a punchy kick drum fully acoustic, an heavy liquid bass line and transforming this disco highlife classic into a euphoric and hypnotic piece of progressive house. Vincent Taeger aka Tiger Tigre is a french artist producer, drummer, a virtuoso who just released his debut album Grrr ! to his credit for numerous collaboration as producer with international artists like Allen, Oumou Sangare, Sebastien Tellier, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Franz Ferdinand, Chilly Gonzales, Gregory Porter, Saul Williams…

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Don Pascal

The Dakar Experiment

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

Penny Penny

Yogo Yogo

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Captain Pouch)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The rags-to-riches chronicle of Penny Penny's life would be remarkable if he had only released his smash debut Shaka Bundu and packed houses for a few years. But the inimitable South African singer and dancer known for his trademark top ponytail and emphatic anthems was no one-hit wonder. In the aftermath of Shaka Bundu's nationwide explosion, far beyond his country the album resonated with ever bigger audiences. He performed up and down the continent, building fanbases in more than a dozen countries. So his sophomore album Yogo Yogo - released in 1996 - solidified Penny Penny's standing in pop music nationally and provided new energy to his pan-African stadium-filling adventures."I was very busy between Shaka Bundu and Yogo Yogo. Shows every week, local and outside the country. There was no relaxing from 1995 until 1999."The album also reflects the era in which it emerged. If Shaka Bundu arrived triumphantly amid newfound political freedom in South Africa with the end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela's election, Yogo Yogo was a next level expression for the maturing artist. He wanted to get a message out. Composed with Joe Shirimani, who also produced the album, the sound and compositional style echoes the earlier recording but the topical nature of the lyrics became more deliberate, more didactic. In the song "Ingani" Penny proclaims, we are all one people even though we may speak different languages, we are all NguniâÇ"a larger historical grouping that includes many of the ethnic groups in modern South Africa. "Kulani Kulani," which means grow up, urges young people to say no to drugs and yes to education. Ama Owners, referring to the public transport drivers involved in violent rumbles, asks the nation's drivers to relax because we need them for our safe arrival. Penny's success as a Xitsonga artist should not be under-estimated in the context of popular music at the time in South Africa. "When I started with my own style and image, first time in Shangaan we had artist like me," Pen...

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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)

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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Black Fire - Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Strut)

Idris Ackamoor And The Pyramids

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Strut present the first ever compilation bringing together classics and rarities from the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label Black Fire, covering 1975 to 1993. Formed by DJ and record producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, Virginia, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James "Plunky" Branch returning to the city from New York to form Oneness Of Juju. The band's 'African Rhythms' album in 1975 was the perfect fusion of jazz, deep African polyrhythms and empowering lyrics and bassist Muzi Branch, a trained artist, created the first of many Black Fire hand-illustrated sleeves for the label's debut release.

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Shaman!

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Strut)

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

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Influential jazz collective Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids retu rn with an epic new opus, 'Shaman!', released on 7th August featuring a fresh line-up including original 1970s Pyramids member Dr. Margaux Simmons on flute, Bobby Cobb on guitar, longterm associate Sandra Poindexter on violin, Ruben Ramos on bass, Gioele Pagliaccia on drums and Jack Yglesias on percussion. The band transitions from the political and social commentaries of 2018's acclaimed 'An Angel Fell' into more introspective themes. "I wanted to use this album to touch on some of the issues that we all face as individuals in the inner space of our souls and our conscience," explains Ackamoor. "The album unfolds over four Acts with personal musical statements about love and loss, mort ality, the afterlife, family and salvation."

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The Bees

Mamezala / Never Give Up

16,99 €*

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Les Disques Bongo Joe)

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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L'Eclair

Noshtta

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Afro Power Selected By DJ Mauri

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Use Vinyl)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Linda Majika / Thoughts Visions & Dreams

Let's Make A Deal / Step Out Of My Life Feat. Ray Phiri

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Rush Hour)

15,99 €*

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Glitterbeat)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Double sider 12" including the bubblegum club track ''Let's Make a Deal'' by Linda "Babe” Majika, which was originally released on the rare 'Don’t Treat Me So Bad' lp in South-Africa, 1988. On the flip, you’ll find the deep late-night saxophone driven tune ''Step Out Of My Life'' which includes Don Laka on the keyboard and is produced by Ray Phiri, who also founded the popular South African group 'Stimela'. The song was originally released in 1989 and finally sees a reissue, pressed as a loud DJ-friendly 12-inch.

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Fra Fra

Funeral Songs

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Glitterbeat)

Orkesta Mendoza

Curandero

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Out Here)

Santrofi

Alewa

Marcy Luarks & Classic Touch

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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Electric Murder Record Store Day 2020 Edition

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Kalita)

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Banquise)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Record Store Day 2020 Release.
Limitation: 750 copies.

It's grail time. Kalita Records officially releases Marcy Luarks & Classic Touch's mythical American-Nigerian Afro boogie masterpiece Electric Murder for the first time since 1983, accompanied by extensive liner notes based on interviews with Marcy's family and producer Daniel Irabor. The product of the then-husband-and-wife team of Marcy and Dan, Electric Murder brought together both the former's American and the latter's Nigerian roots; recorded in London with UK-based session musicians, this mix of heritage and styles resulted in an Afro disco album unlike any other. With original copies turning up for sale roughly once every few years, with an eye-watering four-figure price tag, Kalita Records save you the never-ending search for this true holy grail. Accompanied by a poster insert with extensive interview-based detailing Marcy's life and musical career.

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Zogo

Please Please

11,99 €* 15,99 € -25%

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Teranga Beat)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Rare Afro-Disco track originally released 40 years ago by Cameroon disco winner Zogo. This release includes two remixes by Gerd Janson and Bellaire.

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Evritiki Zygia

Ormenion

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Glitterbeat)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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Teranga Beat proudly presents Ormenion, a record by the group Evritiki Zygia. Ormenion is a historical region that dates back to the Byzantine Empire. It is the northernmost inhabited region of Greece, where the last railway station of the country is located. During the 1920's it was inhabited by refugees coming from the North and Eastern Thrace. Immigration is central to the history of the region of Thrace, where many songs refer to refugees and moving populations. The name of this particular place
was selected as the album title due to its delicate cultural and geographic status: Ormenion coincides with the borders of three different countries (Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey) and its history counts several waves of immigration that gave way to cultural and even linguistic exchange -elements that obviously left their mark on the group.
The group Evritiki Zygia was founded in 2007 by five musicians who played mostly in local festivals, their main concern being the preservation and evolution of the Thracian musical tradition. The collaboration with Teranga Beat helped this project evolve even further. Forms of arrangement different than the ones used in local feasts and festivals, were introduced giving more space to the dynamics of the instruments and allowing musicians to show both their improvisational and compositional skills. The distinctively psychedelic element of Thracian music was enhanced with the introduction of the CRB-Diamond 800 organ and the Moog, giving the whole project a hybrid sound with a unique identity. The album contains both covers of traditional songs and original
compositions.
The band's highest point was their appearance at the Womex Festival in 2018, where their music was presented for the first time in front of an international audience. This was an extremely important achievement for us, given that up until then this type of music
remained unknown even to Greek audiences. But it was also a great and very creative experience for the band, as it broadened up its musical horizons.The album was recorded on an analog 24-track tape Otari MX 80 in two sessions that took place on May 18 and 19 2019. It is a live recording that captures the energy of the group’s live performances. The LP version of the album is a Deluxe Edition and comes with a high gloss laminated gatefold cover, a printed insert and a digital download code. The CD packaging is Digipak with Slipcase, including a booklet with photos and liner notes outlining the story of the band.

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Tamikrest

Tamotait

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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7" | 2020 | EU | Original (Lokalophon)

Olando

Tenan Wu

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Nyami Nyam)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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North-Ghanaian singer Olando lives as a Frafra in the diaspora of Kumasi, the 2.5 million metropole and capital of the Ashanti people. Living there turned his style into a unique mixture of his rural heritage combined with some portion of urban insanity.
Both songs are with its 163 bpm the perfect climax in any afro-futuristic DJ set. While the A-side Tenan Wu has a playful bass which jumps around the driving Hip-Life beat, the B-side Be Han To'ora Ho Sina is chracterized by its hypnotic ostinato. Both songs are produced by Big Solo, one of Kumasi's most outstanding producer personalities.

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Forward Kwenda

Chawapiwa Deluxe Edition

47,99 €*

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Budabeats)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Forward Kwenda was born in the Buhera area of Manicaland, Zimbabwe. This area is known for its fierce resistance to colonial rulers and respect for Shona tradition. Forward Kwenda has always played Mbira, for the spirits, the ancestors, the land of Zimbabwe and the world around it. An undisputed master of this eminently spiritual instrument, he has developed a complex and unique melodic technique that has led him to perform and teach in the United States, Europe and Japan.
The EP Chawapiwa is the result of a collaboration with two of his students: Yann Dubois and Shiho Manabe.
The B-Side of this 12” is a remix and a loving tribute to Zimbabwe by Dj Oil, a french producer and dj, and a true veteran of the underground music and party scene in his native Marseille, Lionel Corsini, aka DJ Oil released his well-received solo debut as recently as 2012 (Black Notes for French label Discograph) but is probably better known as one part of The Troublemakers, who had the (probably unique?) distinction of being signed to both the legendary ‘90s house label Guidance and the most famous of all jazz labels, Blue Note.
The cover artwork is taken from Georgina Maxim's work: "Letters I wasn't supposed to read". Presented as textile sculptures like a diary made from second-hand clothes, the pieces bear the history and memory of the ghost corps that once wore them. Georgina Maxim lives and works in Zimbabwe where she founded the artistic collective, Village Unhu.
The visual adaptation and screen-printing was done by Vivien Le Jeune Durhin from PPP studio, Paris. This is a screenprinted limited edition release of 100 copies.

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The Mabon Dawud Republic

19,54 €* 22,99 € -15%

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Zephyrus)

Proyecto Secreto

Alto

Undying Thirst Black Vinyl Edition

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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Black Market Brass

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Colemine)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Black Market Brass’ sophomore record, Undying Thirst, is a noxious brew of diesel and bleach; a special long-player full of wasteoid rippers for skullduggerous hover-bike gangs peddling fugazi relics and snake oil tinctures. Hellacious guitars, nitrous-charged percussion, a brass section harsher than paint-thinner, and a special batch of short-circuited electronics and synthesizers will leave your head buzzing into the 31st century. Blasting Undying Thirst from your home speaker system is like going over a waterfall in a rusted out oil barrel, long after the sun has boiled the falls dry.

LP is packaged in high quality Stoughton Tip-On gatefold jacket, LP stored in an anti-static innsersleeve, and includes a download card. Pressed at Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland, OH.

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Leve Leve Sao Tome & Principe Sounds

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Les Disques Bongo Joe)

40,99 €*

Night Dreamer Direct To Disc Sessions

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The two Portuguese-speaking African islands of Sao Tomé & Principe, located in the Gulf of Guinea, created an unique music called Puxa : a refined mixture of various musical components from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A blend of Semba, Merengue, Kompas, Soukouss, Coladeira patterns, often pushing forward with a voodoo-like energy, solid bass lines, delicate melodies and backing harmonies of the rich Sao Tomean melodic traditions. Very first compilation focusing on the golden age of these island’s sounds, the 16 tracks selected will surely set fire on all dance floors !

Léve-Léve is the first ever compilation devoted to music from São Tome and Principe, two small islands situated off the coast of Gabon in central Africa. The album unravels a story of liberation where the music of Africa, Europe and the Americas unify with a carefree spirit personified by a phrase the islanders use all the time: “léve, léve” (“take it easy”). With echoes of Angolan semba and merengue, of Brazilian afoxê, of coladeira from Cape Verde and dance music from the Caribbean, it is a sound fiercely proud of its island heritage, sung in local dialects and using distinctive local rhythms.

On this record you can hear the cultural and social history of São Tome and Principe, and how live music represented its beating heart. Once known as the “Chocolate Islands” (remarkably, these two tiny islands were the largest cocoa producers in the world, though now this title acts as a reminder of its colonial past), through the years leading up to independence from Portugal, music would be a fundamental voice of liberation and conviviality. Os Úntués were one of the first groups to make an impression, releasing a couple of 7 inches in Angola – the litmus test of success for any of the islands’ groups. They united unique rhythms and dances like socopé, puita and dança-congo – borne from the islands’ largely slave-descendant population – with the sound of pop music beamed in on the radio from Europe, even adding in a little bit of soukous and Brazilian instrumentation. Their main rivals were Conjunto Mindelo, who fused São Toméan rhythms with rebita, an Angolan style, to create high energy puxa, a truly original island rhythm.

From the mid-1970s, coinciding with independence from Portugal in 1975, the islands’ groups featured an even stronger African influence and nowhere was that more apparent than with Africa Negra. They would listen to the latest records from Gabon, Zaire and Cameroon, taking inspiration and trying out phrasing from the greats of Central African guitar playing, developing a devoted fan base off the islands, as well as on. A score of other bands would follow a similar musical path, with a few getting their dues overseas in Angola, Cape Verde, Portugal and across Africa.

Os Leonenses (led by the iconic Pedro Lima), Conjunto Sangazuza, Sum Alvarinho and Conjunto Ecuador were just some of the other bands that formed a lively home-grown music scene that lit up the islands’ bars and open-air shows from the 1950s through to the mid-90s. Regardless of class or age, they were responsible for keeping the population entertained come the weekend, with Sunday matinee shows the highlight of the week, the music not stopping from midday until midnight.

As a Portuguese island colony that was for many years populated with slaves brought from Africa, São Tome and Principe has much in common with other Lusophone countries and boasts a richly complex and idiosyncratic musical DNA. Whilst the musical tapestries of Angola and Cape Verde are well known, São Tome and Principe’s secrets were assigned to the islanders themselves. Until now.

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Seun Kuti & Egypt 80

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Night Dreamer)

7" | 2020 | EU | Original (Music With Soul)

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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“It’s a paradox, in a way, like you’d have in a dream – something that’s both light and heavy,” Wayne Shorter muses, speaking to Nat Hentoff for the liner notes of Night Dreamer, his 1964 album and first for Blue Note as a leader.

Night Dreamer takes its name from this album, and retains something of the essence of what he was trying to convey.

Working with Artone Studio, and located above Record Industry pressing plant in Haarlem, Netherlands, Night Dreamer specialises in direct-to-disc recordings – the process by which music is cut onto acetate from single-take live performances, without interference: Neumann microphone to Neumann lathe. From there, it is simply ‘walked downstairs to the pressing plant.

For musicians recording at Artone, the process speaks to Shorter’s paradox. The levity of liberation vs. the weight of expectation; trust in raw musicianship vs. vulnerability of exposure. It is in such alchemical moments of contrast that the essence of expression can emerge.

Every Night Dreamer release is produced using a wide range of vintage mastering and recording equipment assembled and painstakingly restored over seven years. With one of just four remaining RCA 76D mixing desks – the same model used at Sun Studios – alongside Westrex Capitol cutting amps, designed specifically for Capitol studios to record the likes of The Beatles and The Beach Boys, it brings together state-of-the-art, often bespoke gear that has never been bettered.

Shorter captured Night Dreamer in a single day, an art not lost on today’s musicians, who, although afforded a surfeit of choice, are as wedded to the idea of collaboration as those of previous generations. The methods are timeless, and the impulse is as contemporary as ever.

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Bechan & Alex Figueira

Moerarie Morei Atjara

Anywhere Trouble Feat. Cristina Violle

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Music With Soul returns with another genre-defying instant classic, expanding the limits of the Tropical Dance music universe.
Staying true to the label's essence, founder Alex Figueira places a high bet with this new release, introducing a brand new breed of traditional “Hindoestan” (Indian diaspora in Surinam) music and Cumbia. Taking the music of underground Surinam musician and empresario A. Bechan for an explorative excursion into the depths of the Colombian caribbean coast, this explosive combination raises the bar unquestionably. Equally weird, groovy and trippy, this 45 will turn any party upside down, regardless of any factors. The only problem you will encounter is what to play after. The solution is right on the other side. Just flip the record and give them the Instrumental version, featuring electric guitar, an alternative percussion set up and the beloved classic Juno-60 synthesizer in the leading role for another 4 minutes of dancefloor catharsis.

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Franck Biyong

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Hot Casa)

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

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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After a few other successful projects, Franck Biyong, French-Cameroonian Afrobeat composer, guitar player and singer is back on Hot Casa with a hot futuristic Afro-Brazilian club anthem.
The similarities and filiations between traditional West-African drumming and Afro-Brazilian religious musical rites are many: under colonial rule African people and African slaves outwardly practiced Christianity but secretly prayed to their own God, Gods, or Ancestor spirits. So we aimed at keeping the gritty urban menacing sound and poetry of Afrobeat with the percussive mass rumble of Batucada and poignant beauty of Carioca. We then got in touch with Cristina Violle, the first lady of “Samba de Roda” in Paris who graced us with a startling inspired and heartfelt melody. The first completed version of the song then briefly went on alternative radio, we also made plans to release a vinyl version, but for one way or another we shelved the project, without thinking we would get back to it again…until a few months ago.
We went back to the studio last summer and started ironing the song again from scratch. That same initial spirit and energy caught hold of us again from the day we started and we worked relentlessly to create a balanced but experimental track, showcasing rootsy sound, pop instrumentation, tight world beat drumming, song structure, jazzy horns, spacey synthesizers, choral-like vocal harmonies with call and response figurative vocals.
We now proudly present this brand new record; Like our predecessors years ago, we subconsciously did our best to keep alive a longtime tradition of cultural tradition of African Artistic Renaissance, pushing further musical themes of contemporary African sound. To be continued…

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The Green Door Allstars

Youth Stand United

16,99 €*

Fu Chronicles Black Vinyl Edition

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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Antibalas

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Daptone)

Isaac Birituro & The Rail Abandon

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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With a globetrotting 20-year career renowned for being a voice for the people across four decades of political and societal upheaval from the late ‘90s to today, Antibalas celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a stark return to their Williamsburg roots on its latest Daptone Records studio album, Fu Chronicles. Pre-gentrified Williamsburg serves as the backdrop for Fu Chronicles–voyaging back to the early days of when Antibalas and Daptone Records spawned out of lead singer Duke Amayo’s kung fu dojo. A senior master of the Jow Ga Kung FuSchool of martial arts, Duke Amayo along with Antibalas founder/baritone saxophonist Martín Perna guide listeners through an epic journey of where kung fu ingeniously intersects with Afrobeat on Fu Chronicles.

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Kalba

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

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Running Back)

Mim Suleiman

Si Bure

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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7" | 2019 | EU | Original (Lokalophon)

Ahemaa Nwomkro

Ye Fre Yen

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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As Lokalophon's first single (Chris De Wise Shepherd, LO45001) shows the one side of the label - licensing of alredy locally released music, Ye Fre Yen by Ahemaa Nwomkro shows its other side - the recording of local styles by ourselves directly on site.
Ahemaa Nwomkro, which means queens of Nwomkro, are Victoria Osei and Theresa Owusuaa. Nwomkro is an old Ashanti musical style, which played an influencial role in the origin of the typical more roots-like Highlife style of Kumasi, the cultural capital of Ghana in the middle of the jungle.

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Kinshasa 1978 (Originals & Reconstructions)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Crammed)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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O Céu É Velho Há Muito Tempo

Lucas Santtana

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (No Format)

2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Glitterbeat)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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For his eighth album, Lucas Santtana returns to guitar-voice simplicity, in the spirit of his tropicalist peers (Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé or Caetano Veloso). At a time when everyone shouts very loudly, when no one wants to listen to the other, he decides to whisper in people's ears. He looks for the points of intersection between the intimate and the political and social situation, very degraded in Brazil since the election of the populist president of the extreme right Jair Bolsonaro. Surrounded by a young creative guard(Jaloo, Linn da Quebrada, DUDA BEAT)and Juçara Marçal (Meta Meta), he offers a peaceful album in the face of the profound disruptions of retrograde societies and ideas. He thus delivers a free, airy, poetic record, because "even if the times are obscure, they will pass, because everything is cyclical. Hence the name of the disc: "the sky has been old for a long time".

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Aziza Brahim

Sahari

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

Antoinette Konan

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Black Sweat)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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It makes sense that Antoinette Konan's eponymous album features nothing more than her ahoko on the cover. The deceptively simple traditional percussion instrument transformed Ivory Coast's Baoulé music scene when Konan deployed it against a roaring electrified backdrop of synth, bass guitar and drum machines. Released in 1986, the album is a veritable UFO of instrumental force and contemporary pop sensibility landing in a boiling pot of diverse, creative characters inhabiting Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). Known as the "Queen of the Ahoko" among Ivorians, Konan single-handedly put the central-Ivorian instrument on the map when she gave it a 20th-century re-introduction. The three-piece wooden idiophone is handmade from a thin, ribbed, flexible stick, against which a smaller chunk of wood is rhythmically scraped. A hollow nutshell held in the non-scraping hand amplifies and manipulates the resulting overtones. Despite the ahoko's diminutive appearance, Konan and her powerful voice have remained at the forefront of Ivorian music for decades now, in an extremely diverse country_approximately 70 indigenous languages_with a competitive, internationally-recognized music industry.Music plays an important role in Baoulé cultural life, heard and seen in festivities, funerals and more. They are the largest ethnic group in Côte d'Ivoire and descend from Akan peoples who migrated from present-day central Ghana. Baoulé vocal music is characterized by polyphony, melodies built on parallel thirds and call-and-response. All of this can be heard in Konan's music. Konan's fingerprints are all over Antoinette Konan, she says, as it was meant to be a highly personal recording. She wanted to portray the suffering, injustice, frustrations, humiliations, personal career struggles, experience of child birth and poverty she sees in society. Taking on the producer role for the first time, Konan was the architect of her dancefloor-ready neo-traditional sound. But crucial to the recording was arranger Bamba Moussa Yang. A creati...

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Cucoma Combo

28,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Knitting Factory)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Cucoma Combo. Above all, the new boiling energy of pan-rhythmic music, the awakening dance of joy, the experimental space for ambitious arrangements and free-improvised parts of colorful horns. From Black Africa to South America, we travel on paths of Congolese soukuss and Amazonian carimbò, between accents of Colombian cumbia, kalimba vibes and tribal voices. We find seeded traces of space-funk and afrobeat, with amazing acid keyboards and an enchanting female voice. The power of rhythm and in general the whole project are leaded leaded by Marco Zanotti, a multifaceted drummer and fine poly-percussionist, expert of the African and South American sound universe. With his Classica Orchestra Afrobeat, he proudly took part in outstanding collaborations with Seun Kuti, Sekouba Bambino and Baba Sissoko, as well as a prestigious participation in the Glastonbury Fest.

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Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers

Music Of Many Colours

Shoreza Inyange / Amayaya

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Music of Many Colours is a joint album between Roy Ayers and Fela Kuti, recorded after a three week tour of Nigeria’s major cities in 1979, during which Roy Ayers performed as the opening act for Fela’s band. The two artists decided to record the album as a round-up to the tour.

Roy Ayers describes the experience saying, “I met Fela Kuti in Nigeria in 1979, and we fell into a great relationship, good personal and music vibes, and we recorded that album together. Fela also came to USA in the eighties and we performed at NYC's Madison Square Garden. Amazingly energetic, Fela Kuti had a very original concept that was called Afro Beat – a genre with a very unique identity and exceptional music. One of Fela Kuti's most impressive qualities was that he was undeniably a brilliant show man, as a musician and as a huge dancer as well. His African concept was truly original… The tour was about two black men together coming together, one from Africa and other from USA, a very exciting collaboration."

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Niki Dave & Afro Kids

7" | 2019 | EU | Original (Afro7)

12,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Afro7)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Two funky steppers from Niki Dave & Afro Kids! First ever reissue of rare seventies music from Burundi!

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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)

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

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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“Osondi owendi. What is cherished by some is despised by others. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Different strokes for different folks. To each their own. Osondi owendi.

It’s a conventional aphorism in the Igbo language but if you utter the word “osondi owendi” in Nigeria today, the first thing that comes to anybody’s mind is the cucumber-cool highlife music maestro Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe and his legendary album that takes its name from the adage. Released in 1984, Osondi Owendi was instantly received as Osadebe’s magnum opus, the crowning event of an exalted career stretching back to the early years of highlife’s emergence as Nigeria’s predominant popular music.

Stephen Osadebe first appeared on the music scene in 1958 as a spry, twenty-two year-old vocalist in the Empire Rhythm Skies Orchestra, directed by bandleader Steven Amechi. With his dapper suits, urbane Nat King Cole-influenced vocal stylings and jaunty, uptempo, calypso-scented dance tunes, he personified the frisky spirit and anxious aspirations of a young, educated generation that had come of age in the wake of the Second World War, in a Nigeria that was rapidly shaking off British colonization and marching towards an independent future. 1959 would be the year that he truly made his mark in the business with his debut solo single “Lagos Life Na So So Enjoyment.” A giddy exhortation of the music, sex, fun and freedom availed by life in the big city, the song became a sensation and an anthem, and Stephen Osadebe became the leader of his own popular dance band, the Nigerian Sound Makers.

Osadebe would ride this wave of acclaim through most of the nineteen sixties, but a change in direction would be called for at the dawn of the seventies. As Nigeria emerged from a devastating civil war, so did a new generation of youth inspired by rock and funk, confrontational sounds reflective of a more violent, less idealistic era. All of the sudden, the idioms of the post-WWII dance orchestras that nurtured Osadebe’s cohort seemed quaint, the stuff of nostalgia. Osadebe needed to evolve to respond to the new tumultuous, turned-up times.

His response? He cooled it down.

Abetted by a new crop of fire-blooded young players, Osadebe slowed his music to a mellow, meditative tempo, brought forward the lumbering, Afro Cuban-accented bass and percussion, from the rockers he borrowed searing lead lines on the electric guitar. Over this musical bedrock, doesn’t so much as sing as he dreamily muses, coos, sighs aphorisms, words of wisdom and inspiration. “When one listens to my music, all I say appears meaningful,” Osadebe explained his lyrical approach, “at times they are in the form of proverbs which provoke much thought afterwards.” The result is a blend that is both rollicking and soothingly languid. Osadebe christened the style Oyolima—a tranquil, otherworldly state of total relaxation and pleasure. Osondi Owendi represents oyolima at its finest, and possibly Nigerian highlife in epitome.

Osondi owendi. What is cherished by some is despised by others. In some way, the album’s title constitutes a paradox. Because Osondi Owendi is a record that it’s almost impossible to imagine being despised by anybody.”

Uchenna Ikonne
June 2019

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Orchestre Shika Shika

Hit After Hit

12" | 2019 | UK | Original (Mother Tongue)

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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Gin Tonic Orchestra

Stefania EP

Sir Frank Karikari & The Polyversal Souls

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Gin Tonic Orchestra, a brand new band out of St. Etienne (France), debuts
on Mother Tongue Records with a lush soulful tribute to their native city.
Afro-latin grooves, juxtaposed elements of funk and ethereal flute solos
backed by a stunning remix by UK legend Kaidi Tatham.

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Siakwaa / Nana Agyei (Medley)

7" | 2019 | UK | Original (Philophon)

10,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Contre Jour)

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Frank Karikari is the son of legendary Highlife musician Ralph Karikari who played bass on countless classic albums such as "Sikyi Highlife" by Dr. K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings. So, Frank grew up surrounded 24/7 with high class Highlife music plus he has inherited the natural talent of his father. Now he teamed up with the Polyversal Souls to keep the spirit of Highlife alive.

"Siakwaa / Nana Agyei" are two songs taken from above mentioned album "Sikyi Highlife". Frank gets here some vocal support from the original court singers of the Ashanti king, which fits perfectly, as both songs are praise songs to the king.

"Odo Agye Gye Me" is composed by legendary Kumasi based singer Baffour Kyei, who sang for such groups like Kyeremateng Stars or B.B. Collins & His Powerful Believers. Besides creating this song, he is part of the choir on this future Highlife classic.

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Habib Koite

Kharifa

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band

Obiaa!

2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Strut)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Sounds Of Subterrania)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Strut is proud to announce Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band’s sophomore release ‘Obiaa!’, released on 4th October 2019. The album, produced again by Kwame Yeboah and Ben Abarbanel-Wolff at Lovelite Studio’s analogue HQ in Berlin, is a deep and soulful journey into the heart of Ghana’s indigenous highlife music celebrating the timeless and iconic voice of Pat Thomas, the 72 year-old “Golden Voice of Africa”. After producing Ebo Taylor’s seminal albums ‘Love and Death’ and ‘Appia Kwa Bridge’ for Strut Records, in 2014 Ben Abarbanel-Wolff approached Kwame Yeboah, Ghana’s top contemporary instrumentalist and bandleader, to work on a new project: “We initially wanted to invite Pat back into the studio with Ebo Taylor and Tony Allen to recreate and expand on some of the vibes they had recorded together during a lost session in 1977,” Ben explains. Recorded in Accra, the result was the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album ‘Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band’ in 2015.
Pat and the Kwashibu Area Band (named after Kwame’s neighbourhood in Accra) hit the road in October 2015. After a memorable performance at WOMEX in Budapest, they never looked back. The next two years took them around the world to play at major venues and festivals including Glastonbury, Roskilde, WOMAD, Sakifo, WOMADelaide, Sines and many more. “We could see there was something for everyone in our music. People of all ages, colours and trends were dancing together!’ explains Kwame, the mastermind behind the band’s unbelievable precision and killer live show.
The new album is called ‘Obiaa!’ which means ‘Everybody!’. Tracks include the modern parables ‘Onfa Nkosi Hwee’ warning against arrogance and ‘Odo Ankasa’ about the value of real love and trust as well as a great new cover of Thomas’ Afro-disco favourite ‘Yamona’. “Playing highlife around the world taught us what we had to do to move our sound forward,” continues Ben. While simultaneously looking back towards the classic days of highlife and forward to a fresh revival of the guitar band sound, this album cements Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band’s position at the pinnacle of modern African music.
‘Obiaa!’ is released on all formats on 4th October The album features exclusive cover artwork by Lewis Heriz with photos by Marie Weikopf and Michelle Chiu and is mastered by Édouard Bonan at Ed-Room Studio in Paris.

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Bibi Ahmed

Adghah

The Alan Lorber Orchestra

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bibi Ahmed, Kopf und Bandleader von Group Inerane, stammt aus Agadez (Niger), eine der unbändigsten, unbeständigsten und gefährlichsten Gegenden dieser Erde. Früh wurde Bibi mit der Unterdrückung und Ausgrenzung der Tuareg durch die nationalen Regierungen von Mali und Niger konfrontiert. Ebenso früh erwachte seine Liebe zur Musik. Als Kind brachte sich Bibi Ahmed das Gitarre spielen selbst bei, bevor er seine Ausbildung von dem großen Meister und Vater des Tuareg-Blues, Abdallah Ag Oumbadougou, erhielt. Geprägt durch die Erlebnisse in den lybischen Flüchlingscamps während des Tuareg Aufstandes, verlieh Bibi Ahmed, während viele andere Künstler das Land in Richtung Amerika und Europa verließen, mit seiner Band Group Inerane der Rebellion eine eigene, musikalische Stimme und öffnete gleichzeitig die reiche Tradition der Tamachek-Gitarrensänge einer neue Generation Zuhörern. In Zusammenarbeit mit Sounds of Subterrania und den Lotte Lindenberg Studio entstand Februar 2019 sein erstes Soloalbum, bei welchem er alle Instrumente selbst einspielte. Diese Reduktion eröffnen einen völlig neuen Blick auf diesen sehr spezielle Mix aus Tuareg Blues, elektrifizierte Tamachek Folk und Psychedelic Sahara-Rock. Man spürt förmlich das Flirren der Hitze und begibt man sich auf den Pfad des Hörens , verschwimmen die Unterschiede zwischen spirituellen Trance und hypnotischem Psychedelic-Blues. Für Fans von Mdou Moctar, Tinawiren, Imarhan LP mit DLC in wertiger Aufmachung, CD als Digipack. Bibi Ahmed, head and bandleader of Group Inerane, is from Agadez, Niger, which is one of the most volatile, unbridled and dangerous parts of the world. Bibi was soon confronted with the oppression and marginalization of the Tuareg by the national governments of Mali and Niger. Just as early awakened his love for music. As a child, Bibi Ahmed taught himself to play the guitar before receiving his education from the great master and father of the Tuareg blues, Abdallah ag Oumbadougou. Marked by the experiences in the Libyan refugee camps during the Tuareg uprising, Bibi Ahmed and his band Group Inerane gave the rebellion its own musical voice, while at the same time making the rich tradition of Tamachek guitar singing accessible to a new generation of listeners. In February 2019 and in collaboration with Sounds of Subterrania and Lotte Lindenberg Studio, Bibi recorded his first solo album on which he played all of the instruments himself. This reduction opened up a whole new view on this quite extraordinary mix of Tuareg blues, electrified Tamachek folk and psychedelic Sahara rock. The listener literally feels the shimmer of the heat and, once one embarks on the path of listening, the differences between spiritual trance and hypnotic psychedelic blues become indistinct. For fans of Mdou Moctar, Tinawiren, Imarhan Vinyl in hi-end sleeve with dlc, CD as digipack!

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The Lotus Palace

LP | 2019 | US | Original (Modern Harmonic)

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

Release: 2019 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Orchestrated by legendary producer Alan Lorber, this talented cast of musicians weave their way through Eastern-influenced and psychedelic interpretations of pop gems and some way-out-there originals, in an album touted as the first in the fusion of raga and jazz.\n \nBrimming with the sounds of sitar, tabla, and Gamelan percussion, this eccentric blend of Eastern and Western music includes four\noriginally unissued bonus tracks!\n \nPackaged in a gorgeous replica of the original gatefold jacket, featuring the original notes and a fresh set of notes from Alan Lorber himself! Exquisitely mastered from the original stereo masters, cut by Kevin Gray for a stunning and enveloping classic stereo sound with delightful stereo separation. Pressed on gold vinyl at Third Man in Detroit!

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Amami

Giant

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Favorite)

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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Esnard Boisdur

Mizik Bel

15,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Naive)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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“You don’t need to be a fan of Gwoka or even Antillean music in general to fall in love with the deep, expressive voices of the singers of the genre. Artists like COSACK, ANZALA and ESNARD BOISDUR have fascinated music lovers around the globe for decades. It’s not only the drumming style accompanied by their beautiful melodic intonation, but also the revolutionary spirit of these songs that make them a unique and powerful document of the culture and the history of the Antilles and the Caribbean.
I remember the first time I listened to this type of drumming and signing, live at the re-enactment of the slave riots, and being completely emotionally overwhelmed by it. Some of my record collector/DJ colleagues and friends – first and foremost Hugo Mendez and Émile Omar – shared the same fascination for the genre and kept inspiring me, and countless others, by their DJ sets at Tropical Discoteq in Paris, where I have had the pleasure to be one of the residents for five years and counting. At one of those nights, I met my friend Pascal Rioux from Favorite Recordings and told him about an amazing unreleased track I received months before, on a home-burned CD, from ESNARD BOISDUR. Among other beautiful songs, it contained one outstanding track, a mix of modern Gwoka and Zouk called “MIZIK BEL”.
When I started playing that track out, there were fierce reactions on both ends. The crowds loved it and after a while you could hear people cheer when they heard the first notes. Many DJs and labels wanted it, demanded it, and would even go as far as to block or unfriend me if I refused to comply. It became clear to me that the track had to be released on vinyl for the first time and made accessible to people who wanted to play it, while giving the original artist full credit. At the same time, I knew a remix version of the track that would pay respect to the original could only be created by getting the original stems, and not by editing the main track and pressing it into an “electronic dance corset.” Pascal agreed to the idea and started the licensing work and the search for the stems, which resulted in an ongoing three-year quest that was crowned by the finding of the ADAT containing the original tracks.
As AFRICAINE 808, Dirk Leyers and I spent considerable time trying to re-create the composition of the original, respectfully slicing and re-arranging it, adding new instrumentation, and recording additional percussion and talking drum with our percussionist ERIC OWUSU (Pat Thomas/Ebo Taylor). We stretched it, adding a krauty synth part without losing the focus of Esnard’s beautiful voice and lyrics, describing Caribbean music in all its diversity and beauty.
With this in mind, I hope you can now enjoy the beauty of “MIZIK BEL” as much as we have so far.” – (DJ NOMAD, June 2019).

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Rachid Taha

Je Suis Africain

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

Mafika

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Egoli)

2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Jazz Village)

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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Ahmad Jamal

Ballades

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Bees / Little Big Man

On -The Sound Of On Records 1987-1989

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Egoli)

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh & Thomas Bartlett

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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2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Real World)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Vinyl Passion)

Serge Gainsbourg

Avant Gainsbarre

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Rebel Up)

Tropikal Camel

Awakening Spirits

Ondigui & Bota Tabansi International

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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Ewondo Rythm

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (BBE Music)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

Skyf Connection

Ten To Ten

18,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Vampisoul)

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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Peru Negro

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Disco Highlife Reedit Series Volume 1

Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Comet)

Afrotunes: Best Of Juju Volume 2 - Oba Mimo Olorun Ayo

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Comet presents the first release from its new Disco Highlife series, featuring remastered originals by Ghanaian legends Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas and disco reedits by LeonxLeon and Leo Nanjo.
Founder of Comet Records, Eric Trosset, started working with those great heroes of West African music, back in 2010. Taking on the role of manager/publisher, Comet teamed up with Strut Records and musician/producer Ben Abarbanel Wolff to revive Ebo Taylor‘s international career with a string of album releases: Love & Death, Appia Kwa Bridge and Life Stories. In 2014, he collaborated with Pat Thomas & The Kwashibu Area Band on a new album, gathering together the old ‘pals’ (Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Tony Allen) in producer Kwame Yeboah’s studio in Accra.
It is with great pleasure that Comet launches this new series. Let's make this beautiful and timeless music the soundtrack to an unforgettable summer!
On side A, comes “Enye Woa” by Pat Thomas, originally released in 1988 on Nakase Records and taken from the album Me Do Wiase. It’s killer disco cut, and as innovative a piece of highlife as it was 30 years ago. Paris-based producer LeonxLeon has been cooking up songs in his Parisian home-studio since 2013. He did a remarkable remix of Cerrone's "Funk Makossa" and more recently released his new Rokanbo EP on Cracki Records. His remix of “Enye Woa” is a classy modern disco cut with funky bass and spacey synths.
On side B is “Atwer Abroba” by Ebo Taylor, a stand out up-tempo track from the album Twer Nyame, originally released in 1978 on Philips West African Records. Tokyo-based multi-instrumentalist/producer/arranger Leo Nanjo formed the first Japanese afrobeat group, Kingdom Afrorocks. Since the band broke up in 2014, Leo has been producing and arranging music with various collaborations, such as DJ Muro, Pushim and Misia. This is a trippy afro-futurist, broken-beat reedit with highlife grooves flying to deep space.

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Ojo Balingo

2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (BBE Africa)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Rebujo Colored Vinyl Edition

Dona Onete

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Mais Um Discos)

A Life In The Limelight: Lagos Disco & Itsekiri Highlife, 1976 - 1981

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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On the eve of her 80th birthday, Dona Onete - "the grande dame of Amazonian song" - returns with Rebujo, a love letter to her hometown of Belém, situated deep in the Amazon. Rebujo brims with two music styles born in Belém: carimbós, influenced by African grooves, and bangues, a ska-type rhythm, plus there's a cumbia, brega ('romantic' music) and samba. Since the release of her 2017 album Banzeiro, Onete has become a superstar in Brazil - she composed and sung the theme song for one of Brazil's biggest soap operas (A Força do Querer), been awarded the Brazilian Ordem do Mérito Cultural in recognition for her contribution to Brazilian culture + her video for 'No Meio do Pitiu' has an impressive 9.2m views on Youtube Outside of Brazil she's performed at Roskilde, Womad (UK, NZ & AUS), Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival and TFF Rudolstadt and is a global spokesperson for indigenous cultures.

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Julie Coker

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Kalita)

LP | 2019 | EU | Reissue (Dig This Way)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Kalita are honoured to release the first ever compilation focusing on the musical career of Julie Coker, the queen of Nigerian television. Here we collate seven of Julie's most sought-after Afro disco and hauntingly-beautiful Itsekiri highlife recordings, accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-beforeseen photos.

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Musical Breed

Save The Little Children

This Is Bolga! Pts, 1 & 2

Release: 2019 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves, Reggae & Dancehall

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The album was originally released in Nigeria by Tabansi Records and recorded at Afrodisia/Decca studio in Lagos. The Lp never really saw a commerical issue and was probably pressed in very few promotional copies for Radios and Djs making the original nearly impossible to be found nowdays.
Musically it comes with some dope , slow and one-a-way digital roots riddims filled with mad synths , deep conscious lyrics and a deep bassline, it's quite unique as the two main track comes with a raw Dub which is very hard to be found on any other African Reggae albums , the last track call “If I'm To Rule The World” is a very interesting blend of Reggae and Boogie.
We have been working together with the lead singer of the band , Sharon Escco Wilson that we met personally in Lagos, to finally make the album available worldwide.
The cover have been fully restored and the Audio remastered , in the LP we'll add an insert with Lyrics , original pictures from back in the days (and a few new ones) , a newspaper article from 1990 and an extensive interview by Sharon Escco Wilson.

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The Polyversal Souls

7" | 2019 | EU | Original (Philophon)