Afrobeat Vinyl 503 Items

Welcome To Zamrock Volume 2

2LP | 2017 | US | Reissue (Now-Again)

35,99 €*

12" | 2020 | UK | Original (On The Corner)

Release: 2017 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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By the mid-1970s, the Southern African nation known as the Republic of Zambia had fallen on hard times. Though the country’s first president Kenneth Kaunda had thrown off the yoke of British colonialism, the new federation found itself under his self-imposed, autocratic rule. Conflict loomed on all sides of this landlocked nation. Kaunda protected Zambia from war, but his country descended into isolation and poverty. This is the environment in which the ’70s rock revolution that has come to be known as Zamrock flourished. Fuzz guitars were commonplace, as were driving rhythms as influenced by James Brown’s funk as Jimi Hendrix’s rock predominated. Musical themes, mainly sung in the country’s constitutional language, English, were often bleak. In present day Zambia, Zamrock markers were few. Only a small number of the original Zamrock godfathers that remained in the country survived through the late ’90s. Aids decimated this country, and uncontrollable inflation forced the Zambian rockers that could afford to flee into something resembling exile. This was not a likely scene to survive - but it did. Welcome To Zamrock!, presented in two volumes, is an overview of its most beloved ensembles, and a trace of its arc from its ascension, to its fall, to its resurgence.

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Dngdngdng

Dengue Dengue Dengue

K.O.G. & The Zongo Brigade

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Dngdngdng is Dengue Dengue Dengue's new alias for this release of extra sensory perception. The duo have projected rhythmic visions of lost continents, unknown worlds and the unseeable past and future that is present all around us. By channeling rhythmic patterns from the matrix they're able to translate the waves of radiation around us which originated at the cosmic event which created the universe. Dngdngdng reach deep into their sonic imagination to draw from interlocking time signatures and variant tempos. From the cosmic interference and mathematics Dngdngdng create a polyrhythmic theme that brings the sound of continents lost and imagined to our ears. Dengue Dengue Dengue have established themselves as one of the most pioneering artists on the leftfield electronic scene in recent years with heavyweight support by the likes of Boiler Room, Resident Advisor and Bandcamp weekly.

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Wahala Wahala

2LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Pura Vida Sounds)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ndia Egbuo Ndia (Afro-Jigida)

The Semi Colon

LP | 2012 | US | Reissue (Comb & Razor Sound)

Asmaa Hamazaoui / Bnat Timbouktou

Release: 2012 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ndia Egbuo Ndia (Afro-Jigida), an LP recorded by the Nigerian rock group Semi-Colon in 1976, was an experimental response to Fela Kuti’s then-dominant afrobeat sound, substituting Fela’s sophisticated horn charts and jazz leanings with wiry electric guitar work and a passion for vintage rock ‘n’ roll. Long fabled and coveted amongst collectors and DJs alike, the album has remained one of the rarest of the Nigerian 1970s “afro” cycle. Comb & Razor Sound is proud to be reissuing this lost gem of Afro-rock for
a new audience.

This reissue marks the second release from Comb & Razor Sound, following up the success of its inaugural offering, 2011’s Nigerian disco and boogie compilation Brand New Wayo, which was spotlighted on NPR’s All Things Considered and received favorable mention on its “Song of the Day.” The new edition of Afro-Jigida continues Comb & Razor’s exploration of rare, cutting-edge popular music produced in Nigeria in the 1970s and 80s.

Afro-Jigida will be initially released in its original six-track vinyl format, with a deluxe CD release to follow at a later date. As a bonus, the first 1000 copies pressed of the album will include a 7” single featuring the never-before-released demo recording "Our Fada".

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L'bnat

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Ajabu!)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Spirit Of Brazil (New Version)

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Wagram)

15,99 €*

Rim And Kasa / Rim And The Belivers

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Spirit of Brazil is the new release in the spirit of Vinyl collection.12 unforgotable tunes to rediscover the Spirit of Brazil.

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Too Tough / I'm Not Going To Let You Go

2LP | 2015 | EU | Original (BBE)

Fred Locks Meets The Creators

Release: 2015 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Following hot on the heels of our well-received reissue of his first album, Rim Arrives, we now present the two other key records that have made this a cult figure for lovers of both African music and ‘disco’ in its widest sense. Too Tough, a superb three track EP from 1982, on Sum-Sum Records, was credited to Rim and Kasa, whilst he issued the cracking 12” I’m Not Going To Let You Go as Rim And The Believers for Harmony Records the following year.
Too Tough kicks off with Shine The Ladies, an epic Afro-disco jam in call and response format, with the female lead vocals (Ms. Anita Berry) prompting a series of replies from the backing vocalists, setting the scene for a series of exciting solos set against a backdrop of punchy horns and swirling synths; tenor sax, guitar, drums (introduced with chants of ‘Play me some drums!’) and vibes all take a turn before the track fades out, clocking in just short of nine minutes. Next up is Love Me For Real, reminiscent of August Darnell with its girlie vocals and Latin flavour, ending with a mad swirl of synths and Rim’s own vocals. And lastly, I’m A Songwriter is cosmic Afro-reggae, bringing to mind Roy Ayers in his Fela phase, given a mad punk-funk twist … this one has to be heard to be believed!
The mood changes with I’m Not Going To Let You Go, which eschews the female chorus for an altogether mellower, instrumental ride, veering from out-there cosmic synth vibes to loungey jazz piano. It’s original flip, Peace of Mind, raw Afro-boogie track with a male vocal, is also included.
Those of you who had been searching in vain for Rim’s oeuvre for some years now having had it handed to you on a platter (well, two platters, actually), will be pleased to know that there is yet more material from the man Rim Kwaku Obeng to come from us at BBE …watch out for the digital-only release of four previously unreleased cuts from this legend of Afro-disco, taken from a long-lost acetate!

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Love And Harmony

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Burning Sounds)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Network)

Desert Blues

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Black Sweat)

Maistah Aphrica

Meow

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Glitterbeat)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A new ship of fools sails on Bolombia lands! These strange people seem to celebrate the whole jazz universe and african idioms, but they've never been in Africa. The great continent, more than physical, is a mental place of encounter and psychedelic skids. Neurotic and schizoid sorcerers, a furious wind drags them towards the total effervescence of the groove: an unprecedented cauldron of dangerous substances, hybrid styles and influences mixed with secret recipe. Their music is an explosive bubble of expressions, a feverish, impulsive and unstoppable ritual. A cosmic attitude, such as Heliocentrics or Embryo, marries the majestic and floating sounds of synths and psych organs, acidified by toxic dub sparks and deadly funk forays. A crazy horn section travels without maps from Sun-Ra and Ethiopian echoes, hard-bop reminiscenses, to sudden and virulent Balkanisms, making this soup an indecipherable combination of flavors.

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Liraz

Zan

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Black Sweat)

Addict Ameba

Panamor

Disco Highlife Reedit Series Volume 1

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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More than simply being a band, Addict Ameba is a wide Italian collective that makes brotherhood the weapon to live music together crossing all cultural boundaries. The driving force lies in the heterogeneous background of its members and the relative familiarity with different folkloric areas. The original and ambitious arrangements make the result a delicious soup! In this first work, their personal Afro-latin-beat reveals a sincere meeting between African and Central American traditions… for this reason they are against the drift of continents! The collective is connected to Al Doum and the Faryds, sharing some of their members, the same music label and the Guscio Studio where the album has been cooked thanks to the wisdom of the great master pirate. You can travel halfway between the Atlantic continents, where a gritty guitar deploys a solid knowledge of the stronger Latin-rock - you know the “Santana of Piola” is on board! - but it absorbs Funky and Tuareg riffs too, as well as brilliant psych deviations. Heavy horns abound with solutions and influences, blowing arias of Ethio-jazz or Cuban-Salsa crossings, such as Calypso and Caribbean progressions. However, it’s the rhythmic sailors section that supports all the dynamics of the sound with impeccable qualities of polyrhythm, sending seas of bodies into ecstasy; maybe they learn this rowing on a boat? Panamor represents "a profound union between living beings and objects in an increasingly divided World”. Such pirates of love!

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Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Comet)

13,99 €*

Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band

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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2LP+CD | 2015 | EU | Original (Strut)

LP | 2012 | Reissue (Next Ambience)

Release: 2015 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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“I’m an afrobeat drummer but Pat Thomas is highlife. That is what he does so well.” -Tony Allen

Coming in June, we are proud to announce the brand new studio album by one of Ghana’s all-time great vocalists, “The Golden Voice Of Africa”, Pat Thomas, in conjunction with the Kwashibu Area Band led by multi-instumentalist Kwame Yeboah (Cat Stevens, Patrice) and saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff (Ebo Taylor, Poets of Rhythm).

A regular collaborator with Ebo Taylor, Thomas was mainstay of the ‘70s and ‘80s Ghanaian highlife, afrobeat and afro-pop scenes, hitting big with the Ghana Cocoa Board-sponsored Sweet Beans band. Thomas’ new album marks over 50 years making music and reunites him with old friends: Ebo Taylor provides horn arrangements, Tony Allen contributes drums to several tracks, Osei Tutu (Hedzolleh Sounds) plays a memorable trumpet solo and prolific 1970s bassist Ralph Karikari (The Noble Kings) also features. Younger generation stars appearing include bassist Emmanuel Ofori, percussionist “Sunday” Owusu and Pat Thomas’ daughter Nanaaya, an acclaimed vocalist in her own right.

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Debo Band

Ett Samlingsverk Fran Nordvi Colored Vinyl Edition

Release: 2012 / Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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DEBO BAND is an 11-member group led by Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by charismatic vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. Since their inception in 2006, the band have toured Ethiopia twice, having appeared at both the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa and Sauti Za Busara in Zanzibar, the largest music festival in East Africa. In North America, they've share...

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Nordvisor

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Nordvis)

42,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Burning Sounds)

Purpleman

Confessions

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2024 | Original (Diamond West)

The Mesmerizers

Far From The West

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Altin Village & Mine)

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Introducing "The Mesmerizers," a mysterious trio of maestros whose debut 7" record transports you to a bygone era of exotic enchantment. Unearthed from the depths of a forgotten studio and given new life, these captivating compositions beckon you into a timeless realm where the boundaries of sound and imagination blur.Within the sultry grooves of this vinyl treasure, The Mesmerizers weave a spellbinding tapestry of exotica, echoing the seductive rhythms and lush melodies reminiscent of a golden age that refuses to be tethered to any specific moment.

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Odd Okoddo

Negore

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (X-Ray Production)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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"Negore" is the second album by the Kenya-based duo Odd Odokko. After their debut "Auma" saw percussionist Sven Kacirek work with pre-existing recordings of singer and instrument builder Olith Ratego, the two opted for a similar approach for the ten pieces to preserve the expressiveness of the latter"s performance. Further contributions by sound artist KMRU and Angel Bat Dawid on bass clarinet expand the duo"s sonic palette which draws on the dodo music of the Luo people and enriches it with percussive, melodic, and occasionally electronic means. The record"s title translates to "petroleum lamp," signifying the transition from day to night-when the time has come to dance. In this decidedly joyful spirit, "Negore" is dedicated to transitions and venturing into the future. Ratego"s interpretation of the folk tradition is expressly contemporary, while Kacirek uses a rich variety of avant-garde and advanced electronic music techniques to propel it even further.

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La Yegros

Haz

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Bela Fleck Productions - Thirt)

Bela Fleck

Rhapsody In Blue

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Strut)

Kondi Band

We Famous

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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12" | 2020 | US (Polygram)

Amadou & Mariam

Baarra / Ja Pense A Toi

Release: 2020 / US

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Rob Hardt & Manasseh Telsumbini Mashi

Tell Me What You Want

7" | 2024 | EU | Original (Sedsoulciety)

14,99 €*

2LP | 2024 | Original (Les Disques Bongo Joe)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Classic R’n’b and Afro Beat a fusion and perfect match. Modern and warm, pounding beats and pulsing baselines are the ingredients of this German-Nigerian extra ordinary colabo. This is the door opener for our Sedsoulciety Recordings gold line, which displays the modern and zeitgeist driven section of our catalogue. Expect nothing less than powerful, driving beats and smooth vocals. The gold line embodies Rap, HipHop, R’n’b, Neo-Soul, Neo-Boogie and Neo-Funk, not necessarily in one track but as a pool of artists and productions.“Tell Me What You Want” and we deliver it. This time in two outfits, the Afro Vibe Mix on the A-side and the Groove Mix on the flip… This new release on Sedsoulciety Recordings is an unreleased exclusive vinyl 45!

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Africa Negra

Antologia Vol. 2

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Continuing our exploration of Sao Tomé and Príncipe with DJ Tom B., Les Disques Bongo Joe proudly announces the release of Africa Negra Anthology Vol. 2.We"ve carefully selected and remastered 13 standout tracks for this volume, digitized from studio tapes by their tour manager. The album includes a booklet with updated liner notes and vintage photos of the group.

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Kampire Presents A Dancefloor In Ndola

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Strut)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Strut introduces a pioneering new compilation "A Dancefloor In Ndola," curated by revered East African DJ, Kampire. This release marks an evolution in Strut"s approach to compilations, showcasing emerging DJ talent from across the world and embracing an innovative approach to musical discovery from the next wave of selectors.

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The Rough Guide To Urban Mali

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

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2013 | UK | Original (Voodoo Funk)

Eno Louis

Move!

Fela Kuti, Moblack, Emmanuel Jal & Henrik Schwarz

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Eno Louis gained a solid background in traditional Edo music as a student at Edo College in Benin City, south-east Nigeria. He lived at Fela's Kalakuta Republic till the army raid in 1978, when he moved to the US for a couple of years. On his return, he recorded with Edo funk powerhouse The Talents Of Benin, and quickly became a mainstay of the flourishing disco and boogie scene, in-demand as guitarist and drummer, with credits including releases by Pogo Ltd, Amas Grill, Chris Okotie, Oby Onyioha, Chris Mba, Dizzy K Falola, Harry Mosco, Pat Finn and the Super Elcados... to name just a few.

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

12" | 2020 | EU | Reissue (Defected)

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (BBE)

Release: 2020 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2024 Repress

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

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Lumingu Puati (Zorro)

Mosese

Nha Sentimento Crystal Clear Vinyl Edition

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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In the late Congolese musician Lumingu Zorro, protégé of Kinshasa’s legendary 60s band leader Dr Nico, recorded Mosese, his only pre-2000 solo album, for the Tabansi label- and this is it.CHAMPETA STORM WARNING! The first-ever reissue of one of West Africa’s best-kept rumba-soukous secrets- as well as being one of the most in-demand titles on Colombia’s booming Champeta sound system scene, where a rare record is protected as fiercely as on the Northern Soul or Jamaican sound system scenes, the label scratched off, the record hidden from view when not on the turntable.Possibly one of the strongest and most consistent Congo dancefloor albums ever recorded perfectly balanced between voices, horns, guitars and percussion.Which is why original copies of this all-time rumba rarity almost never reach the open market, being traded between Colombia’s champeta picoteros (sound system selectors) instead.In Kinshasa they say ‘Miziki ezelaki eleng ndeko’- ‘Sweet music, brother!’. Roger that

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Cesaria Evora

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Music On Vinyl)

41,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Invasive Dance Beat Of Cameroon 1976-1984

Pop Makossa

2LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

The Sorcerers White Vinyl Edition

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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An explosive
compilation highlighting the era when funk and disco sounds
began to infiltrate Cameroon's Makossa style. The beat that
holds everything together originate's from the Sawa people's
rhythms. When these rhythms collided with merengue, high-life,
Congolese rumba, and, later, funk and disco, modern Makossa was
born. Makossa, the beat that long before football, managed to
unify the whole of Cameroon. Some of the greatest Makossa hits
incorporated the electrifying guitars and tight grooves of
funk, while others were laced with cosmic synth flourishes.
However, most of this music's vibe came down to the bass, and
'Pop Makossa' demonstrates why many Cameroonian bass players
are among the most revered in the world.

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The Sorcerers

LP | 2015 | UK | Reissue (ATA)

Dagar Gyil Ensemble Of Lawra

Release: 2015 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Reissue of the debuit album from The Sorcerers. Recently championed by Ethio-Jazz legend Mulatu Astatke on his Addis Abbaba radio show, The Sorcerers take influences from Ethiopiques Ethio-jazz as well as the soundtracks to the european horror films of the 60's and 70's and the british library music of the same era & blend them into one cohesive package. Made up of various stalwarts of the vibrant Leeds Jazz/World scene they were originally formed to contribute some tracks to the compilation "Funk, Soul & Afro Rarities: An Introduction To ATA Records" released in 2014 on Here & Now Records. After receiving a favourable response to their contributed tracks and garnering support from the likes of Strut records founder Quinton Scott and Radio 3's Nick Luscombe (Late Junction) they decided to develop their sound further before recording their debut album.

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Dagara- Gyil Music Of Ghana's Upper West Region

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Sublime Frequencies)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Hot Casa)

Vaudou Game

Noussin

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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African, funky, sarcastic, bewitching, green, ecstatic: these words collide to describe Vaudou Game and all of them are true. Noussin is the fourth album of the french Afro Funk band. Forced into lockdown, like much of the planet, Peter Solo and his Vaudou Game had no choice but to retreat into the studio. A reunion to once again invoke the spiritual forces of the Voodoo Deities. A reunion that was Initially imagined for an EP…yet these spiritual forces behind that imagination yearned for something more, and as we all know, these forces are impossible to push away once they have decided to stay. Under the strain enforced by the current socioeconomic climate, as much as by the environmental peril that faces us all today - they diverted the course of the groove towards daring new vibrations. Without extinguishing or diminishing its highly communicative power, they released Vaudou Game from its origins of pure Afro-Funk to gradually engage into compositions which crystallized themselves into tones resembling more rock than funk. On this fourth album, with an entirely revisited line-up, Peter Solo separates for the first time in his career from his brassy guard, leaving saxophone, trumpet and trombone outside to invite an arsenal of keyboards to define, with him, this new voodoo sound. A sound, as usual, built on vintage and precise analogical material - grime even on the white side of the tape, a blunt instrument used to blanket anything that strived to shine too much in the mix. Graced with tapered guitars stringing out rhythmic bumps or withdrawing a few beats to indulge in infectious solos, this album is boisterously alive with vintage 70's Funk, infused with a few digressions into other ethers of the funk timeline, nicking different sounds and frequencies to render the black and white keys of an inspired keyboard to reach new euphoric levels of melodic acidity. Tearing off the enigmatic mask to reveal his true face: on a few titles, Peter Solo ventures outside of his sacred voodoo range to reconnect with his London years, these titles feature small nods to the time he spent in “The Smoke” where the incantations of British music culture were written within him. Noussin which means “Stay strong” in Mina, a dialect spoken in the south-west of Togo. Noussin, a message of hope as much as a call to come together to weather the turmoil and to come out better on the other side. Don’t let them grind you down…Noussin!

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Nahawa Doumbia

Kanawa

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

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Nahawa Doumbia's new album Kanawa concisely captures this current moment in Malian history. The singer, whose storied career spans more than four decades, reflects on the immigration crisis from the Malian perspective in the title of her new album Kanawa. Across eight songs recorded in Bamako with a band including traditional and modern instruments, Doumbia merges her early work that relied on a spare expression of her trademark didadi rhythm with the bombastic range of contemporary Malian pop. The beautifully complex musical accompaniment that results is courtesy of the large ensemble she pulled together with producer and arranger (and day one collaborator) N'gou Bagayoko. The band features two highly expressive Malian string instruments, the ngoni and the slightly smaller kamalé ngoni, as well as a variety of percussion, drum programming, karignan (a metal scraper) and acoustic and electric guitars. Doumbia's daughter, a celebrated singer with her own group and busy concert schedule, Doussou Bagayoko sings on "Adjorobena," a song about patience, tolerance and living in peace. Doumbia weaves together a roadmap of her psyche when it comes to the good and bad life has to offer. She talks about marriage and women leaving home to join another through the metaphor of a tree in the garden; she includes gunshot samples in the song "Foliwilen" to honor the bravery of hunters, soldiers and other courageous people; she uses a bird in "Djougoh" to talk about lazy people; and, in "Ndiagneko" she advises people to ignore critics, just do you. Mali has gone through an intense period of regional strife and terrorist incidents over the last ten years and Doumbia roots the album in tragic local concerns with deep global implications. "The meaning of Kanawa is so simple. We see our children trying to cross the ocean all the time. I said that many of our children die in the ocean and some of them die while crossing the Sahara. But I ask them why do they leave their country? They said that they leave because of the family situation or problems like poverty and unemployment. I ask them to stay and work in their country. I call on the UN and African leaders so that we can coordinate our efforts to find a solution, to create jobs for them so that young people stop leaving. That's why I chose it as the title of my album so that everybody can learn from it and also so that there is a reduction in the number of people emigrating. So that some will hear the message and stay home and grow the land. Leaving is not the only solution. My message is to help the youth find jobs."

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Hailu Mergia

Yene Mircha

A Journey Into Cameroonian Music

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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It's been a long, winding road to Hailu Mergia's sixth decade of musical activity. From a young musician in the 60's starting out in Addis Ababa to the 70's golden age of dance bands to the new hope as an emigre in America to the drier period of the 90s and 2000s when he mainly played keyboard in his taxi while waiting in the airport queue or at home with friends. More recently, with reissue of his classic works and a re-assessment of his role in Ethiopian music history, Mergia has played to audiences big and small in some of the most cherished venues around the world. With 2018's critical breakthrough "Lala Belu" Mergia championed himself and consolidated his legacy, producing the album on his own and connecting with listeners through the sheer creative power of his version of modern Ethiopian music. His subsequent performances revealed an artist who is in no way stuck in the nostalgia for the "golden age" sound. The press agreed, including the New York Times, BBC and Pitchfork, calling his music "triumphantly in the present" in its Best 200 Albums of the 2010's list. Mergia's new album "Yene Mircha" ("My Choice" in Amharic) encapsulates many of the things that make the keyboardist, accordionist and composer-arranger remarkable_elements that have persisted to maintain his vitality all these years, through the ebb and flow of his career. The rock solid trio with whom he has toured the world most recently, DC-based Alemseged Kebede (bass) and Ken Joseph (drums), forms the nucleus around which an expanded band makes a potent response to the contemporary jazz future "Lala Belu" promised. "Yene Mircha" calcifies Mergia's prolific stream of creativity and his philosophy that there is a multitude of Ethiopian musical approaches, not just one sound. Enlisting the help of master mesenqo (traditional stringed instrument) player Setegn Atenaw, celebrated vocalist Tsehay Kassa and legendary saxophone player Moges Habte from his 70's outfit Walias Band, Mergia enhances his bright, electric band on this recording with an expanded line up on some songs. Mergia produced the album which features several of his original compositions along with songs by Asnakesh Worku and Teddy Afro. An artist still reinventing his sound every night on stage during his marathon live sets, this 74-year-old icon refuses to make the same album twice. The album feels as urgent and risky as his concerts can be, pushing the band to the outer limits of group improvisation and back with chord extensions during his exploratory solos. "Yene Mircha" captures this live experience and fosters an expansive view of what else could be in store for this tireless practitioner of Ethiopian music.

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Los Camaroes

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Nubiphone)

7" | 2019 | EU | Original (Philophon)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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Jimi Tenor

Vocalize My Luv

Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Jimi Tenor delivers another 7" on Philophon. This time he teamed up with the two glorious gospel queens Florence Adooni and Lizzy Amaliyenga from Bolgatanga/Northern Ghana. This release is a first insight into the next album by Jimi on Philophon, which will be released later the year.
Vocalize My Luv is a charmingly presented lure for love. The secret of the song is that drummer Ekow Alabi Savage's upfront high-life beat is triggering a Jimi-operated Korg MS-20 bass synth. Man and machine are melting down into a light and sportive groove, which irresistibly invites you to do some frisky aerobic moves on the 3am dancefloor. Ki'igba is a classic Frafra gospel song by Alogte Oho, completed with some jubilating flute by master Jimi.

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Wasso

12" | 2017 | EU | Original (Mawimbi)

Chrissy Zebby Tembo & Ngozi Family

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Interviews from Kenya about an “Economic Partnership Agreement” (EPA) mark the core of ten compositions by Sven Kacirek and Daniel Mburu Muhuni. They have spoken to dozens of people who might be affected by the planned free trade agreement between the EU and the African Pacific Countries. While EPA is being negotiated mainly outside of the limelight of international attention, this album of musical oral histories is an approach to shed a critical light onto the complex circumstances and inhumane side effects of global trade.
The spoken words are the vocals of the tracks. The artists have left the rhythm and tonality of the voices untouched, and the statements have simply been collaged into subthemes. Subsequently, Kacirek and Muhuni have dubbed the voices with their instruments: mallets, piano, percussion, synthesizer, and many more. The result is nothing less than a mesmerizing stream of consciousness. It sometimes reminds of sound collages by The Books, of Steve Reich’s “Different Trains” or of Jan Jelinek’s repetitive soundscapes. “Economic Partnership Agreement” can be listened to as an audio play or musical documentary as a whole while individual tracks such as “The Weather Has Changed So Much” stand out as single hits. Sven Kacirek has played and collaborated with Shabaka Hutchings, John McEntire, Nils Frahm, Sofia Jernberg and Stefan Schneider among others. He has travelled to Kenya many times, always on the quest for musical inspiration and collaborations. The most famous result are his “Kenya Sessions” (Pingipung 2011) as well as “Mukunguni” and “Rang’ala” (Honest Jons 2013/14). Daniel Mburu Muhuni is a percussionist from Nairobi who took part in the BLNRB project conducted by the Teichmann Brothers in 2012.
With this new album, the two artists focus on an intercultural exchange which aims at more than beautiful music: Unveiling voices about global trade from a Kenyan perspective. Five music videos will be published ahead of the release date
in which the interviewed guests are featured. This album shall be available for free on Bandcamp. Additionally, a limited vinyl LP edition of 200 hand numbered copies will be released. It comes in a luxurious gatefold cover with a 30 page booklet with all lyrics and more information on the EPA process and the people involved in this record.

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My Ancestors

LP | 2012 | US | Reissue (Mississippi)

29,99 €*

Release: 2012 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Trance Gnawa Music From Morocco

Nass El Ghiwane

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Elmir)

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Batov)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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In North Africa, a ziara is a spiritual ceremony where people come to exorcise demons, purify their bodies and loudly reaffirm their attachment to God, the prophet and the deities who claim to embody him. On this occasion, there are uncontrolled outbursts from the audience, but this has nothing to do with Roman orgies, as it lacks ostensible debauchery, aphrodisiacs or saturnalia - it is merely a blurring of the line between the religious and the superstitious. In a shrill parable, cries erupt from chests, twisting through vertical space and setting everything ablaze; a delirious chorus is chanted, ending in syncopation, and the litany, whose leitmotif Ya Chai, Ya Afi (O Healer...), shouted in unison, builds to a crescendo until the body is totally exhausted. An intoxicating ecstasy reminiscent of a voodoo ritual. What mystics call "union in God", a God who would multiply himself.

The most brilliant performers of this type of ceremony are called the Gnawa. Originally from black Africa, mainly Sudan and Senegal, they were forcibly implanted in southern Maghreb by Tuareg raiders seeking to use them as slaves. After several decades of servitude, they managed to emerge from their painful condition, which they evoke in some of their songs, and - as a result of cross-fertilization - to form a mixed race known as the hormis (the reddish). They then grouped together in mystical brotherhoods, the most important of which were based in Morocco, and devoted themselves to rituals through which, while attesting to the greatness and omnipotence of Allah, they pursued their fatal liaisons with the djins or djenoun, genie-like spirits that may be either benevolent or hostile.

But above all, the Gnawa, who never abjured their faith in animist divinities, distinguish themselves by their bewitching music, dance and rhythms, which are believed to hold therapeutic virtues. During the festivities, all movements are orchestrated and staged by the maâlem, or master (one of the most famous is Si Mohamed Chaouki), for he alone knows all the rules. He is a master of the instrument that aids healing, the guembri, a kind of acoustic bass strummed with three gut strings, and knows which melody-remedy matches each patient possessed by a particular spirit. All this is accompanied by dekka (frenzied hand-clapping) and animal sacrifices (chickens, goats and, on rare occasions, bulls).

In recent years in particular, the Gnawa musical and rhythmic tradition, which borrows from both Middle Eastern arabesques and African percussion, has enjoyed a marked revival among Moroccan artists of the new generation. But until now, only the very popular group Nass El Ghiwane has been able, with talent, faithfulness and authenticity, to reconstitute the Gnawa spirit, as witnessed by this album. So join them, and get into the trance.

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Sandman Project

Where Did You Go?

My Mind / Love Is The Language

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Sandman Project"s long awaited debut album Where Did You Go? is a borderless amalgam of brass heavy sounds, a document of a band whose musical tendencies mimic their open-minded ethic where Ethio- jazz, Afrobeat, American soul music and psychedelic, Mediterranean funk traverse.

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Jimi Tenor

7" | 2024 | EU | Original (Philophon)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Batov)

Kolonel DJafaar

Getaway

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Northern Underground)

Dudu Tassa

El Hajar

18,99 €*

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2015 | US | Reissue (Burning Sounds)

Gregory Isaacs

Slum In Dub

Release: 2015 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Heavenly Sweetness presents

2007-2017 – 10 Years Of Transcendent Music

2LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Heavenly Sweetness)

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Piranha)

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Hip Hop, Organic Grooves

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Limited edition vinyl!

Transcendent : “Surpassing the ordinary; exceptional”
2007 - 2017 : Heavenly Sweetness is turning 10 years old!
They are celebrating with 3 birthday parties, and 2 compilations! One is a best of the label’s production, and the 2nd one is made of exclusive tracks, composed for this occasion.
This compilation is a very subjective best of the label’s production, from each album or single we had the chance to produce, with great artists.
A journey through 10 years of music, a great introduction to the label’s universe, but even the experts will discover unknown tracks.
Including well known artists such as Guts, Blundetto, Sly Johnson, Anthony Joseph, but also more confidential artists: Robert Aaron, Jacaranda Muse, Patchworks (and his tribute to Gil Scott-Heron) and many others!

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Sabri Brothers

Jami (Remastered)

Fela Soul Purple Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Devoting an album entirely to the Persian poetry of Jami, aluminary of the Sufi tradition, was one of Haji Ghulam Farid Sabri"s cherished ambitions for a long time. This dream came true for the Qawwali icon when he visited Berlin in July 1991 at the invitation of the Heimatklänge ("Home Soundsfrom Home Planet Earth") festival, accompanied by his 14-year-old son Amjad. After Ghulam Sabri"s untimely death on the 5th of April 1994, Amjad Sabri became his musical successor, thereby passing on the Sufi Qawwali mastership of the Sabri family to the next generation. This all came to an end when Amjad was murdered for his Sufi beliefs in the streets of Karachi on the 22nd of June 2016. Thus, Jami is not only a memorial to the Sufi Muslim tradition and the Persian poet but also to Ghulam Farid Sabri and Amjad Sabri. It remains their only record in Farsi.

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Fela Kuti Vs. De La Soul

LP | 2015 | US (Fela Soul)

31,99 €*

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

Release: 2015 / US

Genre: Hip Hop, Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The classic is back! Limited edition for Record Store Day 2015! Gummy Soul's Amerigo Gazaway mashes up Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti with acapellas from De La Soul to killer effect! A fantasic journey into the "world of afrobeat rhythms, funky horn riffs & classic hip-hop gems". Bonus track added, now on colored vinyl in a full color picture sleeve!

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Morgan

Vakonwana

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Afrosynth)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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

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

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Kamazu

Korobela

18,99 €*

12" | 2024 | UK | Original (DDS)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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NZO

Concentrate

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Crunchy Frog)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The 4th in the DDS 12” series, NZO helps stake the label’s 15th year of operations with a typically Janus-faced
approach to classic >< contemporary club ruffage. Tune to tune, she decimates and distills familiar tropes in
singular, whirring syncopations designed to prompt bodies to move in fresh new ways. It’s all primed for
proper animist magick, bound to snag rhythm fiends with its shape-cutting manoeuvres.
Working deep in the hardcore ’nuum’s 30 odd year tradition of concrète sampler chicanery, the four tracks
find fractured vocals and echoes of club classics revitalised and reset with advanced drum ingenuity.
160BPM opener ‘Concentrate’ appears like Hessle Audio’s Joe stripped for parts, whilst ‘Mallet’ swivels like SND
remodelling Afrobeats’ palette of tuned percussions, next to what could almost be a lost Various Production
edit in the sublime tension of syrupy R&B and frothing drums on ‘Come Alive’.
The EP ends with its standout, ‘Body & Soul’, an undulating ama simmer punctuated by dub chords like some
lost Basic Channel production re-cast for the lovers.

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Ki!

Yong-Gwanglo Part One

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2021 | US | Original (We Are Busy Bodies)

Vis-A-Vis

Di Wo Ho Ni

33,99 €*

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Pingipung)

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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We Are Busy Bodies exploration of Vis-A-Vis catalogue continues with a remastered reissue of their album Di Wo Ho Ni. The band continued to be the backing band of choice of some of Ghana's biggest and most famous musicians all while recording their own albums. The album has been remastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel, with art restoration completed by Steve Lewin.

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Odd Okoddo

Auma

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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2LP+Book | 2021 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

Cameroon Garage Funk

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

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Yaoundé, in the 1970´s, was a buzzing place. Every neighbourhood of Cameroon´s capital, no matter how dodgy, was flled with music spots but surprisingly there were no infrastructure to immortalise those musical riches. The country suffered from a serious lack of proper recording facilities, and the process of committing your song to tape could become a whole adventure unto itself. Of course, you could always book the national broadcasting company together with a sound engineer, but this was hardly an option for underground artists with no cash. But luckily an alternative option emerged in form of an adventist church with some good recording equipment and many of the artists on this compilation recorded their frst few songs, secretly, in these premises thanks to Monsieur Awono, the church engineer. He knew the schedule of the priests and, in exchange for some cash, he would arrange recording sessions. The artists still had to bring their own equipment, and since there was only one microphone, the amps and instruments had to be positioned perfectly. It was a risky business for everyone involved but since they knew they were making history, it was all worth it. At the end of the recording, the master reel would be handed to whoever had paid for the session, usually the artist himself..and what happened next? With no distribution nor recording companies around this was a legitimate question. More often then not it was the french label Sonafric that would offer their manufacturing and distribution structure and many Cameroonian artist used that platform to kickstart their career. What is particularly surprising in the case of Sonafric was their willingness to take chances and judge music solely on their merit rather than their commercial viability. The sheer amount of seriously crazy music released also spoke volumes about the openness of the people behind the label.But who exactly are these artists that recorded one or two songs before disappearing, never to be heard from again? Some of the names were so obscure that even the most seasoned veterans of the Cameroonian music scene had never heard of them. A few trips to the land of Makossa and many more hours of interviews were necessary to get enough insight to assemble the puzzle-pieces of Yaoundé’s buzzing 1970s music scene. We learned that despite the myriad diffculties involved in the simple process of making and releasing a record, the musicians of Yaoundé’s underground music scene left behind an extraordinary legacy of raw grooves and magnifcent tunes. The songs may have been recorded in a church, with a single microphone in the span of only an hour or two, but the fact that we still pay attention to these great creations some 50 years later, only illustrates the timelessness of their music.

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Ayalew Mesfin

Wegene (My Countryman)

LP | 2020 | 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. Wegene 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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Witch

Introduction

Release: 2020 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Tewedije Limut (Let Me Die Loved) Black Vinyl Edition

Ayalew Mesfin

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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Apala - Apala Groups In Nigeria 1967-70

2LP | 2020 | UK | Original (Soul Jazz)

28,99 €*

LP | 2024 | Original (Blue Shine)

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Soul Jazz Records new ‘Apala: Apala Groups in Nigeria 1964-69’ is the first ever collection of Apala music ever to be released outside of Nigeria.
The album focusses on a wide selection of recordings made in Nigeria in the 1960s, a time when Apala music was at the height of its popularity. Apala is a deeply rhythmical, hypnotic and powerful musical style that combines the striking nasal-style vocals and traditions of Islamic music, the Agidigbo (thumb piano), and the equally powerful drumming and percussion rhythms and techniques of the Yoruba of Nigeria.
The most significant figure in Apala music is undoubtedly Haruna Ishola who features throughout this album. Ishola holds an almost mythological status in his role as populariser of Apala music in Nigeria. Ishola’s singing was believed to be so powerful that, without proper restraint, it could kill the recipient of his music.
Apala is a popular music that also functioned as a form of cultural resistance – Apala music involved no western instrumentation and is sung in the Yoruba language, its aesthetic an implicit cultural rejection of the British Empire’s colonial rule over Nigeria which lasted from 1901 until independence in 1960.
Apala music was popular and widely accepted in Nigeria due to its philosophical and profound lyrical content alongside the complex rhythmic patterns of this heavily percussive style, which highlighted many of the percussion instruments of south-west Nigeria.
Apala is one of a number of popular urban styles of music that came out of Nigeria in the 20th century and sits alongside the more well-known (in the West) styles of Fuji, Highlife, Juju and Afrobeat. Of these modern forms Apala remains perhaps the most ‘roots’ style (sometimes described as ‘neo-traditional’) due to the authenticity of its sound. It has similar Islamic roots to other neo-traditional styles of Nigeria – including Waka and Sakara – examples of which are also included on this collection contextualising the music of Apala.
These recordings were originally made and released locally by Decca and EMI Records as well as a variety of independent labels in Nigeria and have never been released outside of the country before. Soul Jazz Records are releasing this album as a deluxe double gatefold vinyl (+ download code), CD, slipcase and booklet, both containing full text and photography.

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Arash Sarkechik

Bazaari

31,99 €*

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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7" | 2020 | UK | Reissue (Lyskestrekk)

Flammer Dance Band

Mer / Holder Rytme

13,99 €*

Emahoy Gebru Tsege Mariam

Release: 2020 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Flammer Dance Band back with two new hip-shaking garage funk tunes! 2023 Repress edition in different sleeve artwork colourway Another essential from Lyskestrekk Records.

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Spielt Eigene Kompositionen

LP | 2013 | US | Reissue (Mississippi)

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Vampisoul)

Release: 2013 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A most unusual & stunning album. Tsege Mariam Gebru is an Ethiopian nun who has dedicated her life to helping others. She has been composing & playing music on the piano since the 1960's. Her music is a unique mix of Western classical music in the vein of Erik Satie, Ethiopian music & Religious Christian meditation music. On this reissue of her first LP, originally released in Germany in a very small pressing, we find Tsege Mariam Gebru playing her own compositions solo on piano. She plays with restrained grace & purity. The record invites repeated listening well and is filled with spiritual warmth.

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Nil's Jazz Ensemble

12" | 2019 | EU | Original (Hot Mule / Secousse)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Highlights:The Only Album Ever Recorded By Peruvian Sax Player Nilo Espinosa And His Group, Also Known As The Nil's Jazz Ensemble, Remains Not Only As One Of The Truly Grails For Collectors Of Latin-American Jazz But Also As An Outstanding Piece Of Music On Its Own.After Years Unavailable, Our Reissue Presents This 1976 Album In Its Full Glory, With Remastered Sound And Original Artwork, Including The Rare Promo Poster.Pressed On 180g Vinyl.Description:Once Resettled In Lima, Peru, In 1974 After Spending Some Time Playing In A Jazz Quintet In Berlin, Sax Player Nilo Espinosa Would Put Together The Nil's Jazz Ensemble, A Top-Notch Array Of Local Talent Consisting Of Pancho Sáenz (Trumpet), Miguel 'Chino' Figueroa (Keyboards), Oscar Stagnaro (Bass), Andrés Silva (Drums And Percussion), Jorge Montero, Richie Zellon And Ramón Stagnaro (Guitars).They Recorded One Single Album That Remains Not Only As One Of The Truly Grails For Collectors Of Latin-American Jazz But Also As An Outstanding Piece Of Music On Its Own. The Opening Song "Reflexiones" Is A Mind-Blowing Jazz-Funk Number Right Up There With The Very Best Of The Genre, Written By Black Sugar's Former Member Miguel 'Chino' Figueroa, Featuring A Fantastic Work On Trumpet And Rhodes.The Album Also Includes A Cover Of The Rare Groove Classic "Hard Work" That Could Have Easily Sneaked Into The Funkiest Side Of The Prestige Catalogue.Following The Success Of This Album, Espinosa Would Expand His Band To A Big Band Format And Tour Local Theatres And Clubs In Lima, Where Jazz Music Was A Popular Genre At The Time.Our Reissue Presents This 1976 Album In Its Full Glory, Pressed On 180g Vinyl With Remastered Sound And Original Artwork, Including The Rare Promo Poster.

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Max Rambhojan

Afla Sackey & Afrik Bawantu

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Guadeloupe 1986. The football World Cup has all the Islanders' eyes riveted to their TV sets. At every half time breaks, local TV channel RFO broadcasts a music video on repeat: ‘’Tou’t Jou Pa Min’m". Max Rambhojan, the local singer responsible for this monster tune, has arrived.
In the video, he effortlessly sings and kickstarts a joyous street party with his band, Show Man, his dancers, kids, friends, family and what seems like the whole neighbourhood. The song will gain cult status from then on, cementing the power of the 'Zouk Chiré' sound, a high tempo version of Zouk, highly influenced by Guadeloupe's Carnival mass drum bands. Max self-releases his first solo album on vinyl in 1985, enrolling some of the best musicians the scene has to offer: his band leader King Klero, Guy Jacquet of les Vikings de la Guadeloupe fame on production duties, Ramon Pyrmée on synths, Claude Vamur, Meliza… In 1992 a new solo album follows. By then the artists have familiarized themselves with computers and the sound has gone full-on digital. In that album Max records an updated version of his “Tou’t Jou Pa Min’m” anthem to great effect.
Reducing Max Rambhojan to a zouk artist would be a mistake. He’s first and foremost a master of Gwo-Ka, a musical practice born during the transatlantic slave trade and performed by all ethnic and religious groups of Guadeloupe. It has never ceased to exist and has become a major part of the Island folk music culture. Max Rambhojan was schooled as a kid by Gwo-Ka pioneer Guy Conquette, and quickly joined the backing band of another legend, Ti-Sélès. That sound is the root of his particular style, especially vibrant on two tracks in his repertoire: “Cecilia” and “On Jou Matin”, both featured on this release's b-side. A touch of Spiritual Jazz is also palpable, allowing a magical vibe to spread, giving birth to some of the deepest music from this era.
In 2019, Max still performs Gwo-Ka every week-end in Guadeloupe and also hosts a show on local radio Media Tropical, 88.1FM. Secousse and Hot Mule are proud to present those 4 lost gems on wax and digital, carefully restored and remastered.

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Destination

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Wah Wah 45s)

49,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Havana Meets Kingston Part 2

Mista Savona Pres. V.A.

2LP | 2017 | EU | Reissue (Baco)

39,99 €*

Release: 2017 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

Tito Pontet

La Fera Dub / La Fera

13,99 €*

From The Dark Side Of The Alps

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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Herbert Pixner Projekt

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Three Saints)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Analogue Foundation & Oshu)

Àbáse

Awakening

35,99 €*

LP | 2015 | EU | Reissue (Glitterbeat)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP on 180g vinyl. Housed in a deluxe gatefold 'tip on' sleeve with full liner notes (Jeff Mao) and studio photography.

On a quest for cosmic grooves of unity, Àbáse is the imagination of Hungarian producer and keyboardist Szabolcs Bognár. Now based in Berlin, he’s become a protagonist of a fast-rising jazz movement in the German capital. Bringing together musicians from Hungary, Germany, Ghana and Australia for moving project with a global outlook - here is his highly anticipated new album ‘Awakening’ released by Analogue Foundation and Oshu Records

Created following a move to Berlin, marriage, new parenthood, and the inevitable interrogation of mortality that takes place when a loved one has transitioned, ‘Awakening’ demonstrates a deep understanding of music’s ability to cross time and geographic boundaries, conveying a message of unity, dialogue and self-reflection. Recorded in four days at Berlin's Brewery Studios, the album coalesces Àbáse’s varied musical influences and reference points (classic Lagos Afrobeat, traditional Hungarian folk, Yoruba rhythms, house and techno, hip-hop et al) with exquisite modalimprovisation à la Coltrane, spurred by Szabolcs’ introspection.

“Awakening was the first working title I gave to the project, and I decided to stick with it as it felt authentic and descriptive of what I wanted to express. The name comes from the concept that babies can hear and remember their parents voices from the belly, they recognise the voices upon birth and can be soothed with them. Being born is to enter an elevated state of existence, transitioning from just sounds and feelings to sight upon birth. I believe the way we experience life on earth and trying to make sense of the universe will shift upon our transition or ‘death’, and its only a pathway to something higher. The imagined moment of rebirth and entering to this new realm of existence is what I call “Awakening”.

Mostly composed of first and second takes with minimal overdubs, a striking level of intimacy is achieved between Szabolcs, Ziggy Zeitgeist (drums), Ori Jacobson (saxophone), Fanni Zahár (flute), Andras Koroknay (bass, synths), Ernö Hock (double bass) and Eric Owusu (vocals, percussion). This intimacy extends to the listening experience, with moments like atmospheric opener ‘Greeting Mother Sea’ and ‘Bloom (Flora)’ welcoming listener’s into Ábàse’s world through trance-inducing, glistening piano motifs, swirling synths and fluttering woodwinds.

Singles ‘Destruction Everywhere’ and ‘Menidaso’, paired with ‘Shango’, perhaps best highlight Szabolcs’ worldview and efforts to bridge creative ideas and cultural viewpoints. All three tracks are a bold fusion of spiritual jazz and afrobeat, with the latter two featuring the Twi vocal and driving percussion of Eric Owusu. Elsewhere, Szabolcs explores his own heritage with a stirring iteration of Hungarian folk song ‘Gyászba Borult Isten Csillagvára (God’s Star Castle Has Fallen To Grief)’, whilst also nodding to musical lineage through J Dilla homage ‘Shining’, and ‘Sunisaway’, a tribute to Sun Ra upon which Sun Ra Arkestra members Cecil Brooks and Knoel Scott are warmly welcomed to contribute.

‘Awakening’ is a new chapter for Àbáse, whose work has already drawn widespread critical acclaim. Debut album ‘Laroyê’, recorded entirely during a five- month trip to Brazil, found global praise from the likes of The Guardian, BBC Radio 6, Soulection, KEXP and Complex. Szabolcs has toured and collaborated as a keyboardist with the likes of Wayne Snow, Dele Sosimi, Pat Thomas and Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange. The new album begins an era of partnership with Analogue Foundation, who are dedicated to preserving and furthering analogue creation via record releases, international events, and activities at its recording studio and hi-fi listening bar. The Foundation is headed up by Grammy-winning New York City recording and mixing engineer Russ Elevado (D’Angelo, Erykah Badu), Audio-Technica, Soundwalk Collective, and Berlin recording and mix engineer Erik Breuer.

Personnel:

Fanni Zahár, Ori Jacobson Szabolcs Bognár, Eric Owusu,
Ernő Hock & Ziggy Zeitgeist, drums

With Special Guests: Flóra Bognár, Youka Snell, Cecil Brooks Knoel Scott, Dumama, Rhea Sodemann, Wayne Snow.

Liner notes by Jeff 'Chairman' Mao and session photos by Dario Raspudic.

"Certainly a producer to watch" -Gilles Peterson
“ Hungarian producer Àbáse blends west African and Brazilian rhythms with a satisfying and uncluttered efficacy on Laroyê” -The Guardian
“We were instantly gripped upon hearing the work of Hungarian jazz collaborative project Àbáse” Stamp The Wax

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Bixiga 70

III

Release: 2015 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Wagram)

Salsa

15,99 €*

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ikoyi Blindness White Vinyl Edition

Fela Kuti

LP | 2024 | Original (Knitting Factory)

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2020 | UK | Original (Forever Living Originals)

Sault

Untitled (Black Is)

40,99 €*

Orile To Berlin Orange Vinyl Edition

Release: 2020 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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“We present our first ‘Untitled’ album to mark a moment in time where we as Black People, and of Black Origin are fighting for our lives. RIP George Floyd and all those who have suffered from police brutality and systemic racism. Change is happening… We are focused.”

Pressed at Optimal.

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Rah & The Ruffcats

LP | 2024 | Original (Sonar Kollektiv)

All My Friends Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Berlin based Ruffcats are something of an institution. This eight-piece outfit made up of some of the country"s most revered session musicians, pool all of their diverse influences and come together as "The Ruffcats" to create a unique take on the music they love. Rapturous Apollo Helios, better known as RAH, has been making a name for himself as one of Berlins" most outstanding rappers, songwriters and vocalists. Originally hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, RAH"s music has always been influenced by his environment as well as a rich history of black music from hip hop to soul and, of course, Afrobeat.

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Aoife O'Donovan

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Yep Roc)

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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7" | 2021 | EU | Original (Hot Casa)

Vaudou Game

Bella

7" | 2019 | EU | Original (Afro7)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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African, funky, sarcastic, bewitching, green, ecstatic: these words collide to describe Vaudou Game and all of them are true. Bella is the first vinyl single derived from the upcoming album called Noussin, due to be relased June 11th 2021. "Bella" is a smashing summer hit, sang in Mina and french. It's an ode to the nature and love in this hard times. "Be My Wife" on the B side, is a trip into a rock /funk universe with an uptempo twist rythm, sang into the voodoo harmonies. Composed in Lyon on 100% analog equipment during the lockdown, those two songs might be the funky nuggets of all DJ's and radio playlists .

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Mac & Party

Zandale / Kiss To Kiss

7" | 2017 | EU | Original (Afro7)

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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From Mac & Party aka. Yaseen Mohammes comes this fantastic Kenyan chakacha taarab dancer with a heavy clavioline keyboard hook. mid 60’s origin

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Loi Tok Tok Eboma

Chakacha / Mungwana

Kelen Ati Leen / Souleymane

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Loi Toki Tok band started out as a nondescript musical group. But irrefutably, the band’s star scaled the heights and shone brightly on the early 1970s Kenyan capital, Nairobi’s burgeoning live music circuit. And basking on the top of the pops charts, was vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Leon Kabasela aka Kalle. He also doubled as band’s composer and songwriter – earning credits for among other tracks, this mellow ‘ballad’ aptly titled Mungwana – loosely translated in Swahili, is descriptive of a selfless and conscientious gentleman. Kalle is one of handful surviving remnants of the band, whose lifespan was somewhat short-lived. It lasted barely three years – circa 1971 to mid-1973. Mungwana’s lyrics, sang in Congolese lingala dialect, mirror his roots and musical dream, which lured the youthful artiste during late 1960s to pack bags, and desert the rural fringes of Lubumbashi – then Zaire’s second largest city. On the 45 single flipside is a soulful, funky hit Chakacha – a seemingly timeless afro-soul flavoured cut. Its catchy and hypnotic lyrical refrains, easily grow on the listeners. The vocals of the band’s one-time frontman, singer Kasim Combo, ooze with an unmistakable tinge of late 1960s to early 70s American soul rhythms, propelled onto the global showbiz spotlight by US pop stars Otis Redding, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Their popular hits gained massive, almost staple airplay on Kenya’s then sole broadcaster’s twin national radio stations. The fact that this record was pressed on an obscure Athi River label, is perhaps symbolic of Loi Toki Tok’s last band phase – shifting base from Club Arcadia in the heart of Nairobi, to the Small World Club in Athi River – an equally nondescript urban town, tucked away along the Mombasa highway.

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Orchestra Baobab

7" | 2015 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

Release: 2015 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate

In The Heart Of The Moon

2LP | 2012 | EU | Original (World Circuit)

O.D.O.O. Overtake Don Overtake Overtake Vinyl Edition

Release: 2012 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Originally released in 2005, now on vinyl!

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Fela Kuti

LP | 2024 | Original (Knitting Factory)

Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

Addisabababand

Release: 2020 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Dudu Tassa & The Kuwaitis

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (World Circuit)

31,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2017 | US | Original (Comb & Razor Sound)

Shango Dance Band

20,99 €*

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Nanga Boko)

Release: 2017 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the early years of Fela Kuti's career, well before he would define the genre of afrobeat, and leave an indelible mark on the musical landscape, he was a struggling trumpet player, seeking to redefine the sound of his current group, the art-jazz ensemble Fela Ransome-Kuti Quintet. As he moved his group towards the then-popular genre of highlife in 1963, he lost his bassist in the move towards commercial success, but gained the company of Ojo Okeji, who had a sterling reputation both as a bassist and
percussionist in groups like Lagos Cool Cats, Rex Williams' Nigerian Artistes, and Western Toppers Highlife Band, a favorite of Kuti's. Okeji impressed Kuti with his deft jazziness on the bass, so he was in on the spot, and the Fela Ransome-Kuti Quintet became Koola Lobitos. It was Okeji that introduced Kuti to the famed percussionist Tony Allen, (Who would subsequently join Kuti into his greatest years as an artist) as well as conguero Abayomi "Easy" Adio. During his time in Koola Lobitos, Okeji not only contributed deeply melodic, and adeptly rhythmic baselines, but brought his own influence from emerging US soul artists like James Brown & The Famous Flames and Wilson Pickett, heavily pushing Koola Lobitos towards a more soulful direction. This push was often resisted by Kuti, who frequently clashed with Okeji. 1968 proved to be a turning point for the group, as the Nigerian Civil War broke out, and many starving musicians turned to the military for work. Okeji and Adio would leave for the army, while Kuti and Allen kept Koola Lobitos going, where it evolved through different names and iterations and grew into the worldwide afrobeat force that made Kuti an icon during the 70s and 80s. But as Kuti and Allen rose to global recognition, Okeji and Adio would form a new band within the ranks of the 6th Infantry Brigade of the Nigerian Army. Their emblazoned blue jackets earned them the nickname "The Blues”, but Okeji preferred the name “Shango” after the Yoruba thunder god. Shango took the fundamentals of Kuti's famous afrobeat and brought new layers of guitar and horn arrangements, while often invoking supernatural aesthetics, and maintaining a love for the US soul artists that influenced Okeji so much. Because Shango was an army band however, their records were not readily available to anyone outside of the military so their music, including their eponymous 1974 LP, remained relatively unknown even amongst the people of Nigeria. Decades later Comb & Razor is thrilled to present this long-lost Nigerian gem for the first time to a world-wide audience.

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Ometh

Njitna!

29,99 €*

I Don't Have The Heart & Flicker

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Nanga Boko Records is very proud to present you "Njitna !" ("I'm Coming" in Bamoun
vernacular langage of Cameroun), the official compilation of the finest early recordings (1979/1980) of the Cameroonian composer & musician Théodore Mounta, known on scene as "Ometh".
Deluxe hand-numbered edition, limited to 500, includes a bonus track never released on vinyl before!
Each record comes with an insert that includes exclusive pictures and very detailed biographies in both English and French languages and an HQ Digital Download Card.
Approved by the artist himself, 100 % legit, all 8 tracks are under exclusive license of Nanga Boko Records.

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Tiny Habits

7" | 2024 | US | Original (Mom+Pop)

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2017 | EU | Original (Soundway)

The Movers

Kansas City

12" | 2012 | UK | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2017 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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DrumTalk

Airbourne EP

Release: 2012 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Dancing Time: The Best Of East Nigeria's Afro Rock Exponents 1973-77

The Funkees

2LP | 2012 | UK | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2012 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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‘Dancing Time: The Best of Eastern Nigeria’s Afro Rock Exponents 1973 – 77’ by The Funkees is the latest title on Soundway to mine the rich musical output of 60s and 70s Nigeria. For the 5 year period this compilation spans The Funkees output crackled with dance floor fire.

Having featured on three of Soundway’s most popular titles, across the definitive Nigeria Special compilation series, we felt The Funkees output deserved closer inspection. Presented here (on CD, download & double gatefold LP) are 18 slices of funky Afro-rock grooves hand picked by Soundway’s Miles Cleret from a selection of the bands 45s and 2 long players.

In the early 1970s The Funkees were the number-one east Nigerian band and the only outfit to seriously challenge the popular Lagos based rock combos MonoMono and BLO.

It wasn't long before promoters in the UK came calling and The Funkees packed up their instruments and moved to London where they quickly established a fierce reputation on the live circuit.

Here they recorded two seminal albums before finally breaking up in 1977 amidst some controversy. This collection features for the first time all of their Nigerian 45s alongside the best of their UK album material and is accompanied by a full interview with original member Sonny Akpan, who still lives in the capital.

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Sainkho Namtchylak

Cyberia

2LP | 2011 | Original

Release: 2011 / Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

Tambour Battant

Galore

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (X-Ray Production)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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

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El Gato Negro

Tigre Qui Pleure

28,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2021 | UK | Original (Hive Mind)

Hassan Wargui

Tiddukla

Release: 2021 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Hassan Wargui is a self taught musician, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and an expert in the songcraft and poetry of the Tachelhit speaking Amazigh tribes of the Anti-Atlas mountains in the south of Morocco.

He was born in 1985 in the rural community of Issafen, which lies between Taroudant and Tafraoute in the Anti-Atlas mountains of Southern Morocco. His music draws from the deep well of Amazigh, or Berber, cultures that have long been suppressed across North Africa after the region underwent a process of Arabization following the Arab invasions of the 7th Century.

Hassan grew up in an isolated mountain community in which art and music is embedded into daily life. This allowed him to develop an excellent musical sense, a deep understanding of the complex poly-rhythms that underpin Amazigh music, and time to become proficient on the banjo which, since the ascendency of the popular modern folk movement involving groups such as Nass El Ghiwane and Jil Jilala in the late '60s and early '70s, has been the preferred instrument of the region. Like many musicians from the region, Hassan built his first instruments himself, and it wasn't until he moved to Casablanca in his teens to find work which was scarce in his local community, that he was able to save for his first real banjo.

Since then Hassan has been active in the Amazigh musical community and has worked with a number of groups, notably Groupe Lbouchart, Imanaren and Etran Tiznit, as well as recording prolifically as a solo artist using Fruity Loops as a home studio. In 2009, Jace Clayton (DJ/Rupture) stumbled across a CD by Imanaren on a stall in Casablanca medina and this led to a fruitful series of collaborations in 2009 and 2011 (you can learn more about their work together here.)

Tiddukla (which translates to Friendship) is one of Hassan's numerous group projects and he recorded the album with friends in 2015 and self released it through YouTube due to the lack of music infrastructure in Morocco. The Tiddukla album is raw and hypnotic and sees Hassan and his group channeling the deep and contemplative sounds of classic Amazigh groups such as Izenzaren, Archach, Izmaz, all of whom risked their freedom by daring to sing in Tachelhit at a time when the language was still forbidden, and when Amazigh people were fighting for their rights to be recognised.

Hive Mind are thrilled to be able to release Hassan's beautiful music, and to introduce the fascinating rhythms of the Anti-Atlas Mountains into the wider world. We're incredibly proud to be able to support this fiercely independent and hugely resourceful and tenacious artist who has been able to continue creating music for over a decade without any real support from Morocco's music industry and while holding down a variety of day jobs. We really hope you enjoy his music as much as we do.

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Mogadisco - Dancing In Mogadishu (Somalia '72-91)

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