Afrobeat 700 Items

Volume 3: Sweet Times - Afro, Funk, Highlife & Juju From 1970s Lagos

Release: 2016 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Soul Jazz Records’ new Nigeria Soul Fever is their first release to explore the vast wealth of Nigerian music recorded in the 1970s. The new album comes with introductory sleeve-notes by Bill Brewster (author of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life).
Packed-full with Afro-Funk, Disco and Boogie all from Nigeria, this triple album/double CD set brings together a stunning collection of diverse West African sounds. Whilst a small handful of the artists featured (Joni Haastrup, Tee Mac, Christy Essien) have seen the light of day outside Africa, this is essentially a collection of killer tracks by an array of artists completely unknown outside of Nigeria. Artists such as Don Bruce & The Angels, Akin Richards & The Executives, Angela Starr, Jimmy Sherry & The Music Agents. It’s no surprise that these records are extremely rare and expensive to buy individually so this album will save you going broke trying to find them.
These recordings were made at a time when Nigeria’s trade restrictions banned imported records. Whilst new musical trends (such as American soul, funk, disco etc) entered and influenced the country, the local music scene remained just that – local. Consequently, these recordings remain practically unknown to anyone outside of the country.

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Nigeria 70

2LP+CD | 2011 | EU | Reissue (Strut)

26,99 €*

12" | 2016 | UK | Original (Sol Power)

Release: 2011 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The third instalment in Strut’s essential trip through the rich archives of Nigerian music brings together ‘70s Afrobeat and highlife from Victor Olaiya, Rex Williams, Zeal Onyia and more.

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Sol Power All-Stars

Djidjo Vide

13,99 €*

7" | 2016 | EU | Original (Hot Casa)

Release: 2016 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Just in time for summer, Sol Power Sound is proud to present its 4th release, the Djidjo Vide EP, a 1-2 punch of Afro house by label heads, the Sol Power All-Stars.

Djidjo Vide, the title track on the A-side, features DC (via Togo) Afrobeat band, Elikeh. It's a vibey slice of propulsive Afro house about finding joy in the face of hardship. Massama Dogo's commanding vocals (sung in Mina) combined with the driving bassline, and aggressive horns (performed by DC's Sticky Bear) make Djidjo Vide a summer sure shot for a roof-top jam, beachside dance floor, or nightclub near you.

The B-side, Tell Me Why is darker and deeper, chock full of percussion, a chopped vocal sample, and in-your-face afrobeat horns (performed by Matt Rippetoe and Joe Herrera of DC's the Harry Bells). It's a late-night beatdown that will set things off proper in a dark room!

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Vaudou Game

La Vie C'Est Bon

10,99 €*

From Africa With Fury: Rise 2016 Edition

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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From the forthcoming album Kidayu, out September 8th 2016 on Hot Casa Records.

When faced with the decision to take a different direction at the risk of getting lost in a synthetic sound or to further explore the same musical path, Vaudou Game did not need to consult the oracle for very long when putting together their new album.

Since their first acclaimed album, Apiafo and its irresistible single "Pas Contente", these Lyon natives never turned down the heat on over 130 stages across Europe, Africa, America and Asia. Peter Solo has displayed his amulets, charisma and yellow pants around the globe.

When time came for them to harness their Afro-Funk sound for the second time, they turned their attention once again to their analog strengths. Vintage material, instruments produced in the 70's and cassette tapes were the "grigris" (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption of their music and return them to a tight-knit group with a solid groove.

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Seun Kuti & Egypt 80

2LP+CD | 2011 | EU | Reissue (Because)

23,99 €*

Bahta Gebre-Heywet / Alemayetu Eshete

Release: 2011 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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With the mighty new From Africa With Fury: Rise, Seun Anikulapo Kuti picks up the mantle as undisputed champion and true prince of the Afrobeat movement.

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Tessassategn Eko / Ayalqem Tedenqo

7" | 2016 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band

Release: 2016 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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‘Tèssassatègn Eko’ is a catchy, soulful Ethiopian jam. Originally released on
Amha AE 690 A in 1973. Arranged by the prolific Girma Beyene.

‘Ayalqem Tèdènqo’ see’s Eshèté’s third appearance in the Africa 45’s series. Released originally on Amha AE 290 A in 1971. A shuffling drum/percussion groove with soulful piano and bass, catchy vocal hook and guitar solo.

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Wede Harer Guzo

2LP | 2016 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

26,99 €*

Release: 2016 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2016 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

V.A.

Space Echo

34,99 €*

LP | 2016 | EU | Original (Paris DJs)

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the spring of 1968 a cargo ship was preparing to leave the port of Baltimore with an important shipment of musical instruments. Its final destination was Rio De Janeiro, where the EMSE Exhibition (Exposição Mundial Do Son Eletrônico) was going to be held. It was the first expo of its kind to take place in the Southern Hemisphere and many of the leading companies in the field of electronic music were involved. Rhodes, Moog, Farfisa, Hammond and Korg, just to name a few, were all eager to present their newest synthesisers and other gadgets to a growing and promising South American market, spearheaded by Brazil and Colombia.

The ship with the goods set sail on the 20th of March on a calm morning and mysteriously disappeared from the radar on the very same day. One can only imagine the surprise of the villagers of Cachaço, on the Sao Nicolau island of Cabo Verde, when a few months later they woke up and found a ship stranded in their fields, in the middle of nowhere, 8 km from any coastline.

After consulting with the village elders, the locals had decided to open the containers to see what was inside – however gossip as scintillating as this travels fast and colonial police had already arrived and secured the area. Portuguese scientists and physicians were ordered to the scene and after weeks of thorough studies and research, it was concluded that the ship had fallen from the sky. One of the less plausible theories was that it might have fallen from a Russian military air carrier. The locals joked that again the government had wasted their tax money on a useless exercise, as a simple look at the crater generated by the impact could explain the phenomena. “No need for Portuguese rocket scientists to explain this!” they laughed.

What the villagers didn’t know, was that traces of cosmic particles were discovered on the boat. The bow of the ship showed traces of extreme heat, very similar to traces found on meteors, suggesting that the ship had penetrated the hemisphere at high speed. That theory also didn't make sense as such an impact would have reduced the ship to dust. Mystery permeated the event.

Finally, a team of welders arrived to open the containers and the whole village waited impatiently. The atmosphere, which had been filled with joy and excitement, quickly gave way to astonishment. Hundreds of boxes conjured, all containing keyboards and other instruments which they had never seen before: and all useless in an area devoid of electricity. Disappointment was palpable. The goods were temporarily stored in the local church and the women of the village had insisted a solution be found before Sunday mass.

It is said that charismatic anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral had ordered for the instruments to be distributed equally in places that had access to electricity, which placed them mainly in schools. This distribution was best thing that could have happened - keyboards found fertile grounds in the hands of curious children, born with an innate sense of rhythm who picked up the ready-to-use instruments. This in turn facilitated the modernisation of local rhythms such as Mornas, Coladeras and the highly danceable music style called Funaná, which had been banned by the Portuguese colonial rulers until 1975 due to its sensuality!

The observation was made that the children who came into contact with the instruments found on the ship inherited prodigious capabilities to understand music and learn instruments. One of them was the musical genius Paulino Vieira, who by the end of the 70s would become the country´s most important music arranger. 8 out of the 15 songs presented in this compilation had been recorded with the backing of the band Voz de Cabo Verde, lead by Paulino Vieira, the mastermind behind the creation and promulgation of what is known today as “The Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde”.

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Etienne De La Sayette

Maputo Queens

27,99 €*

LP | 2016 | UK | Reissue (Mr Bongo)

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Composer/arranger/producer Etienne de la Sayette is a frenetic globe-trotter and a relentless collector of musical instruments. Founder and headhunter of, among others, the Frix and Baeshi Bang groups, co-founder/saxophonist for Parisian Ethio-Jazz band Akalé Wubé, Etienne might mostly be a live musician, he manages nonetheless to find the time for audio production, remixes and synch music. 'Maputo Queens' is his first solo album, a deep afrojazz masterpiece for thoughful moods and after-hours atmospheres, with some masterful blends of spices from all over the globe.

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Ebo Taylor

My Love And Music

22,99 €*

2LP | 2016 | EU | Original (Cramned)

Release: 2016 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Originally released in 1975 on Gapophone Records, George Prah’s label, hailing from Ghana. Only available in very limited quantity (reportedly 500 copies) due to the musical vacuum imposed by the military dictatorship in the country at the time.

Laid back, lush, highlife vibrations from start to finish, with noticeable reggae influences throughout.

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Konono No 1

Meets Batida

26,99 €*

Release: 2016 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Ayalew Mesfin / Mulatu Astatke

Ghedawou / Asmarina

7" | 2016 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

11,99 €*

LP | 2013 | UK | Reissue (Voodoo Funk)

Release: 2016 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A. Ayaléw Mèsfin ft. Black Lion Band - Ghedawou
Ethiopian dance floor Funk rarity originally released on Kaifa 7” (KF 31) in
1976. Hand claps, guitar lines and call and response lead vocals punctuate the
driving bass line and understated drum groove.
Mesfin played primarily at the Lumumba Club in Addis Ababa’s red light district
and released many 45’s and cassettes during the mid seventies.
He worked very closely with the Black Lion Band (or Tequr Ambessa Orchestra)
AA. Mulatu Astatke ft. Feqadu Amdé-Mesqel - Asmarina
Laid back, drum-heavy, Ethipian jazz taken from the legendary Ethio Jazz’ LP on
Amha (AELP 90). Typifies the sound of the country and the period, truly classic
stuff.
Mulatu will be touring heavily in 2016, which we are very much looking forward
to.

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Nath & Martin Brothers

Money

15,99 €*

Township Jive & Kwela Jazz Volume 2

Release: 2013 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Martin Brothers are pioneers of the Nigerian Funk and Afrobeat scene. Besides many releases under their own name, as the Tabansi Studio Band they lit up innumerable recoding sessions — it's them on Pax Nicholas' Na Teef album, for example; and the same team is behind the legendary Saxon Lee & The Shadows International LP.

Money is the Martins at their deepest and heaviest — tearing, wailing, mid-seventies funk, heady with spirituality. Superbad from start to finish with no let-up.

Original copies are amongst the most sought-after of all African and funk records on the international collectors' scene. It seems there is just a tiny handful of copies at large.

The tracks were originally laid down at Ginger Baker's ARC recording studio in Lagos and later mixed down at London's Tin Pan Alley Studios. The audio restoration and remastering for this re-issue was done at Abbey Road.

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Various

LP | 2013 | EU | Original (Ubuntu Publishing)

19,99 €*

LP | 2013 | UK | Original (Voodoo Funk)

Release: 2013 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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Eno Louis

Move!

LP+CD | 2013 | EU | Original (Glitterbeat)

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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Tamikrest

Chatma

23,99 €*

12" | 2013 | UK | Original (Voodoo Funk)

Release: 2013 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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180g vinyl!

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Tirogo

Disco Maniac

John Foxx & The Belbury Circle

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Two standouts from
Aiye People magnificently revived: crisp sound, top-notch pressing in
a Voodoo Funk house-bag, with a two-by-one-foot poster.

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Empty Avenues

10" | 2013 | UK | Original (Ghost Box)

14,39 €* 15,99 € -10%

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Time Factor / You Are The One

Tony Grey

LP | 2013 | UK | Original (Voodoo Funk)

Hailu Mergia & Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The legendary digger re-ignites the Lagos Disco Inferno and kicks off his own mouth-watering imprint with these two sides of boogie-down bliss. Irresistible Afro-disco, layered with delirious syn-drums and sick keys, and featuring a horn-line bumptiously whipped from Louis 'Thunder Thumbs' Johnson's bass-playing on MJ's Workin' Day And Night.

Originally from Warri where he stayed throughout most of his career, Tony's first band was the Famous Latin And His Dominant Seven. He gigged for a while as a James Brown imitator with The Great Peters, before his breakthrough fronting the Magnificient Zeinians, with some amazing 45s on EMI's HMV imprint — best of all the psych-rock-funk monster Ije Udo. From the early to mid 1970s, his EMI sides range from Afrobeat to rock and pop. All Tony's records are great. He came up with various names for his backing bands — the Black 7, the Super 7, the Black Kings...
From the early-eighties, with the Ozimba Messengers, Grey's two recordings here were originally released on different LPs.

Limited, top-notch pressing from Pallas via Abbey Road; with a lovely 12-by-24-inch poster.

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Hailu Mergia

2LP | 2013 | US | Original (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

24,99 €*

Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings From The 1970s & '80s

Release: 2013 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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This remastered reissue of Mergia's 1985 solo cassette features the multi-instrumentalist handling accordion, analog synth, rhodes piano and drum machine. The all-instrumental album has a distinctly futuristic (circa mid-80s) approach to classic Ethiopian songs and modes.

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V.A.

3LP+7" | 2013 | UK | Original (Soundway)

27,99 €*

2LP | 2013 | UK | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Soundway Records present Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s & ‘80s - a treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings from East Africa. Spread out over two CDs and one triple LP, Kenya Special is accompanied by detailed liner notes, original artwork and photographs.

It follows on from Soundway’s much acclaimed African ‘Special’ series that to date has focused on the highlife and afrobeat output from 1970s Nigeria and Ghana. Kenya Special is a collection of 32 recordings (most of which were only ever released on small-run 45rpm 7" singles) that stand out as being different or unique as well as some classic genre standards. From Kikuyu language ‘liquid soul’, Luo benga and Swahili afrobeat to genre-bending Congolese and Tanzanian tracks recorded in Nairobi, Kenya Special sees Soundway yet again taking the less trodden path. Many of the tracks featured here are peppered with innovation and experimentation highlighting how diverse the music scene in Kenya was at the time.

In 1970s Kenya the two threads of rumba and benga loosely dominated the music scene. Benga quickly became Kenya’s unique contribution to afro-pop; spreading like wildfire through the interior countryside with it’s fast, 4/4 machine-gun beat and intricate electric guitar layers. The Congolese take on Afro-Cuban rumba was introduced by touring bands many of whom settled in East Africa - influencing bands from Kenya and Tanzania to come up with their own take on this popular style. Alongside these styles were small ensembles and hotel-sponsored bands, playing a blend of music that often included rock ‘n’ roll riffs, elements of ‘afro’ music (influenced by West African musicians like Fela Kuti), and multiple other combinations from South African and Zambian guitar styles to disco, funk and Swahili coastal rhythms like chakacha.

Painstakingly compiled, assembled and researched over two years by a team of five people from five countries (Kenya included), Kenya Special is a collection that looks beyond the mainstream and brings new life and recognition to some little known gems and forgotten classics of Kenya’s past.

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Chico Mann of Antibalas

Magical Thinking

19,99 €*

Mark Ernestus presents Jeri-Jeri

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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

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

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

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Casamance

12" | 2013 | UK | Original (Ndagga)

10,99 €*

LP | 2011 | EU | Original (Pure Pleasure)

Release: 2013 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Berlin versus Kaolack, round three. A traditional Jola rhythm, fast and energetic, with tuned, talking and kit drums swarming across a skeletal downhome guitar — somewhere between blues and disco — and the Mboup brothers' impassioned plea for an end to division and bloodshed in their Casamance homeland.
Then a more deeply dug-in, spaced-out funk, edgily spun from a Serer rhythm, underpinning Mbene's reflective song about parental selflessness. 'Sama Yaye', 'My Mother'. Both with full instrumental versions.

Sound-wise peas in a pod with the intricate, soaring barrage of Ornette's Prime Time in full flight, when it had two of everything in the lineup, and Jamaaladeen Tacuma was on bass, Denardo on electronic drums.

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Duster Bennett

Smiling Like I'm Happy

35,99 €*

Release: 2011 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Volume 3

Nahawa Doumbia

LP | 2011 | US | Reissue (Awesome Tapes From Africa)

16,99 €*

Release: 2011 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Songs From East Africa 1952-7

Something Is Wrong

2LP | 2010 | UK | Original (Honest Jon's)

27,99 €*