Afrobeat 369 Items

Opaque Yellow Vinyl.The iconic voice of Luzmila Carpio rings out from the Andes, spreading messages of indigenous struggle, female empowerment and unceasing love for both the people and planet around us. An undeniable icon of Bolivian Andean culture whose career spans multiple decades, Luzmila has released more than 25 albums (there's a reason that Rolling Stone described her as "one of the most prolific indigenous singers of South America"), inspiring millions while singing in both her native Aymara-Quechua language and Spanish.Yet Luzmila Carpio isn't someone who's content to simply rest on her laurels; she continues to take risks and push her music into vibrant new soundworlds. On new album Inti Watana: El Retorno del Sol (her first LP in a decade), she's teamed up with Argentinian producer Leonardo Martinelli (a.k.a. Tremor), a ZZK veteran who's spent the bulk of his career finding the common ground between Latin American folk rhythms and modern electronics. Building off the momentum created by 2015's Luzmila Carpio Meets ZZK collection - in which her music was reworked by not only Tremor, but standout electronic artists like Nicola Cruz, Chancha Vía Circuito and El Búho - this new album is meant to stretch across genres, generations and continents, with Luzmila's sonorous, occasionally birdsong - inspired vocalizations gracefully gliding amongst ambient textures, programmed beats and (of course) a bevy of traditional instrumentationfrom around the globe. Over the course of the LP, Bolivian charangos and quenas sit comfortably alongside the sounds of harmonium, violin, acoustic and electric guitar, Argentinian bombo leguero and sacha guitar, Armenian duduk and a litany of Asian percussion.Inti Watana: El Retorno del Sol, which will be accompanied by a full length documentary, might not sound like previous Luzmila Carpio releases, but on a spiritual, political and lyrical level, her core values remain unchanged. A native of Bolivia's Potosí region, she's long been a beacon for indigenous communiti...

The fifth volume of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah"s five-part Volume Series.After the recent celebrated release of the first three parts in his Volume Series, Etsako Super Star and Godfather of Afemai Music Alhaji Waziri Oshomah returns with Vol. 5.Along with the other four volumes of the series, Vol. 5 is now available-for the very first time!-as part of a complete set (in a box): Vol 1 - 5 (1978 - 1985).

The fourth volume of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah"s five-part Volume Series.This release follows World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah (September 23, 2022), which received killer reviews from Uncut (8/10), MOJO, and Pitchfork (7.2), calling it "therapy, worship, ecstasy."Along with the other four volumes of the series, Vol. 4 is now available-for the very first time!-as part of a complete set (in a box): Vol 1 - 5 (1978 - 1985).

The third volume of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah"s five-part Volume Series.On the heels of his already critically acclaimed (yes, already!) retrospective, World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah, Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - the Oyoyo King, the Godfather of Afemai Music, the Etsako Super Star, Mr. Please Please Please, Mr. Dynamite - returns with Vol. 3.Along with the other four volumes of the series, Vol. 3 is now available-for the very first time!-as part of a complete set (in a box): Vol 1 - 5 (1978 - 1985).

The second volume of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah"s five-part Volume Series.On the heels of his already critically acclaimed (yes, already!) retrospective, World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah, Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - the Oyoyo King, the Godfather of Afemai Music, the Etsako Super Star, Mr. Please Please Please, Mr. Dynamite - returns with Vol. 2.Along with the other four volumes of the series, Vol. 2 is now available-for the very first time!-as part of a complete set (in a box): Vol 1 - 5 (1978 - 1985).

The first volume of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah"s five-part Volume Series.On the heels of his already critically acclaimed (yes, already!) retrospective, World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah, Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - the Oyoyo King, the Godfather of Afemai Music, the Etsako Super Star, Mr. Please Please Please, Mr. Dynamite - returns with Vol. 1.Along with the other four volumes of the series, Vol. 1 is now available-for the very first time!-as part of a complete set (in a box): Vol 1 - 5 (1978 - 1985).

With this new solar album, Brazilian singer-songwriter Lucas Santtana wishes to re-enchant our life on earth.For his ninth album "O Paraíso" (Paradise), the free heir of the Brazilian tropicália intends to redefine our idea of Paradise. "It is in front of us, we must open our eyes and learn to contemplate it in depth," he explains. The Earth is a living organism also called "biosphere", a unique planet in the solar system where all the conditions are gathered to welcome life. Lucas places life at the heart of his songs and celebrates the collective forces that resist to preserve it. His guitar-vocal songs with bossa nova sounds are mixed with organic sounding percussions, enriched with electronic orchestrations and textures. The Brazilian composer gets closer to his French audience by collaborating with Flavia Coelho, Flore Benguigui (from the band L"Impératrice) or the saxophonist Laurent Bardaine, and by even trying his hand at French on one of his tracks. It"s a festive new album, which helps us better understand where we live and with whom we share this heavenly home.

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

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

Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoff is the sprawling drum collective tearing up Dakar's nightlife scene. Senegalese poet Djiby Ly (Wau Wau Collectif) is backed by fourteen different percussive instruments plus horns, winds, balafon, and the occasional accordion, combining Count Ossie's spiritually elevated polyrhythms with Fela Kuti's orchestra and Tony Allen's groove.Based in the impoverished neighborhood of Grand Yoff and operating as a mutual aid group for the larger community, the band builds its songs on ancient rhythms passed on from Senegal, Cameroon and the infamous Gorée Island. In both Wolof and French, Djiby preaches a message of uplift and cooperation rooted in the Sufi teachings of the Mouride Brotherhood, as well as Christianity and animist religions. "Senegal, my life my joy" is the call and response chanted over cascading, infinitely layered drum patterns on opener "La Musique Du Coeur.""We build our own country" the band proclaims in Wolof on "Xarritt."For twenty years and across three generations of band members, Assiko have played raucous all-night jams at weddings, secret parties, and political rallies. Grainy cellphone footage of their live shows have spread online. But this is their first album, the result of a collaboration with Swedish musician and archivist Karl-Jonas Winqvist (Sing A Song Fighter), who met the band in Dakar in 2018 and facilitated recording sessions and overdubs via Whatsapp (no small feat with so many musicians). This is vital, exciting and innovative music, alive with energy and purpose, a band rooted in a very specific community but speaking to the world.