• Music

    Nilotika Cultural Ensemble – Ejokawulida

    I didn’t expect Uganda to have a techno scene, and perhaps they do, but the Nilotika Cultural Ensemble, 7 expert drummers, make such precise beats that you could easily play this in a 1980’s-era Detroit or Chicago techno club and get the boots onto the dance floor.  An invigorating listen.  

  • Music

    Franco & O.K. Jazz – Franco Luambo Makiadi Presents Les Editions Populaires (1968-1970)

    Franco was the pride of what was then (and would be again) the Democratic Republic of Congo, for a brief spell known as Zaire.  He went from singing rumba and bolero tunes to developing a funk-influenced sound that lit up most of the African continent.  From the Bandcamp site: “This compilation brings together an original selection of 16 tracks from the first three years of Les Editions Populaires. They are a showcase of the sound Franco had envisioned for his band. The focus was less on cha-cha-cha and Spanish lyrics, but on lingering rumba and bolero ballads in Lingala, tradition-rooted…

  • Music

    Jewel Ackah – Electric Hi-Life

    Barely Breaking Even (BBE) Records continue showcasing some crucial releases which came out in the 1970s and 1980s in West Africa.  This one, by singer Jewel Ackah, combines Ghana’s highlife sound with disco and funk with a wildly danceable groove.  Incredible, but no surprise coming from BBE.

  • Music

    Various Artists – The Soul of Congo: Treasures of the Ngoma label (1948​-​1963)

    Before Afrobeat became such a massive influence across Africa, Congolese music seemed to be the pride of the continent.  A joyous mix of merengue, rhumba and local music would influence a great deal of West African popular music until James Brown and others came over to topple over the previous pop idols.  Respect to Planet Ilunga out of Belgium for producing this gorgeous artifact.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Thum Nyatiti: Recordings from Western Kenya, 1930​-​1970

    This is another stunning collection from Dagoretti Records out of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The collection features music from the 1930s until the 1970s with clearly remastered sound.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Nyatiti music’s infectious and hypnotic sounds are unforgettable. The driving beat of the nyatiti rings of far off styles of Western dance and techno music. Nyatiti players are highly respected performers in both rural and urban Kenya are called to show up at weddings, funerals and drinking halls and sing songs in tribute, in remembrance and for people to drink and dance to. Nyatiti music can still be…

  • Music

    Gibraltar Drakus – Hommage A Zanzibar

    Awesome Tapes From Africa, the legendary blog and record label, have produced another winner, this time from a Cameroonian artist called Gibraltar Drakus, who produced bikutsi, a local dance music.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “By the early 1990’s, Les Têtes Brûlées were indisputably the most famous and influential artists in bikutsi, due in part to the innovations of their incendiary guitarist Théodore Zanzibar Epeme. The band captured everything that was exciting about the fast-developing bikutsi scene, lending their virtuosity to countless albums behind the major singers of the day and supporting each other on solo outings. Their signature post-modern…

  • Music

    Felix Lebarty – Girls For Sale

    It’s safe to say that 1976 Nigeria was a somewhat different world from today’s.  The Edo-Delta region must have been a rather swinging place if this reissue of Felix Labarty’s classic, Girls For Sale, is any indication.  The music is lush, perhaps a little tinny, disco mixed with reggae vibes and lyrics filled with a combination of braggadocio and grieving over lost loves.  No, not love, but loves.  He was quite a player in his day.  An essential for those who want their Afrobeat to come in a different flavor.

  • Music

    Moughenda Village – Calling the Spirits: Missoko Bwiti Music of Gabon

    This Moment Records is a record label, “… which is dedicated to producing and promoting field recordings from around the world, in addition to crafting innovative soundscapes for relaxation and meditation,” at least according to their Bandcamp site. As we have never reviewed any music from Gabon before, I looked forward to what I would be hearing, and was, of course, not at all disappointed. Again, from the Bandcamp site: “This collection of music comes from the Missoko Bwiti tradition of Gabon, a spiritual path that includes five different branches, spanning over a thousand years in equatorial Central West Africa.…

  • Music

    Mahotella Queens – Abaculi Bethu / Umculo Kawupheli

    Today’s share is a joyful slice of township jive out of South Africa from the legendary Mahotella Queens.  It’s a tragedy that it took a cretinous thief like Malcolm McLaren to turn the world on to such music.  From the Umsakazo Records Bandcamp site: “The reach and influence of “Umculo Kawupheli” spread far beyond its intended destination. In 1981, the song was plagiarised note-for-note by punk rock manager Malcolm McLaren, who replaced the meaningful isiZulu words with soundalike English gibberish to create “Jungle Boy (See Jungle)” for his new wave band Bow Wow Wow. The song’s origins were not acknowledged…