• Music

    Awalom Gebremariam – Desdes

    January 4, 2023 - By 

    Awalom Gebremariam was a singer from Eritrea who completed this gem of a record in 2007 in the United States.  From his Bandcamp site: “Awalom completed Desdes in 2007, not long before he departed Eritrea. Because Awalom left after the recording he never received any money for cassette and CD sales. But he also didn’t get to find out how much of an impact the songs have had locally. His songs appear to focus on love, but Awalom isn’t speaking about romantic love per se. Love of country and pride in the struggle for independence are what helps makes songs…

  • Music

    Linda Ayupuka – God Created Everything

    December 11, 2022 - By 

    Indeed, He did, yet as I’m new to the Fra Fra scene in Ghana, if Linda Ayupuka is a good example of what kind of music the genre produces, I think I’m going to like digging into it.  The music is a combo of tinny beats, lo-fi disco, and a joyous authenticity to the vocals.  African music even with the massive reach it has had over the past few years, needs to continue to branch out into the world consciousness, and this is yet another gem to share with the world.

  • Music

    S​.​E. Rogie – Further Sounds of S​.​E. Rogie

    November 1, 2022 - By 

    This is our second African gem this week, following the marvelously brutal release by Kenya’s Duma.  This release by the late S.E. Rogie is a more relaxed, bluesy highlife affair from Sierra Leone.  According to the Mississippi Records Bandcamp website, Rogie, “…went from running a tailor shop in Sierra Leone to being one of West Africa’s most popular artists. He toured around the country, singing his palm wine music in multiple local languages, created his own record label, and was known as the most handsome man in Sierra Leone. He formed the highlife band The Morningstars in 1965. In 1973,…

  • Music

    Various Artists – L​éve L​éve: Sao Tomé & Principe Sounds 70s​-​80s

    October 16, 2022 - By 

    From the Bandcamp site of our friends at Bongo Joe Records: Léve-Léve is the first ever compilation devoted to music from São Tome and Principe, two small islands situated off the coast of Gabon in central Africa. The album unravels a story of liberation where the music of Africa, Europe and the Americas unify with a carefree spirit personified by a phrase the islanders use all the time: “léve, léve” (“take it easy”). With echoes of Angolan semba and merengue, of Brazilian afoxê, of coladeira from Cape Verde and dance music from the Caribbean, it is a sound fiercely proud…

  • Music

    Verckys et l´Orchestre Vévé – Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978 (Analog Africa Nr. 17)

    October 15, 2022 - By 

    On October 13th,the African music world world lost an absolute demigod in the form of Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta. How important was he? Well, going by Wikipedia, he, “was a Congolese saxophonist, composer, bandleader, producer, record label founder, and music-business executive. He was renowned as a talented and prolific musician, and was the first indigenous African to own a record label, through which he introduced many major Congolese artists to the world.” Analog Africa introduced this giant to the greater music world in 2014, and he was the first Congolese artist I was introduced to before TPOK Jazz (which featured Franco…

  • Music

    Ernesto Dj​é​djé – Roi Du Ziglibithy (Limited Dance Edition Nr. 15)

    October 4, 2022 - By 

    Analog Africa released a disc of music from Ivory Coast legend Ernesto Dj​é​djé recently, and it was rather eye-opening to see that even in a place as far away as Côte d’Ivoire, they had the same problems of so-called foreign influence getting in the way of local music, with Ernesto complaining about the Congolization of the local music scene.  Dj​é​djé more than remedied that situation with this burner of an album.

  • Music

    Yanna Momina – Afar Ways

    September 20, 2022 - By 

    Our friends at Xango Music reminded us about a profoundly interesting album released by Glitterhouse Records out of Germany.  The artist, Yanna Momina, is from Djibouti, a country which very rarely gets any sort of press attention outside of military news (and the fact that it is now one of the most expensive places in the world despite the crushing poverty the average person suffers from.  You can hear the pain in her voice as she sings and wails about with the most minimal of musical backings, as she is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, calabash and sparse handclaps. …

  • Music

    Alsarah & the Nubatones – Soukura EP

    August 10, 2022 - By 

    This disc from Nubian pop songstress Alsarah & the Nubatones is a revelation in terms of East African music, the part of the continent which produces less aggressive, more sultry and sensuous music. The Soukura EP is filled with more time changes than a noodly prog rock album, and this makes sense, since Sudanese music is full of gorgeous instrumentation and time signatures.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “The original song “Soukura” is a small taste of her upcoming album Silt (out on 3/11) and gets a signature deep and entrancing Ancestral Soul remix by African house legend Boddhi Satva…

  • Music - Youtube

    Paulo Flores – Semba Original

    August 2, 2022 - By 

    Delicious Tunes is one of Europe’s finest labels dedicated to the best of modern African music.  This track is from legendary Angolan guitarist and singer Paulo Flores, and if you wish more of his music, visit the label’s website here or visit Paulo’s Spotify account.

  • Music

    Noori & His Dorpa Band – Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan’s Red Sea Coast

    June 12, 2022 - By 

    I can’t say I know much about who Noori, the tambur-guitarist and leader of his eponymous band is, but to learn more, consider reading this article by OK Africa.  From the Bandcamp site: A soundtrack of Sudan’s revolution and the first ever international release of the Beja sound, performed by Noori and his Dorpa Band, an unheard outfit from Port Sudan, a city on the Red Sea coast in eastern Sudan and the heart of Beja culture. Electric soul, blues, jazz, rock, surf, even hints of country, speak fluently to styles and chords that could be Tuareg, Ethiopian, Peruvian or…