• Music

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

    August 18, 2023 - By 

    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

    Duma – Duma

    October 31, 2022 - By 

    Nyege Nyege Tapes out of Kampala, Uganda, is releasing some of the most brutal music in the world these days.  A case in point comes from Nairobi, Kenya, where the band Duma call home.  Within the first few seconds of this release, you get pummeled by a barrage of drumming and screaming that is so heavy that it would have held its own comparing to any industrial band of the genre’s heyday. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Martin Khanja (aka Lord Spike Heart) and Sam Karugu emerge from Nairobi’s flourishing underground metal scene as former members of the bands Lust…

  • Music

    Various Artists: Zanzibara: First Modern Taarab Vibes From Mombasa & Tanga, 1970​-​1990

    January 4, 2022 - By 

    It’s so good to see the inestimable Buda Musique take the modern route and make some of the treasures of their back catalog accessible, not only digitally, but on fine vinyl and CD editions. This compilation brings together a collection of artists from the towns of Mombasa and Tanga, in Kenya and Tanzania respectively, highlighting the genre of taarab.  The genre is influenced by Taarab is influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Over at the label’s Bandcamp site, there is a brief history of the genre and…