Search:ghana

After the release of their playful debut album "Worldstyle" the Budapest duo are now returning with their 2nd album "Brotherhood" and this time their message is more serious. The music if often summons blues elements but also influenced by dub, funk and a little hip-hop while the lyrics are mainly about the social and personal problems of our time interpreted by talented guest vocalists from all over the world. The guest performance of KRSA puts the point on the letter 'i' in 'Brotherhood' and in the other reggae-inspired song 'Pass It On'. Being one of the dominant figures of the Hungarian ska movement he is an
important guest on the album. As the main driving force behind the 90's very popular and recently revived British band Freak Power Ashely Slater needs no introduction. He has worked with Dub Pistols, Dublex Inc., or Fort Knox Five, and his
talents and professional performances are turbocharges three
completely different songs. 'Revolution!' has previously released in 2016 as a 7' single and features dazzling electro blues and Ashley's food for thought lyrics. In 'Life Is Love' he proves that his talent has no barriers whether he sings lonely doo-woptempo or the dub-ska of 'People Kill People' which is a unique cover of Éric Serra's seminal 80's cult classic 'Guns & People'.
Denise M'Baye known as the MC/singer of Mo'Horizons is featured in two downtempo tracks. 'Wings' is a laidback song about love while and 'All My Life Is In This Bag' smuggles back a little bit of the mood of 'Worldstyle'.Fedora is the best-known female MC/singer of the Hungarian bass music life. She made her own solo album in 2017. With 'Come Away With Me'
she proves that she's not only an bass music MC, but a great singer with deep emotions. Another guest from Hungary is the lead singer of the downtempo-funk band Mystical Plants. Bryant Goodman contributes to the album in two different tracks with his gravelly voice. 'Bad Man's Ballad is bittersweet song about the average politician of our age while 'Keep Going On' on
the other hand is full of playfulness and delivers a short but positive message.
At last but not least we have the Ghanaian M3NSA on the board from Fokn Bois and RedRed. His lyrics in 'It Works' is very motivating for everyone and spreads the message of not giving up even if the world is seemingly against you.
Savages Y Suefo's new album 'Brotherhood' is a lot different from their previous one in many ways but it remained just as eclectic as its predecessor 'Worldstyle' and still proves Savages Y Suefo's wide interest and openness in music that is needed today... and not just in music.

Kalita Records and CC:EDITIONS (a new venture by
Australia's CC:DISCO) jointly announce a 12' EP
comprised of four of Nana Tuffour's greatest electronic
burger highlife tracks, accompanied by interview-based liner
notes. Here, in partnership with Nana, we select two highly
sought-after songs from his 1993 release 'Genesis', namely
'Sikyi Medley' and 'M'Anu Me Ho', and pair them his with two
lesser known yet equally deserving tracks 'Asamando' and
'Jesus' from his 1997 CD-only release 'Highlife Tropicana'.
Hailing from Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region in Ghana,
Nana Tuffour is by far one of the most important exponents of
modern highlife music. He studied piano at college and cut his
teeth in the '70s as an organist and vocalist for the incomparable
Kyeremanteng Atwede and Dr. K Gyasi's Noble Kings Band.
Fast forward to 1981 and Ghana was at the apex of its golden age
of music. This era was brought to an abrupt end by political
upheaval when the military took over the government and as a
result a restrictive dusk to dawn curfew was imposed between
1982 and 1984. This resulted in a total obliteration of the country's
night life, and Nana just like many other prominent musicians
including Pat Thomas and George Darko left Ghana for greener
pastures, the most popular destinations being Nigeria and
Germany. The Rheinklang Studio in Düsseldorf run by a young
inimitable German sound engineer Bodo Staiger and another
'exiled' Ghanaian musician Charles Amoah played a crucial role
for those musicians who had chosen Germany. This studio
became the focal point for Ghanaian musicians and the birthplace
of a new sound, now known as 'Burger highlife' - traditional
Ghanaian highlife infused with the more up to date electronic and
disco sounds of the West. It is arguable that Nana has played a
crucial role in Burger highlife and developing the sound of
traditional Ghanaian highlife more widely to what it is today, with
his innovative use of electronic accompaniment pushing its
boundaries to its creative extremes.
It is Burger highlife's transcendence of traditional musical
boundaries that helps make it so accessible to listeners,
appealing not only to Ghanaians back home but now highly
regarded and sought-after by those in the West interested in
more occidental disco and electronic sounds. We hope that you
enjoy the four songs offered here, each chosen to demonstrate
Nana's singular influence on the development of Burger highlife.

Sao Paulo's acclaimed 10-piece instrumental collective return for their 4th album. Urban Afro-Brazilian grooves, empowered horn-driven melodicism and massive dance floor inspiration. One of South America's

most exhilarating musical propositions. Available on CD or Double 180gr Heavyweight Vinyl that includes a digital download. Quebra Cabe a is a very memorable set of hummable earworms, from the title

cut that opens up the album and continuing, sinewy and cool and relentless, all the way to the final note of 'Portal.' Throughout though, the heartbeat of everything remains utterly African, refracted through the prism of the band's

home in the Bixiga neighbourhood of Sao Paulo. And Bixiga 70 has always been a reflection of the streets where they live. The result still captures the incendiary excitement of Bixiga 70 live, but the

freedom of the studio brings more shade and subtlety than before. The rhythms are more sinuous than ever, snaking through the funk in way that looks more to Ghana or Nigeria than Memphis or Muscle Shoals, while the horns strut in

powerful harmonies. It's music that forges connections and retraces history while sounding absolutely contemporary. But for Bixiga 70, African will always be the root, and Brazil its beautiful, vibrant flower.

Legendary Ghanain album - with one of the music iconic covers ever! - that fuses Highlife, afrobeat, folk and funk. Ambolleys debut solo album originally released in 1975, written and produced with Ebo Taylor.


Ambolley grew up during the peak of Highlife in Ghana and was a key figure in its fusion with soul and funk influences from the USA. He played in many bands including Houghas Extraordinaires, Meridians Of Tema, Ghana Broadcasting Band and the Uhuru Dance Band, for which he was recruited by his friend, Ebo Taylor. The group went to Nigeria in 1973 to play with Fela at his legendary Shrine spot.

'Simigwa' was a chance for Ambolley to release his own productions and to experiment to a certain extent. A main inspiration for this album was the work of the mighty Mr. James Brown, something that is evident from the rhythm section, horns, vocal stabs and percussion breaks throughout the record.

On her debut EP, Brussels-based multi-instrumentalist Esinam gives us an entrancing insight into her eclectic world of jazztronica.

Released 21st September via Sdban Ultra, her self-titled EP carries influences from different worlds geographically, culturally and musically. Blending traditional and modern instruments with her soulful voice, the acoustic sounds of the instruments are allowed to evolve and take on new dimensions, opening up a kaleidoscopic spectrum of sound and colour.

Esinam Dogbatse is part of a new generation of musicians bringing forth a cultural blend of music. Having opened for the likes of Nakhane and Témé Tan at Les Nuits earlier this year, Belgian rapper Baloji invited her to guest on his latest critically acclaimed album '137 Avenue Kaniama'. She has also supported Alsarah & The Nubatones, Selah Sue and Melanie De Biasio on her sold-out shows at Ancienne Belgique.

For the recording of the EP, Esinam joined forces with Jules Fradet from Studio Planet (Damso, Afrikan Prötökol). Producing and playing most of the instruments herself, the EP was mastered by LA-based producer Kelly Hibbert aka Almachrome (J Dilla, Madlib, Little Dragon, Flying Lotus, Ebo Taylor, Mark de Clive-Lowe and Arca).

Lead track 'Birds Fly Under a Heavy Sky' is a mesmerising opener that smoulders effortlessly against a backdrop of subtle beats and sensual rhythms, with Esinam's soft vocals and hypnotic flute providing the groove.

On 'Do Not Go Into That Black Night', she is dark and direct. It's a magnetic take on jazz noire that doesn't distract from the sultry inflections of her voice, while 'Gavoé' recalls the spirit of her Ghanaian roots in a ballet of instruments that display a level of personal freedom and sensitivity. Through merging different genres of music, we are warmly welcomed into Esinam's musical universe.

Esinam teamed up with Senegalese DJ and producer Ibaaku on the highly charged 'Electric Lady', who provided some distinctive musical hues. A track drenched in afro-futurist colours, sonic samples and collages freely mix with electric and raw sounds, supporting the energetic playing of the flute. The structure of the song remains true to Esinam's signature sounds: surprising ruptures, poetic atmospheres and constant affirmation of groove.

When Esinam performs live, she juggles traditional instruments such as the tama, kalimba and pandeiro, which she loops and blends with the sound of her flute and voice. It sometimes triggers dance, sometimes contemplation

Steve Reich's Drumming is regarded as one of the most important musical works of the last century. Distilled through his studies of African percussion in Ghana during 1970 and Balinese gamelan music, Reich revolutionized our understanding of polyrhythms, sculpting a new sonic territory to illuminate the radical potential of Minimalism.Divided into four sections, performed without pause, Drumming is written for eight small tuned drums, three marimbas, three glockenspiels, piccolo and voice. The singers recite melodic patterns that mimic the sounds of the instruments, gradually rising to the surface and then fading out. The overall effect can be transfixing - pulling listeners into the rhythm and possessing a raw immediacy, directness and energy.The premier performances of Drumming took place in December 1971 in New York City - first at The Museum of Modern Art, then at Brooklyn Academy of Music and finally at Town Hall where this recording was made - and featured the composer along with a cast of longtime collaborators including Art Murphy, Steve Chambers, Russ Hartenberger, James Preiss, Jon Gibson, Joan La Barbara, Judy Sherman, Jay Clayton, Ben Harms, Gary Burke, Frank Maefsky and James Ogden.Originally released in 1972 by gallerist John Gibson in a small private edition, Drumming represents the culmination of Reich's investigation into rhythmic phase relationships and its early realization captures a remarkably organic feel, especially compared to the more widely known version on Deutsche Grammophon from 1974.This first-time vinyl reissue and first-time CD release has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes.

Very nice compilation on this artists work - on the ever excellent Born Bad imprint!
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For many decades until quite recently, little was known about music from Burkina Faso (which was formerly known as the Upper Volta). It is still one of the lesser known forms of popular music from West Africa. A few years before the country changed its name to Burkina Faso, thanks to Thomas Sankara's dream of a new society, Voltaic music emerged as some kind of true cultural revolution in the wake of the country's independence in 1960. Remote, poor and isolated, Upper Volta musicians coveted the orchestras and artists from abroad while creating a music of their own, based on rich cultural traditions

Popular music that sprung up from Burkina Faso owed much to the music from neighboring countries like Mali, Ghana, Ivory Coast or Benin, and to the longing for cultural authenticity' conveyed through Guinean music. In capital city Ouagadougou, as well as in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina's cultural capital until the 1980s), the first two decades of independence saw the upcoming of such orchestras and artists as Amadou Balaké, Georges Ouedraogo, Volta Jazz, l'Harmonie Voltaïque, Les Imbattables Léopards, Abdoulaye Cissé, Tidiane Coulibaly or Pierre Sandwidi.

Nicknamed the troubadour from the bush', Pierre Sandwidi stands as one of the finest Voltaic artists from the 1970s. He belonged to an unsung elite of Francophone artists such as Francis Bebey, G.G. Vickey, Amédée Pierre, André-Marie Tala, Pierre Tchana or Mamo Lagbema. His entire released output consists of less than ten 7 inches, two LPs and a bunch of cassettes. A man from the provinces, he always favored social engagement and carefully crafted lyrics over instant fame. His words and music challenged General Lamizana's dreary presidency, which ruled the country from 1966 to 1980.

Named after the tenor saxophone, actually, Jimi Tenor is not just Jimi Tenor - he's as well Jimi Keys, Jimi Flute, Jimi Vox and Jimi Composer. Yeah, he is, as a multi-instrumentalist and music master in general, all of this! But wait: Active since the mid-80's he's also Jimi Legend. And if you overlook his whole oeuvre then finally you will find out that on top of all of this he's Jimi Genius.


Quantum Connection is Jimi's contribution to the recent Kraut-Life craze of the Berlin underground. Kraut-Life is the brand-new hybrid of Ghanaian Highlife and German - here extended to Northern Europe, as Finnish kitchen is also kraut-based - romantic melancholy. A heavy and driving Highlife beat (yeah, it's not Afro-Beat), screaming psychedelic sound-fragments and a sung desire for a subatomic love affair makes the song another undoubted original by Jimi.

My Mind Will Travel (Teen Party Edit) is a heavily danceable edit of the epic eight minutes version of that piece, which you can hear on Jimi's upcoming full-length album Order Of Nothingness, released on Philophon this June. For Jimi, the physical world seems to be limited: but he is confident that his mind can dive deeply and boarder less in the mystery of our micro- and macro-cosmo.

'Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata' is a seminal Ghanian album that fuses highlife, reggae, folk, funk and soul, from legendary vocalist Pat Thomas. Originally released in 1976 on Gapophone Records.
'Marijata' was a group made up of three members - Kof 'Electric' Addison on drums, Bob Fischlan on organ and Nat Osmanu on guitar, hailing from Ghana. Pat Thomas career began in 1969 with the 'Broadway Dance Band', leaving a year later to join the 'Uhuru Dance Band'. He then played with Ebo Taylor's 'Blue Monks' and fnally formed the 'Sweet Beans' in 1973 where he really made his name. The group released 'False Lover' in 1974, split and then reformed as Marijata, releasing 'Marijata' (also available on Mr Bongo) and this album, 'Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata'.

Thomas career spans more than 50 years and he stll tours regularly across the world.

Replica original artwork, ofcial Mr Bongo reissue. Licensed from Gapophone Records courtesy of George Prah.

Ghanaian music legend Ebo Taylor returns with perhaps his finest album to date.
But don't take our word for it. That's coming straight from the man himself.
And he should know after more than 60 years in the business.
The 81-year-old composer, arranger, guitarist and vocalist has been a key figure in the evolving afro-funk sound since the Seventies, working with the likes of Apagya Show Band, CK Mann and Pat Thomas.
Famously, he rubbed shoulders with Fela Kuti while studying in London in the Sixties, before going on to lead the Ghana Black Star Band (featuring Osei and Sol Amarfio from Osibisa) and later the Uhuru Dance Band back in Ghana. Like Fela, he is always pushing forward, constantly reconceptualising his sound and
attuning it for a new generation. Part teacher, part messenger.
Listen to Yen Ara and you will not only hear the high-energy afrobeat, sweet highlife, jazz and konkoma influences that he's famous for. There is also a disco pulse and hard-hitting percussive edge to the tracks, which were produced by Justin Adams (Tinariwen, Rachid Taha, Robert Plant) and recorded in the live room at Electric Monkey Studio in Amsterdam. An Ebo Taylor for these times, you might say.
His group, the Saltpond City Band, are all handpicked local musicians featuring two of his sons. An appropriate line-up on an album whose titles means we'.
And they are on fine form, ripping through tracks such as 'Krumandey' (a surefire party starter) and 'Mind Your Own Business' (a simple message delivered over a frenetic drum rhythm).
Elsewhere, 'Aboa Kyirbin' will please fans of tough afrobeat grooves, while Taylor could well be inciting a riot at his next gig with 'Mumudey Mumudey', We hear him calling for 'preshaaah' and leading us into a call and response as the trumpet takes us higher. And the lift of those horns on 'Ankoma'm' evokes some
of his finest work such as 'Love & Death' and 'Come Along', the latter recorded with the Pelikans and featured on a recent Mr Bongo reissue.

As the lead singer of George Darko's legendary Burger-Highlife hit-band, Lee Dodou became the number one voice of 80's Highlife. Born in Kumasi, the epicenter of Ghanaian Highlife, he came to Berlin in the late 70's - by then the uprising epicenter of Burger-Highlife - to work as a back-up-singer for Pat Thomas. After joining and leaving Georg Darko and running his own band "Kantata", he stopped releasing music in the early 90's. Now, Philophon is proud to present new recordings of his soulful genius to the world of 2018.

Basa Basa is a song in the classic "concert party" style, as it was played in the glorious 60's. After a firey horn introduction Lee takes over in that funny and entertaining manner typical for "concert party" music. Buzz Duncker joins Lee's phrases with some gentle clarinet. Highlife at its best!

Sahara Akwantuo is anything but a classic: it's the start of a kind of philophonic Highlife, labeled as Kraut-Life. Ghanaian love of life meets German romantic melancholy. Happy rhythms meet mysterious synth landscapes. Eternal summertime and mangos are meeting a wet winter world and roast apples. Kraut-Life at its best!

Nottingham's Origin One returns with another bass heavy anthem. Traversing roots reggae, hip hop, dub and steppers this is a perfect example of Origin One's style of production, eclectic in influence and heavy on the bottom end. As the title may suggest the track is a tribute to the herb, delivered by Ghanaian born MC/rapper Kweku (K.O.G) who absolutely destroys the track. Already getting spins on some of the UK's biggest soundsystems, this should see some heavy rotation!

Releasing an album into the world is a special moment for any artist but when you're an artist who grew up in remote northern Ghana with no schooling, spending a life herding cows and goats, building your own instruments and teaching yourself to sing, then there's a particular sense of occasion and celebration in finding recognition and an audience for that music.

This is the case for Guy One, an utterly unique artist who is writing and performing Frafra music, a style that originates from a small area in the north of Ghana. Whilst Guy One is already loved and adored locally by now - building up a fervent following in local villages in which no funeral or wedding would take place without his soaring voice and deeply rhythmic playing, before then transforming into an award-winning, TV appearing artist in Ghana - his music is now to find a much wider audience through Max Weissenfeldt's Philophon label (Jimi Tenor, Hailu Mergia, Alemayehu Eshete) on this Berlin meets Bolgatanga release.

Guy One's international debut #1 is an album rooted in tradition as much as it is the contemporary ("Frafra music Made in Germany" says drummer producer Max Weissenfeldt if he's forced to put a label on it) but given the fact that the traditionalism of Frafra music itself is a largely unknown force, the results are more even more potent and stirring in their creations. Choirs, trumpet, organ, bass, drums, synthesiser, vibraphone, saxophone and piano, the album is as bursting with instrumentation as it is ideas and innovation.

The album's perfect positioning between the old and the new and in taking that middle ground and launching it into completely new territory is enough to completely unglue the definitions of what music can be.

This time Y-Bayani has support from the great voice of Baby Naa. Baby Naa was just hanging out at the studio in Accra/Ghana when the recordings of Rehwe Mie Enyim took place. The crew was waiting desperately for a singer to back up Y-Bayani. After an hour of waiting the producer, knowing that she sings at church every Sunday, asked Baby Naa to do the missing part. Then something occurred that nobody was expecting and finally everybody was happy that the original singer hadn't made it.

Rehwe Mie Enyim is a unique example of how roots-reggae can sound today. Maybe it will be the very last recorded real roots-reggae song in human history

On Mi Sumolo the Band of Enlightment, Reason and Love gives us a light and cheerful instrumental every DJ must have for his late night wedding set or any other high-class party.

With the single "Everything You Do, You Do For Yourself" North-Ghanaian Kologo master Guy One opens the door to his first international release #1, which will be available end of January 2018. Guy One promises what his name is saying: he is the number one artist of Frafra music, named after his people: the Frafra."Everything You Do, You Do For Yourself" is his only song having a phrase in English. Here he is following the example of his collegue and friend King Ayisoba, who introduced the use of English into Frafra music a few years ago. The beat is a driving Highlife rhythm. That's the kind of groove we all love Ghana for!On "Estre" we have special guest Florence Adooni, one of the leading voices of Frafra-Gospel. She is interweaving perfectly with the horn arrangements by Max Weissenfeldt, as well the drummer of the song, and gives after her part the lead to Mr. Guy One - yeah, the number one!

Ebo Taylor is a legendary guitarist, composer, arranger and producer from Accra, Ghana. A leading light of Ghanaian music since the 1960's, Taylor is still touring and recording, and at the age of 80 will be releasing a brand new studio album on Mr Bongo in 2018.
For this album, Ebo joined forces with 12-piece band 'The Pelikans' — from the Cape Coast region of Ghana — led by Bessa Simmona, with rhythm guitarist Fifi Orleans Lindsay. A genuine 'holy-grail' of Ghanaian music and one of Ebo's most saught-after.
The album was released on the small Abookyi label. Named after a nightclub they played in called PELIKANS, and sung in English and Fante, this was the first album where Ebo sang on tracks, such as the classic 'Come Along', on which he also plays keyboard. This song clearly defined a new direction in highlife and has become a Ghanaian funk anthem. 'Come Along' formed the basis of Sadat X's 'Remember That' hip hop jam from 2011.
This official Mr Bongo re-issue is packaged in our new & improved heavyweight 'tip-on' sleeves, printed in Japan, pressed on high quality vinyl, with label designs and artwork as per the original release. Ebo's forthcoming new studio album, 'MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS' is set for release in spring 2018, on Mr Bongo.

Y-Bayani is Ghana's uprising Fanti-reggae artist. He was discovered by Philophon in Ebo Taylor's hometown Saltpond, where he survived as a clock doctor. With his song "Asembi Ara Amba" he was featured on the highly acclaimed debut "Invisible Joy" by the Polyversal Souls. The success of that song opened the door for his first release under his sonorous own name: Y-Bayani.

"Get Away" is a swinging up-tempo beat with a bouncy bass and a haunting vocal performance on top. "Obar No Ni" on the other hand brings you down with a slowly driving rub-a-dub beat. Both tunes have been produced by Max Weissenfeldt and Stibbo Spitzmüller at Berlin's Joy Sound Studios.

Ebo Taylor is one of Ghana's fnest producer/arrangers. Taylor was heavily infuental in the unique sound that emerged from the country in the 70's; a combinaton of traditonal Ghanaian with Af-
ro-beat, jazz, and funk rhythms.
He worked with bands including Stargazers Band, Broadway Dance Band, Black Star Highlife Band (with Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfo who later joined Osibisa), Apagya Show Band and fellow musicians C.K. Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and the legendary Pat Thomas.
2016 see's Ebo celebrate his 80th birthday - stll touring! - and we are very proud to release two of his stand-out, classic albums - MY LOVE AND MUSIC and TWER NYAME, following on from the EBO TAYLORand CONFLICT re-issues.
MY LOVE AND MUSIC was originally released in 1975 on Gapophone Records, George Prah's label, hailing from Ghana. Only available in very limited quantty (reportedly 500 copies) due to the musical.

Hailing from Ghana, The Apagya Showband was formed by the legendary Ebo Taylor and Ambolley after they left 'Uhuru Dance Band'. The group produced only a couple of singles.

'Tamfo' is a joyous, uptempo Afro-funk groover, laced with horns and highlife guitar lines.

'Mumude' is a fast paced, drum and percussion-heavy, folklore-based song from 1974. Originally released on Essiebons 7'.

Auntie Flo returns with his 'Theory of Flo' LP masterpiece, his
first release on H+P in over 3 years!
Following his critically acclaimed 'Future Rhythm Machine' LP,
'Theory of Flo' is a bold step ahead from FRM, as it takes us on
the trip of a lifetime, spanning continents, genres, languages and
cultures to create a wholly unique listening experience, and one
which is only possible in 2015.
Teaming up with long term collaborator, Esa Williams, the album
also features collaborations with the incredible Ghanaian singer,
Anbuley (who last appeared on the Autonomous Africa hit
'Daabi'), Shingai Showina (of The Noisettes / Matthew Herbert /
Dennis Ferrer fame) and has experienced a lengthy recording
process between Havana, London and Glasgow - with outstand-
ing results.
'Theory of Flo' lands this November, in the meantime, his 'So In
Love' smasher and the spellbinding 'Waiting For A (Woman)' drop
on limited 10'..

Hot Casa Records reissues Disco Hi-Life, a real treasure album composed and interpreted by Afro-Soul maestro, Orlando Julius. Comes as delux 180 gramms vinyl with tip on jacket & inserts with interviews & photos. Check!
Following up to the 12inch release (HC07 / 2009), here comes the remastered version of a real mindblower piece from 1976 including four unreleased tracks, all recorded with the best Nigerian musicians, between Ginger Baker' Studio in Lagos and the American Star Studio in West Virginia, USA.
Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode was born in 1943 in Ikole-Ekiti, Nigeria and can be considered as a main figure of the Afro-Soul music history. One of the first African musician to get signed on a 'Major' label (Polydor), he delivered many hit single as a composer and effortlessly performed live as a tenor sax and singer. He worked and met with some of the 'greatest', such as Louis Armstrong, James Brown (for his Nigerian tour with Bootsy Collins), The Crusaders, Gil Scott Heron, or Hugh Masekela.
In the middle of 1975, just after they finished the recording of The Boys Doing It' album with Hugh Masekela, they all flew to Ghana and Lagos. It was holyday and Orlando had also plenty of time to focus on his own songs. He wrote 'Disco Hi-Life' in Yoruba and 'Children of the World' in English. And he immediately planned a recording session including 12 finest musicians, such as the great singer Dora Ifudu Avery, Adelaja Gboyega on keys, Kenneth Okulolo on Bass guitar, Butley Moore on drums, Fela's collaborator Tunde William on Trumpet, and also Ade, who helped sang 'Love Peace & Happiness'.
Originally released by Nigerian label Jofabro in partnership with the UNICEF association for the 'International year of the Child', it was only available in few promotional quantity... here comes the very first official reissue of this dancefloor masterpiece!

'Many Things", released in 2008, and 'From Africa With Fury: Rise' in 2011, 'A Long Way To The Beginning' is the third album by Seun Anikulapo Kuti with Egypt 80, the 14 musicians big band he's been leading since the death of his father Fela Kuti in 1997. It's actually the third part of a triptych in which Fela's youngest son, direct descendant of the afrobeat music style created by his father at the end of the 60's, is back on the offensive regarding injustice in his country, Nigeria, where it still grows, with an intact anger and a music more powerful than ever. The ingredients that have contributed to the success of the first two albums are warring beats, triumphant brass sections and burning lyrics but 'A Long Way to The Beginning' is also distinguished by jazz pianist Robert Glasper's contribution as a producer. While opening the spectrum of the sound, Glasper has made the participation of guests from the conscious American rap scene such as M1 (Dead Prez) or Blitz The Ambassador, a Ghanaian in New York, possible. The voice of German-Nigerian singer Nneka can also be heard on the track 'Black Woman". Finally, the French vibraphonist David Neerman adds his personal touch on two tracks ("I.M.F.' and 'Black Woman"), enhancing his attention to details that, allied to its firepower, allows 'A Long Way To The Beginning' to be a sophisticated and strong album. The message of this record is political. Its mood is offensive. When asked about his commitment, Seun answers: 'Being African means being politically involved. From the moment he wakes up in the morning, an African has a political attitude as everything he'll be doing during the day will have something to do with survival.'

Continuing further into the music of 1970s East Africa, Soundway present a limited edition 10" of raw, bluesy garage-funk-rock from Jimmy Mawi.
Jimmy Mawi was a Madagascan guitarist based in Nairobi in the mid 1970s. He cut only three 45s for EMI East Africa on their Pathe imprint that have virtually disappeared from sight in the nearly 40 years since they were recorded. Soundway reproduce four of the best tracks here on a super limited edition 10". Fuzz guitars, raspy vocals and metronomic drumming combine for an exhaustive afro-rock workout.


Earlier this year Soundway released their compilation Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s & '80s. Accompanied by a limited re-mix 12' these releases represent Soundway's first releases from the East African country and follows from their much acclaimed African 'Special' series that to date has focused on the highlife and afrobeat output from 1970s Nigeria and Ghana.

* Vinyl LP includes MP3 download for all tracks on the CD version *
C.K. Mann made his name as a virtuous guitar player in Ghana when he played with Moses Kweku Oppong in the Kakaikus Guitar Band in the early 60s. He then became the leader of the band Ocean's Strings until 1966. In 1968, he enjoyed a hit with the single 'Edina Benya'.
Mann was known for blending authentic African music with European influences. He was inspired by Latin American music and created a style all of his own. He became known as the 'King of Highlife' in Ghana in the 70's, when he released the record 'Nimpa Rebre' featuring vocals from Pat Thomas and Kofi Yankwon.
Funky Highlife came out of the Essiebons label run by Dick Essilfe Bondzie. According to Dick, this album could have been a massive hit in Ghana but the vinyl factories ran out of stock because of Ghana's economic downturn, so the demand for the record could not be met. The album is a fusion of highlife and soul. The best-known track 'Asafo beesuon' is a multi-layered, drum heavy, funk medley and is over 13 minutes long.

Up and away / To your journey to the sun / Drink your rocket juice / Fly away (Hey, Shooter).
High up in the skies, amongst the clouds, Rocket Juice & The Moon was born. Literally. It happened back in 2008, when Damon Albarn, Flea and Tony Allen convened on the same Lagos flight, to play and exchange musical ideas in that city as part of the Africa Express collective. Relishing a shared enthusiasm for one another's work, and bonding immediately, there and then the triumvirate laid down the blueprint for Rocket Juice.
Still, more than a year passed before conditions were set for three weeks together at Albarn's West London studio, recording and refining two-dozen startlingly out and deeply funky instrumental grooves. The next stage was to invite onboard some extremely talented friends, with further sessions in Dallas, New York, Chicago and Paris... Erykah Badu, no less, queen of contemporary soul. Three companions from Africa Express: Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, whose debut album has topped World Music charts since its release last Autumn; her multi-talented compatriot Cheick Tidiane Seck, whose prodigious keyboardism has lit up releases by artists ranging from Youssou N'Dour to Hank Jones; the young, Ghanaian rapper M.anifest, quizzically existential, switching seamlessly between Twi and English. And the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, long-time stalwarts in the Honest Jon's set-up — since one of the team discovered them busking near the shop in Portobello Road, on his lunchbreak — with a second album for the label due in May... Finally, the tracks were dispatched for mixing to Berlin, to be meticulously honed, polished and envenomed by Mark Ernestus, one half of the legendary Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound partnerships.
The result is Rocket Juice & The Moon — out March 26, 2012, on Honest Jon's Records — a triumphant exploration and proliferation of kinetic Afro-funk rhythms: organic, exuberant, communal music-making, evidenced by the project's live debut on stage as part of the Honest Jon's Chop Up in late 2011, which hit London, Marseille, Dublin, and Cork to such great acclaim (witness the flurry of smart-phone film-clips uploaded in the days thereafter).
From the inaugural bars — that absurdly funky slice of instructional timekeeping, 1-2-3-4-5-6 — the liquid pulse of Fela Kuti's classic recordings drives the action through a suite of 18 shape-shifting compositions. The greatest drummer in the world has never sounded so good as he does here. His intricate cross-patterns jostle and lock with Flea's nimble, rumbling bass riffs. Joined by Seck on There and Extinguished — 'when you dispose of something burning, be sure it's out' — Albarn's keyboards spray synth fusillades up top, over, and under... splicing into the mess of wires running between the freaked Afro-disco of William Onyeabor and the space-jazz-moog of Sun Ra. The HBE brings extra intensity and drama to Leave-Taking — likewise Flea's trumpet to Rotary Connection — teasing out the haunting melody coiled in the mix.
Where the best of vintage Afrobeat sides sustained their concentrated energies over the course of sprawling, marathon jams, RJ & TM manages something altogether different: the group bottles the idiom into capsules of funk... and real songs. Beautifully buoyed by Erykah Badu's unmistakable vocals, Hey, Shooter brilliantly traverses metaphysical spaceways sans any semblance of noodling. Lolo and Follow-Fashion — featuring the open-hearted sensuality of Diawara's singing, M.anifest's quick, brawny science, and more brass blasts — play like its musical cousins or codas. Indeed, the album's shrewd sequencing creates the composite effect of tracks working both individually or within the context of an extended song-cycle.
The lovely ballad, Poison, is bittersweet and ruminative: 'If you're looking for love, beware the signs / They will paralyze you one by one / Poison, it will only break your heart.' Down-tempo and dubby, Check Out and Worries amplify the range of styles and moods. And by the time of Fatherless — a chugging Afro blues that evokes John Lee Hooker lost in Lagos, one gets the sneaking suspicion there's very little outside the reach of this collective's inventive musical grasp.
There is, in fact, a palpable openness pervading Rocket Juice & The Moon — the sense of a limber willingness to follow creative impulse — right down to how the group acquired its name. When Ogunajo Ademola — the Lagotian commissioned to do the album's cover artwork — dubbed his submission 'Rocket Juice & The Moon', it quickly morphed into the formal name of the project, like trying to hold onto mercury.
Surely, the stars above also approved.