quête:zouratie kone

Les Disques Bongo Joe, Black Sweat Records and Sing A Song Fighter are teaming up to present Zodu Were, the collaboration between Zouratié Koné and well known Astral Synth Transmitters aka DJ soFa

Following Lulanga Tales, soFa elsewhere returns as The Astral Synth Transmitters, this time alongside Burkinabè musician Zouratié Koné. Rooted in the Griot tradition, Zouratié brings voice, kora and ngoni into dialogue with soFa’s leftfield electronic production. Recorded in Brussels, Zodu Were moves between acoustic and electronic, ancestral and futuristic: an “ancient future” where tradition remains alive by being transformed, transmitted and sent somewhere new.

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Following Lulanga Tales, his collaboration with Nyati Mayi, Brussels-based DJ, producer and tireless digger soFa elsewhere returns to The Astral Synth Transmitters for a new encounter. This time, his path crosses with Zouratié Koné, a musician from Burkina Faso rooted in the Griot tradition. Brought together through Brussels’ musical underground, the two found common ground in the studio, bringing together practices that may seem distant at first, but share the same refusal to treat music as something fixed in time.

Zouratié Koné comes from a lineage in which music carries memory. In the Griot tradition, songs, stories and knowledge remain alive by being passed from one generation to the next and continually finding a new place in the present. Since childhood, Zouratié has devoted himself to his instruments, particularly the kora and ngoni, not only playing them but also building them himself. On the other side of the conversation, soFa deploys through The Astral Synth Transmitters a language of synthesizers, machines and distinctly leftfield production. Recorded in Brussels, Zodu Were grew from this exchange between two practices, two histories and two ways of keeping music in motion.

The result is neither an exercise in preservation nor an attempt to simply dress traditional music in contemporary production. Zodu Were is built on the movement between acoustic and electronic, ancestral and futuristic, warmth and cold, human and machine. Following the dialogue with Nyati Mayi on Lulanga Tales, The Astral Synth Transmitters continues the same idea of collaboration: creating a space where distinct musical worlds can meet without one disappearing into the other. An “ancient future” where tradition is not something to look back upon, but a living force capable of being transformed, transmitted and sent somewhere new.

Warodjah is the musical collaboration between Andrea Rausa (A.K.A. Afreak) and Massimiliano Troiani. The two Italian DJs and producers crossed paths in Rome, where they started sharing the mixing console and co-hosting parties in the Italian capital. They soon found a deep connection through their mutual passion for African music and electronic dance music.

On the A side, the title track, presented in both full-length and radio edit versions, pays homage to the rich heritage of African music and the storytelling tradition of African griots. Special guest Zouratié Koné, hailing from a Griot family in Burkina Faso, takes us on a sonic journey. With his masterful handling of a self-crafted Kora, he weaves dreamy melodies that dance freely above a progressing tapestry of drum patterns and ethereal piano chords.

On the flipside, a sumptuous house remix by DJ Fett Burger. Renowned for his diverse and eclectic productions with a lot of personality, delivers here 14 minutes of pure joy and bliss. Playing around with the original theme, and adds full of surpassing and groovy elements that draws you to the dancefloor and keeps you there! A fusion of hypnotic euphoric rhythm play, delightful melodies and a touch of house music as a feeling. A remix dedicated to the true era of the art of remixing! Original, creative and groovy

Les Disques Bongo Joe are proud to be home of the new volume of DJ soFa's well known curation work Elsewhere series with Elsewhere CC! This ninth exploration of our beloved Bruxelles based cratedigger and producer (Mameen 3, Nyati Mayi & The astral Synth Transmitters, ...) is an ode to summer and groove!

The ninth edition in the Elsewhere series is a real digger’s paradise of tropical gems, from Trinidad to Brazil, Poland, Dominica, and beyond. The compilation is an eclecticmix of outernational, tropical-wave, Calypso, multi-rhythmic percussive beats, lo-fi disco jams, and other such styles that lie somewhere in that magical in-between zone. Compiled by Brussels-based DJ, tastemaker and producer soFa, Elsewhere Vol.9 CC is a perfect collection of Balearic, good-vibe, sunshine rarities, to soundtrack a cocktail session on a reclusive, tropical beach, featuring rare tunes and some of the artist’s own unique productions and collaborations.

Modern day selector, 7” detective, international cratedigger, and self-styled musical activist DJ soFa, aka. soFa Elsewhere, is renowned for his borderless approach to curation. Adapting his unconventional and radical approach to DJing to his acclaimed compilation series, soFa’s goal has always been to expand horizons, highlight scenes, and tell stories. And herein lies the beauty behind the latest edition in the Elsewhere series. Behind every great record, is an even bigger story, and Elsewhere CC, has plenty of them...