Hardkandy / Moonlight

"Tche Belew" out now!
Boomkat: http://bit.ly/1u1OrFE
Rush Hour: http://bit.ly/1qYPxC5
Picadilly: http://bit.ly/1s4WPI8
Juno: http://bit.ly/Xc2RrZ

EUROPE TOUR DATES
08.05. DE Berlin XJAZZ Festival
25.05. NL Nijmegen Musicmeeting
26.05. NL Rotterdam Pantropical @ Worm
27.05. NL Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
28.05. FR Paris Instants Chavires
29.05. CH Düdingen Bad Bonn Kilbi
30.05. AT Wels Alter Schlachthof
01.06. CZ Praha Jazzdock
03.06. CH Luzern Südpol
05.06. HR Šibenik Deboto
06.06. UK London Field Day

 Sofia Jernberg & Hailu Mergia (Awesome Tapes From Africa, Oslo / Washington)
https://sofiajernbergsingercomposer.bandpage.com/
https://www.facebook.com/HailuMergiaOfficial

14.05. DE Eberswalde Jazz in E.
15.05. SE Stockholm Rönnels Antikvariat
16.05. SE Uddevalla Bohusläns Museum (afternoon show) Kontoret (evening show)

The acclaimed and highly sought-after LP by Hailu Mergia and
the Walias, Tche Belew, an album of instrumentals released in
1977, is perhaps the most seminal recording released in the
aftermath of the 1974 revolution. The story of the Walias band is
a critical chapter in Ethiopian popular music, taking place during
a period of music industry flux and political complexity in the
country. 
Hailu Mergia, a keyboardist and arranger diligently working the
nightclub scene in Addis Ababa, formed the Walias in the early
1970’s with a core group of musicians assembled from prior
working bands. They played Mergia’s funk- and soul-informed
tunes, while cutting 45rpm singles with various vocalists.
While the Walias performed at top hotels and played the
presidential palace twice, their relationship with the Derg regime
was complex, evidenced by the removal of one song from the
record by government censors.
Decades later, Hailu Mergia was surprised to see the album
fetching more than $4,000 at online auctions (it helped that the
most popular of all Ethiopian tunes “Musicawi Silt” appeared on
the record). Now everyone has the chance to listen again—or
for the first time—to this timeless pillar of Ethiopian popular
music.

Pre-order

Hailu Mergia and the Walias — Eti Gual Blenai

i just slowed it, not taking any credit out of this

Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This (420 super slowed)

Pamoja - Oooh baby

Annette Peacock Survival

Coming out 17 June on Awesome Tapes From Africa

Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band’s Wede Harer Guzo is the third release on Awesome Tapes From Africa for Ethiopian keyboard and accordion maestro. In the years since Shemonmuanaye, Mergia has revamped his touring career, playing festivals and clubs worldwide, including a recent tour supporting Beirut. By 1978, Addis Ababa’s nightlife was facing challenges. The ruling Derg regime imposed curfews, banning citizens from the streets after midnight until 6:00 am. But that didn’t stop some people from dancing and partying through the night. Bands would play from evening until daybreak and people would stay at the clubs until curfew was lifted in the morning. 
One key denizen of Addis’ musical golden age, Hailu Mergia, was preparing a follow-up to his seminal Tche Belew LP with the famed Walias Band. It was the band’s only full-length record and it had been a success. But his Hilton house band colleagues were a bit tied up recording cassettes with different vocalists. Still Mergia, amidst recording and gigs with the Walias, was also eager to make another recording of his instrumental-focused arrangements. So he went to the nearby Ghion Hotel, another upmarket outpost with a popular nightclub. Dahlak Band was the house band at Ghion at the time. Together they made this tape Wede Harer Guzo right there in the club during the band’s afternoon rehearsal meetings, with sessions lasting three days.
Dahlak Band catered to a slightly more youthful, local audience, while Mergia’s main gig with the Walias at Addis' swankiest hotel had a mixed audience that included wealthy Ethiopians, foreign diplomats and older folks from abroad. Therefore, their sets featured lighter fare during dinnertime and a less rollicking selection of jazz and r&b. Meanwhile, Dahlak was known more for the mainly soul and Amharic jams they served up for hours two nights a week to a younger crowd. 
Mergia released Wede Harer Guzo (“Journey to Harer,” a city in eastern Ethiopia)  with Sheba Music Shop, which was located in the Piazza district but has long since shut down. His cassette copy is the only known source we could find. Jessica Thompson at Coast Mastering managed to restore the recording to clean up layers of hiss, flutter and distorted frequencies, made worse by years of storage. Although there are some remaining sonic artifacts of the era’s recording and cassette duplicating quality, this reissue captures the band’s inimitable vibe. 
Recalling the audience’s positive reaction to Wede Harer Guzo’s novel arrangements, he says it sold well and found many fans. However, as no trace of the tape can be found online, there’s no indication as to why the cassette appears largely forgotten until now. 


Wede Harer Guzo

Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band — Sintayehu

From his studio in central Bobo-Dioulasso, photographer Sory Sanlé documented a nation's transformation from colonial foothold to cosmopolitan oasis. Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta provides an intimate look into the landlocked nation's pop culture explosion of the 1970s. A melange of community elders and emboldened youth spill from the brightly lit confines of Sanlé's Volta Photo into the dimly lit nightclubs of Upper Volta's cultural capital. Accompanying this hardbound monograph are dozens of rare and evocative recordings spread over three discs by Bobo-Dioulasso's musical titans: Volta Jazz, Dafra Star, Echo Del Africa, and Les Imbattables Léopards. 

Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta

Volta Jazz - Wêrê Wêrê Magne

Buy in all formats at the BCR Webstore:
https://bigcrownrecords.com/store/el-michels-affair-tearz-45/

With the full length, Return To The 37th Chamber dropping April 14th, El Michels Affair releases another flawless two sider to hold us over.

Side A’s cover of Tearz is as much an homage to the Wendy Rene sample as it is to the Wu-Tang Clan track.

The song starts as a glazed over cover of "After Laughter" with Shannon Wise of The Shacks singing Wendy Rene's timeless mantra. Halfway through, the mood dramatically shifts and the drums and organ that drive the original RZA sample, take over. A dubbed out Lee Fields taps in like only he can, and the song spirals into outer space.

Side B finds EMA dipping into the deeper side of the Wu catalog with Raekwon’s Verbal Intercourse. Mixing the grimy, gritty production aesthetic of the original with elements of dubbed out reggae, El Michels Affair once again pushes the definition of a “cover” and truly makes it a tune of their own.


Follow El Michels Affair:
https://www.facebook.com/ElMichelsAffair/
https://www.instagram.com/elmichelsaffair/
https://twitter.com/El_Michels?lang=en
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0cLrgpG3pW4MX4nD8h6qCc 

Visit us at:
www.bigcrownrecords.com

Follow Big Crown Records:
https://open.spotify.com/user/bigcrownrecords
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Buy at BCR

El Michels Affair - Tearz feat Lee Fields & The Shacks(45 Mix)- BC008-45 - Side A

For more information on the release and how to purchase it click below:

http://www.musicamacondo.com/2018/02/premiere-hector-plimmer-sunshine-emma-jean-thackray-remix/

Sunshine Remixed

Premiere: Hector Plimmer - Sunshine (Emma-Jean Thackray Remix)

Dur-Dur Band "Volume 5" (ATFA004), out March 19, 2013

Buy album https://dur-durband.bandcamp.com/album/volume-5

Vol. 5

Dur-Dur Band - Dooyo

Melbourne funk four-piece Karate Boogaloo cover a James Brown classic as part of their Christmas tribute to Soul Brother Number 1.

Part of our 2019 charity Advent Calendar in aid of War Child.

Download & Donate: http://bit.ly/Day7_Karate

All money raised through Bandcamp sales goes directly to War Child, so please give generously.

Download + Donate

Day 7: Karate Boogaloo - Doing It To Death

Awesome Tapes From Africa is here for you.

Dur-Dur Band - Dooyo

Awesome Tapes From Africa

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dust palace aka O R I O N

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