Aïe aïe aïe!!! Quand ça commence comme ça...

Next Stop Stop Soweto Vol. 4
Out March 23 2015
http://www.strut-records.com

Strut continue their acclaimed ’Next Stop Soweto’ series in March 2014 as they return to the rich archives of South African music to spotlight the fertile era of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Tightly controlled by oppressive Apartheid laws, South Africa’s music scene had nevertheless progressed into myriad new directions, embracing funk, soul, rock and disco. 

Next Stop Soweto Vol. 4 is compiled by Duncan Brooker. It will be released on CD, 2LP and digital formats with physical formats featuring sleeve notes by author Francis Gooding along with rare photos and sleeve artwork.

Kabasa - Unga Pfula A Chi Pfalo [Next Stop Soweto Vol. 4]

An album created by MJC or Metropolitan Jazz Crew, a virtual one-man band consisting of five "members" and Collin, also known as AnkD!

Three Six Five

RIP George Williams aka Buddy Pipp
Ghana Special is taken from 'Highlife On The Move: Selected Nigerian & Ghanaian Recordings from London & Lagos 1954-66' 
smarturl.it/HOTMDirect


Buddy Pipp's Highlifers - Ghana Special

OSTLP/CD002

OUT NOW!  www.ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com

"Easily one of the most intriguing and ear-opening records I've heard in a long time" - Errol Nazareth, CBC Radio (Canada)

"An expertly curated experience of one of the late-20th Century’s most thrilling musical encounters" - The Playground UK

"A compilation to revel in" - The Arts Desk

"An energetic, enlightening listen... Two records in and Ostinato’s track record is downright sterling." - The Vinyl District 

"Those of the caliber of Synthesize the Soul are rare." - RFI Musique

"An homage to the music of migrants of Cabo Verde." - VICE

Watch the trailer here: vimeo.com/195576843

CD/2XLP/Digital 
36-page CD Booklet
20-page LP Booklet

Through 18 diverse tracks, this compilation offers a timely revelation of how immigration to Europe and the United States from the Cape Verde Islands in the 1980s gave us an alternate history of electronic music, almost a decade ahead of its time, as traditional Funana rhythms met the synthesizer.

Synthesize the Soul: Astro-Atlantic Hypnotica from the Cape Verde Islands 1973 - 1988

OUT NOW!

Chump Lopes - Elisio Gomes & Joachim Varela

Loi Tok Tok Eboma- Mungwana

From the upcoming release:
Analog Africa No.11 - Le Super Borgou de Parakou - The Bariba Sound
Release date: 27th Mars 2012

Sembe Sembe Boudou (Folklore Dendi) - Le Super Borgou de Parakou

Two sides of killer chakacha flavoured jazzy afro-beat from Kenyas Coast, finally reissued by Afro7 records with original artwork and bespoke jacket. Head over to Afro7 to read the story and get your copy!

Mombasa Vikings

Mombasa Vikings Mama Matotoya / Kibe Kibe - 1975 - snippets

Nat Birchall comes together with dub master, multi-instrumentalist Al Breadwinner Redfern and legendary Jamaican trombonist Vin Gordon for a heavenly 10-track voyage of instrumental Roots Reggae. Read more @ https://wp.me/p471L0-8Yg

Nat Birchall &  Al Breadwinner -In The Hills (TS Premiere)

Ethiopian inspired jazz from Israel is the compound of Sandman Project. It’s a heady mix overseen by Tal Sandman, the guitarist and leader of the group based in Jaffa, the Arabic district of Tel Aviv. Consisting of just four band members on guitar, trumpet, bass and drums, they are set to release their debut Royal Family EP on the mighty Batov Records.

‘Savannah Trip’, the 5th and last track on the record, is an invitation to traverse the Malian desert with an insistent sense of purpose that could easily be lost with a larger group or production. It reflects a marriage of psychedelic West African rock and Ethopian jazz carried by swirling trumpets and the adventure of Tal’s guitar. The fretboard is pushed to the limits as the band slink through the door of the cosmos and join Sun Ra in ethereal, improvisational vibration.

More info here: https://goo.gl/Ka1gZW

Premiere: Sandman Project - Savanna Trip

“The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s music…seeks to spark a time in which heightened sensibility and higher consciousness will universally be known." Howard Mandel, jazz critic and author

Recently celebrating an extraordinary 45 years in music, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, led by legendary Chicago drummer and percussionist Sir Kahil El’Zabar, are pleased to announce the release of their latest album, ‘Be Known: Ancient/Future/Music’, released 10th May via Spiritmuse Records.

An artist truly in a league of his own, El’Zabar is acknowledged throughout the world as the leader in the vanguard of spiritual groove and afro-futuristic jazz with a significant contribution in the continuation of the scene over the last four decades. His driving compositions - simple themes that gain complexity through repetition and improvisation - have been recorded with such jazz heavyweights including Pharoah Sanders, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and “Light” Henry Huff and he has toured with some of the biggest names in jazz including Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Archie Shepp, Lester Bowie, Nona Hendryx, Billy Bang, Hamiet Bluiett, and David Murray.

Forming EHE shortly after El'Zabar graduated from the fabled school of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1973, he teamed up with tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson, Jr. with the goal “To combine concepts of African American music with its earlier roots in traditional African music, to produce new motifs and sounds true to their origins yet firmly pointed in a new artistic direction”. Forty-five years later and the rich and compelling, ever-evolving sound the band are known for, is still going strong. 

Together with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble are one of the two remaining original groups in the world today that were nurtured in the AACM. "I knew in my heart, that this band could endure," El'Zabar attests. "My concept was based in logic as it pertains to the history of Great Black Music. In other words, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble has a strong rhythmic foundation, innovative harmonics and counterpoint, well-balanced interplay and polyphony among the players for highly developed ensemble dynamics. We are strong individual soloists with an in-depth grasp of music history, originality, fearlessness and deep spirituality.”

Alongside multi-percussionist and vocalist El’Zabar, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s current line-up includes Corey Wilkes on trumpet, who has worked with numerous jazz masters, including Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Elling and with El’Zabar for 15 years, multi-instrumentalist Alex Harding on baritone sax and Ian Maksin on cello, known as one of the most versatile and innovative musicians of his generation, having worked with such diverse artists as Andrea Bocelli and Sting.

Following on from the success of the 2014 album ‘Black is Back: 40th Anniversary Project’, ‘Be Known: Ancient/Future/Music’ is an electrifying mix of spiritual jazz and African rhythms. Compositions such as the thrilling ‘Blew It’ are built around fundamental brass improvisations with a swing-induced groove, while El’Zabar’s vocal chants on ‘Pharoah’ whip up a trance-like fervour, as we are taken on a sacred journey of enlightenment and deep listening. 

With artwork designed by the Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist Nep Sidhu (Erykah Badu/Shabazz Palaces), EHE’s ability to consistently push new boundaries with Afrocentric rhythms and free-flowing jazz says a great deal about El’Zabar’s commitment to the music and the message.

Pre-Order

Exclusive Premiere: Ethnic Heritage Ensemble "Pharoah"

More dusty beats from beneath the flagstones, this one was made around Mishaps Happening era, never finished and never released.

Sembe Sembe Boudou (Folklore Dendi) - Le Super Borgou de Parakou

Analog Africa

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