The multi-talented Shay Hazan fuses rubbery North African Gnawa grooves, with haunting jazz horns and hip hop on “Bob Dealer”, his forthcoming single via international groove artisans, Batov Records.  A special taste from his first LP for Batov, ‘Reclusive Rituals’.

Tel-Aviv based musician Shay Hazan is a composer, producer, bassist & bandleader. His versatile bass is frequently heard on national radio, providing the hits of tomorrow with a foundation in groove, and MIMS readers may have heard his bass lines propelling the grooves of Sandman Project’s breakthrough EP, ‘Royal Family’.  Recently, Hazan’s straight jazz project, the Shay Hazan Quintet has been making waves, particularly with the release of a 7” single on Jazzman Records.

Having commenced producing his new album during the first Covid lockdown, his creative process this time was a marked departure from previous projects. Whereas he would normally call and gather his band together to record his new compositions live, Hazan would come up with a groove first before sending the recording parts to a drummer in Berlin or a saxophonist in Tel Aviv to add a complementary rhythm or melody, and then finally editing the results himself. As Hazan puts it, “So technically I had the role of the composer and the producer as well as the guimbri player.”

“I made this album in order to satisfy the inner urge for simple grooves and the search for a different and new sound that draws inspiration from ancient places with great tradition but still corresponds with the world and the period in which I live and the way I express myself.”

Having already mastered the double and electric bass, Hazan learned how to play the three-stringed gimbri: a camel-skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people of North Africa, as heard on their hypnotic music.  Hazan repurposes the unique qualities of the instrument with a jazz approach, no doubt inspired somewhat by his introduction to the instrument: “The truth is that my first acquaintance with the Gimbri was by bassist William Parker, who is not a traditional Gnawan player, but an American musician, identified with jazz and improvised music. that I have been following for years.  Once I saw him play with this thing in a show and my mind exploded, I started researching where it came from and listening to music from Morocco and North Africa”. 

The album title, ‘Reclusive Rituals’, is inspired by a Jean-Michel Basquiat interview from 1985 where he discusses his reclusiveness and the public demand for gossip on well-known figures. In particular how advantageous it can be to stay out of the limelight, as the crowd’s very nature is to eventually turn on their idols. Hazan interpreted this to imply that personal behavioural patterns are significantly affected by the fear of negative responses, often leading them to non-action: “Basquiat's words have been resonating in my head for a long time. I see around me a lot of people who for fear of receiving negative criticism, do not initiate or create anything.

And in a certain place, I'm a little scared to be in this place myself and feel the need to keep searching and creating all the time without being influenced by criticism, for better or worse.”

 "Bob Dealer" sees full digital release on December 3rd, with the album dropping on December 10th, on both vinyl and digital. Pre-order available now.

Bob Dealer (Single)

Exclusive Premiere: Shay Hazan "Bob Dealer" (Forthcoming on Batov Records)

Some records seem to come out of nowhere. Witness this debut EP by the half-Mauritian percussionist & singer Mo Kolours, which unites an array of more familiar influences with the Sega music of his island roots.

These heavily rhythmic slave songs from the Indian Ocean offer a vital clue to the sound of this enchanting EP. The rhythms lead the way here, whether the straight percussive workout of Drum Talking or the crafty vocal manipulation that drives the low-slung bump of Biddies, a song that traces an imaginary line between Theo Parrish and Gonja Sufi.

Dead of Night mines the symbolism of The Beatles’ outwardly chirpy Blackbird while his own Bakiraq (like Burt, the songwriter) resembles a soul classic pieced together from fragments around the flickering light of a fire. There’s a sense of spontaneity at the heart of Mo Kolours’ music and much of the music he loves: Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, King Tubby and many more. Like the best records, the result is so much more than just the sum of its influences: it’s a new feeling which breathes fresh life into the past and keeps its eyes set firmly on the future.

This EP boasts a the first ever remix by our favourite re-edit crew: Truth Is Light, whose incredible series of limited 12"s from Vancouver have accorded them cult status. 
HAND12009

Mo Kolours - Biddies

Artist: https://soundcloud.com/nickodemusnyc, 
Track: The Shadow Thief
Label: https://soundcloud.com/wonderwheel-recordings
Format: 12" Vinyl, CD, Digital
Release date: 23/06/23
YouTube: https://youtu.be/aY1s05dc0CY

Globe  trotting, NYC based DJ, producer and Wonderwheel Recordings founder Nickodemus, returns to the fold with his new album, Soul & Science. His fifth long player, it sees him tread familiar ground, rooting influences from the Latin, African, Middle Eastern and Caribbean diasporas and channeling those through those homegrown sounds of house, disco, and hip-hop, those black music productions Nickodemus was schooled in as a DJ and party protagonist in NYC.
Alsarah, the Sudanese purveyor of East African retro-pop, guests in a rare English language performance on Shadow Thief, a disco get-down inside the souk with a dissonant flute line and vocals metaphorically speaking on migration and human displacement. The album opener La Noche  features Spanish singer and sax player Antonio Lizana is classic Nickodemus fare, with a deep beat-laden groove with a modern twist on traditional flamenco.

PREMIERE | Nickodemus feat. Alsarah - The Shadow Thief [Wonderwheel] 2023

Check out this free tune from Ocote Soul Sounds "Primavera" due out on ESL Recordings on May 31st.

"Ocote Soul Sounds" is a project by Grammy Award winner Adrian Quesada and Tony Award winner Martin Perna. Their fourth collaboration, "Taurus," features vocal collaborations with fellow ESL Music regulars Natalia Clavier, Sitalil, Verny Varela and Chico Mann. The record was produced by Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation, and has been featured on the radio through Distiller Promotions. 

Ocote Soul Sounds - Primavera

vinyl 45 release on march 4th 2016. limited edition to 300 copies. 

Buy here 
UK : 
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/magdy-el-hossainy-music-de-carnaval/604036-01/
http://honestjons.com/shop/artist/Magdy_El_Hossainy/release/Music_De_Carnaval
http://fatcity.co.uk/magdy-el-hossainy-music-de-carnival
http://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/136002
http://www.jazzmanrecords.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=magdy

GERMANY : 
http://oye-records.com/sgl.php?id=147249&aplay=0

FRANCE :
http://www.sofarecords.fr/magdy-el-hossainy-music-de-carnaval/i3048558764,2
http://www.betinos.com/disque/3084

NEDERLAND : 
http://www.rushhour.nl/store_detailed.php?item=88842

ITALIA : 
http://www.ledisquestore.com/en/ecommerce/94326_Music-De-Carnaval.htm

Magdy el Hossainy - Music De Carnaval

Marijata - I Walk Alone

Taarab doublesider killer! Harambe with it's insane R&B groove riff, flip it and you have the crazy liverpool track. Originally from mid 60s aimed for the growing tourism in Mombasa and it's regions. Both tracks officially licensed on our inhouse label. Comes in tasty Afro7 sleeve with original label design. Head over to afro7.net READ THE FULL STORY and get your copy today!

Harambe / Liverpool

Mac & Party Harambe / Liverpool - New Afro7 single!

Written By WDR Big Band & GT
Additional Production By Andrea Benini

Hits Agogo One

WDR Big Band & GT - Now I Can (Mop Mop Deconstruction)

After releasing his 'Moyo Wangu' album in late 2016 where David Hanke connected to the time he spent in his early childhood in Arusha/Tanzania, it's now time for 'Moyo Zaidi', the remixed version of the original album. While 'Moyo Wangu' was translated as 'My Heart', 'Moyo Zaidi' can be translated as 'Heart Returned'.

The original songs have been reworked by twelve producers and DJs from all across the scene and continents. From America over Europe to Australia and from Funk over Cumbia and Dub to Deep House and Downbeat this remix album is a bounty stack of styles and directions.
Funk versions from Moscow, Lisboa and London, some Cumbia from Brisbane, a Dub treatment from Los Angeles, Afrodisco comes from Bogotá, soulful Downbeat from the Black Forest and London, a slow mover from Hamburg and twisted Deep House from Amsterdam, Belgrad and London.

Sare Kon Kon (Redux)

Antibalas