Secret Circuit did a great job on this one

secret circuit

Available August 27, preorder via https://linktr.ee/EphatMujuru

Ephat Mujuru exemplifies a unique generation of traditional musicians in Zimbabwe. Born under an oppressive colonial regime in Southern Rhodesia, his generation witnessed the brutality of the 1970s liberation struggle, and then the dawn of independent Zimbabwe, a time in which African music culture—long stigmatized by Rhodesian educators and religious authorities—experienced a thrilling renaissance. 

Under the tutelage of his grandfather, who was a respected spirit medium and mbira master, Ephat showed an early talent for the rigors of mbira training, playing his first possession ceremony when he was just ten years old.
By then, guerilla war was engulfing the country and his grandfather Muchatera tragically became a victim of the violence, a devastating blow to the young musician. In the midst of the liberation struggle, mbira music became political. 

Eventually, the Rhodesians were defeated, but rather than return to the past, the nation of Zimbabwe was born and a new future unfolded. Ephat threw himself into the spirit of independence, singing of brotherhood, healing, and unity: crucial themes during a time when the nation’s two dominant ethnic groups, the Shona and the Ndebele, were struggling to reconcile differences.
Ephat’s band would eventually follow the popular trend and add electric instruments. But before that, he and Spirit of the People released two all-acoustic albums, and they may well be the most exciting and beautiful recordings he made in his career. Mbavaira, the second of these albums, was released in 1983. 

As the independence years moved on, there would be fewer and fewer commercial mbira releases. But for the moment, Ephat had the required stature and reputation. Also, with the energy and drive we hear in these recordings, the album could easily rival the pop music of its day.

Within a few years after the release of Mbavaira, it and albums like it became harder to find in Zimbabwean record stores. Ephat adapted to the times and formed an electric band. They recorded more albums over the years but none of them have the particularly delicious energy of Spirit of the People in the first years of Zimbabwe’s independence.

Mbavaira

Ephat Mujuru & The Spirit of the People — Mbavaira

B1. Apes In The Orange Groove (Secret Circuit Remix)

Remix by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/secret-circuit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Secret Circuit</a>&#13;
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We're back with Aria Rostami's Czarat EP, Spring Theory's sophmore release. Rostami is a San Francisco-based musician whose roots extend off into theoretical dimensions far beyond conventional dancefloor fodder (his material has appeared on labels like Audiobulb and Crash Symbols). For Czarat, however, he's honed his approach to produce an unusual dancefloor anthem. Melding influences from around the world, the song arrives at something that sounds like acid house and techno as interpreted through an internet-enabled, information rich dialog of the present moment.&#13;
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The names of the songs on the release hint at this culture clash. Opener "Czarat" is a fusion of the Russian word "Czar" and the ancient Persian god "Zarathustra." Rostami refers to this as a "cultural mishmash" and ultimately the names are a nonsense words, creating something new from familiar ideas. The song stands as a reference to the melting pot of disparate sounds within: Motorik Krautrock and North African rhythmic pulsations, Arab synth solos, Chicago acid lines, and Japanese riffing results in an overarching East meets West sensibility, gelling together to create something novel from a chaotic, contemporary trans-cultural communication. And while seemingly heady in its references, hidden beneath its surface is a banging house music core that positions the track well for those moments when the spotlights cut out and the strobes kick in.&#13;
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Or, for less intense moments, LA's Secret Circuit takes Rostami's original and re-interprets it as sunny Balearica, with warm acoustic guitars and delay washes that make for a round, mellow feeling that keeps the energy laidback, sleek, and sexy — like a tripped-out renegade party on some forgotten beach along California's Pacific Coast Highway.&#13;
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Finally, "Vietnamoses" rounds things out. A completely different direction, it reveals aspects of Rostami's more experimental side, with a downtempo feeling inspired by (but, we stress, not evocative of) dub-techno juxtaposed with less overt influences from music around the world with it's twangs and drones. Space is the key here — his whipping drum patterns lull a hypnotic trance beneath massive walls of metallic echo and delay and a heightened focus on transition (one of Rostami's favorite themes) allows the song to grow in unexpected ways.

Buy on Bandcamp

Aria Rostami - Czarat (Secret Circuit Acid Dub Remix)

Rene Lopez-Dance Until The End Of Time (Secret Circuit Remix)

Out Now! http://bit.ly/1PYEm7M; iTunes http://apple.co/1JceTlK

From the album "Songs of Paapieye"—Out Now on Awesome Tapes From Africa.

Guun—This is the last song played at a funeral, after all the others have been done. It is meant to get all the dancers on their feet and into a dancing mood. The focus is on women and how they run around the gyil players and off into the surrounding area. It is the hottest, most intense part for the performance, where the player is expressing himself as a xylophonist. Guun is rapid-fire music, and it signals the end of the performance for that particular player. Other players will come and perform as well, from the beginning. And the more people dance, the more the deceased will rest happily.


SK Kakraba — Gunn

Read our cover story:
http://www.self-titledmag.com/2016/02/12/artist-of-the-month-geneva-jacuzzi/

Read Our Cover Story

Geneva Jacuzzi - Artist of the Month Mix

Taken from the album 'Too' released as LP / CD / Download

Klara Lewis 'Us' (EMEGO 210)

Face A - DANSE DES NENUPHARS - Lexi015

100% - Lost Youth

Bola "Volume 7" ATFA002

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1cT5vsy
eMusic: http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/bola/volume-7/13230336/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Volume-7/dp/B007K3V1S0/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0

Bola — Abayetidu Ma

released in 2016 on a JJ funhouse compilation

Calypso Dream

Anticlines Outtakes

Bolero Super Item

Lorin Mai #2 Zor Spas Mix // 2020

from Dur-Dur Band Remixes (ATFA005) 
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1bwoKnV

Dur-Dur Band — Secret Circuit's Shock Blast Remix

Archives featuring mixes old and new from myself Brother Joseph including Stephen Haldane and David Keenan with multiple guests throughout the years from my SONIC TREASURE SHOW and our new adventure THE MANIFESTO OF BLISS

Awesome Tapes From Africa is here for you.

Dur-Dur Band — Secret Circuit's Shock Blast Remix

Awesome Tapes From Africa

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