This music takes me on a journey to distant lands, love it!

Bro. Amazing session. Could you share the Juan Luis Guerra - Vale La Pena (Toribio Edit) track?

modrums

“Zooming In” is a mix series focusing on African countries that the world seldom hears from and listens to. The selection is mostly composed of songs that haven’t been commercially released and float around in ephemeral online libraries.

♬ ♬ ♬

The rich and gorgeous music of the landlocked Central African Republic is little-known outside of its borders, and much of it has to do with decades of authoritarian rule and the ongoing civil war plaguing the country since the beginning of the 21st century: state support for the arts comes last when infrastructures crumble under the weight of war. 

Things haven't always been this grim though. The country was host to a vibrant scene in the 60’s and 70’s following its independence from France in 1958. Local legends such as prolific songwriters and bandleaders Prosper Mayélé (Tropical Jazz, Vibro Succès) and Thierry Yézo (Formidable Muziki, Tropical Fiesta) would play Bangui’s celebrated clubs like the Rex, Ciel d’Afrique and the Dragon Rouge and often hit the regional road with success.

Beyond crafting its own flavours of Rumba and Soukous due to the overbearing influence of two neighboring Congos during this "golden age", Centrafrique has nurtured its own fascinating set of musical roots due to its dozen of ethnical groups such as the Ak(k)a Pygmies living in the equatorial rainforest and the Oubanguins ("gens du fleuve") who dwell on the river edge and speak Sango, a language creolized with French and the country's other official language.
 
Nowadays, while some mimic other African or occidental trends, many Centrafrican musicians strive to keep their uniqueness alive. They pay the price by being overlooked in favor of domineering neighbours such as Cameroon and the D.R.C., which benefit from older and stronger musical ecosystems. When scouring the web, one finds a dizzying amount of low-quality uploads of high-quality tracks with frantic beats, intricate polyrhythms and mesmerizing polyphonies such as the yodel-sounding singing stemming from the Ak(k)a Pygmies. Dance and trance-inducing rhythms such as the Montè Nguènè ("pleasure" in Mbati) also derive from a celebrated Ngbaka Pygmy tradition from the Lobaye and were popularized by the band Zokela in the 80’s. The multi-layered genre has become the poster child for Centrafrique’s own musical identity on both rural und urban dancefloors.

Special thanks go to active YouTube uploaders such as Fred Yapande and Paul Cyriaque Sémaporo ("Sous Le Manguier"), as well as producer Didace Sabone ("Shogi Productions"). The digital store "Jowice Music" led by Guy Thierry Alima has also been a formidable source of songs.

♬ ♬ ♬

00:00 ·  Super Stars - Quartier Consigné
00:26 · Zokela de Centrafrique - Nostalgie de zokela
03:17 · Canon Star - The Yankata
04:17 · M Wanawa - Ceci-cela
07:19 · Formidable Musiki - Ti laso a ounzi awe
09:28 · JMC Quartier libre - Quartier libre
10:16 · Abakinlin de Bangassou - Gbèlin mando
12:26 · Ndaï Ndaï - Intrépide
15:31 · Francis Gon - Caresse des Les
20:21 · Gbadora - Gombana Bororo
22:28 · Vey-Zo - Ya Soso
25:04 · Losseba Ngoutiwa - Mensonge (Nvènè)
28:35 · Ozaguin - ?
31:54 · ? - ?
35:24 · Laskino Ngomateke - Soifa Tene
37:48 · Williano - Wambangana
39:30 · Zokela - Injection
42:39 · Les Yakuza de Centrafrique - Gbadouma
45:10 · Marina Reason - Ye ti kekereke
48:16 · Majora - Wa Vrin
50:31 · Canon Stars - Cousin
52:25 · Ashem & Senat Or Fée - Centro love
54:39 · Sultan Zembellat - Rebecca
58:42 · Centrafrican Jazz - Promesse
1:00:53 · Orchestre Vibro Succès - Dounia
1:04:42 · ? - Dikoboda Sombe

Zooming In, Vol. 3 · Central African Republic

(Scroll for tracklist with timecodes)

One of the go-to terms for anything “tropical” nowadays, Zouk is a music genre born in the late 70’s in the French Antillean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Zouk's first iteration was crafted by the band Kassav’ when bandleaders Desvarieux and Décimus longed for a local "Disco-type music”, thus proudly proposing their own homegrown brand of pop. Carved around the foundation of an infectious pattern carried by hi-hat cymbals, Zouk was created as a weapon to elevate the status of frowned-upon Antillean cultural practices. It was a powerful response to the musical and political domination of France and other regions of the Caribbean. Kassav' paved the way for the groundbreaking genre to become both culturally relevant and commercially viable beyond the Antilles, reaching a career high in 1985 with a global hit in which they cheekily claim that Zouk is "the only medicine they need".

Borrowing elements from the neighboring islands - such as Cadence-lypso from Dominica and Compas from Haiti - Zouk’s signature sound was also shaped by the tools from the burgeoning digital age, as musicians and producers embraced the MIDI technology with its promise of fun through loop-programming. Many of these eager pioneers jumped head in and didn't shy from manufacturing anvil-sounding snare drums, wacky vocal modulations, epic horns, saturated bass and sexy synths... all of it duly drenched in reverb!

Perceived right away by some stiff necks as low-brow entertainment inducing lewd motions of the hips, Zouk was actually the result of incredibly sophisticated recording technology and visionary talent. Although derided in the distant French “métropole” - with hits from bands such as “La Compagnie Créole” and “Zouk Machine” relegated to camping and carnival DJ playlists - Zouk invaded the African continent within a decade. The familiarity of Zouk’s underlying rhythm spoke to many through the deep and complex web of pre-slavery roots connecting Africa to the Caribbean.

Whereas most white French music snobs disregarded Zouk as a synonym for bad taste and cheesy regionalism - sometimes with the racist tinge of colonial contempt - African listeners loved it for what it was: a kick-ass beat to sweat to, especially while dancing close to a partner. Since the early 80’s, African musicians have been paying homage to the couple-friendly genre, quoting words from the creole lexicon (“Doudou”) and blending in their own territorial twists: be it in francophone (Makossa, Rumba, Soukous) or lusophone countries (Tarraxinha, Kizomba, Coladeira). A lot of Afro Zouk legends actually met, hung out and worked in recording studios and DJ booths of the cosmopolitan city of Paris, which has been acting as the cross-pollinating hub of French-speaking black diasporas since the 70's.

00:00 · Kibwe - La Nuit des Noces (D.R.C.)
05:08 · Angelina Tezanou - Poison (Cameroon)
07:29 · Tunis de Lálá - Cabo Verde (Cabo Verde )
10:02 · Sekouba Bambino - Irréprochable (Guinea)
12:51 · Zo Gang International - Bébé Bonbon (Ivory Coast)
15:11 · Petit Tchadien - Pauvret (C.A.R.)
19:04 · Saluky System - Silvia (Guinea Bissau)
21:47 · Elvis Kemayo · Les Divorcés (Cameroon)
24:47 · Projecto Universo - Zouk Love (Ivory Coast)
27:39 · Kanda Bongo Man - Nzambe (D.R.C.)
30:24 · Americo Gomes - Indijan (Guinea Bissau)
33:14 · Júlio Silva Band - Mozambique a Xonguile (Angola)
35:48 · La Diva Samra - Yenaladha (Comoros)
38:28 · Idi Sarki - Rouwan Zouma (Niger)
41:07 · Shakira Shakiraa - Teriba (Uganda)
43:01 · Nimon Toki Lala - Fous Moi Le Camp (Togo)
45:18 · Bétika - Je l'aime (Ivory Coast)
47:13 · Boy Ge Mendes - Kompa Semba (Cabo Verde)
50:40 · Keke Kassiry - Bakwonon Zo Gnimadere (Ivory Coast)
52:22 · Kumbi Saleh - Eku Egbemi (Ghana)
56:42 · Tchico Tchicaya - Escale aux antilles (D.R.C.)
1:00:22 · Woya - Êwê (Ivory Coast)
1:02:53 · Lady Isa - Kuteleza Si Kwanguka (D.R.C.)

Afro Zouk, Vol. 2 • Bonded By Beat

Last two hours of a recent five hour set at Ace Hotel. From rara-house to rara-disco to rara-jazz, latin funk to latin house to latin jazz... with lots of other goodies along the way ;) not perfect but hey I was having fun and taking risks, what else is life about?

Ace Hotel 3.31.22

A mix centered around the sound of 90s/early 00s era Funaná from Cabo Verde. Intertwined with Soukous from Guinea-Bissau and a bit of Kuduro fusion from Angola, this hour is a fast paced journey around Lusophone Africa built to make you dance, enjoy!

Tracklist

Pilon - S'ta Contente
Camilo Domingos - Dinheiro
Chacha di Charmi - Sabichona
Djau & Fa Star - Moreninhas
Chandinho Dede - Funaná Cu Duro
Jacqueline Fortes - Coopéranti
Elida Almeida - Amigu
Pulonga'l Bita - Tchotchi
Varela Monteiro Bodinho - Tarrafal
Jorge Neto - Bitcho Ferado
Bela - Sima Na Moda
Jakeliny - Txupa Dedu
Netos de Cabral - Nha Intençao (feat. Paulo Tavares)
Sandrinha - Kusa Sta Mudado
Tota Lopi - Catchor Ta Micha So Ku 1 Pe

Island Time Radio: Mix 54 - Funaná Special

A hot set from an epic night with dj tres dos, modrums and mixtiii at the controls.
Max Rambhodjan - Tou't Jou Pa Min'm
Irmãos Almeida - Ngapa (modrums edit)
Juan Luis Guerra - Vale La Pena (Toribio Edit)
Ebo Taylor - Mumudey Mumudey - Nick the Record Remix
El Houssine Taouse - ?
DZgot - Bout Konpa (Branko Edit)

a hot minute - modrums @ Zona Libre @ Black Flamingo 5.19.23

Open-World w/ Xela explores a wide range of spaces on the thresholds between contemporary electronic music and provincial, folk traditions across the globe. Each episode will focus on a particular sound, usually outside the bubble of western commercialized, 'global' music categorizations. Expect anything from Dabke, to Cumbia, Kwaito, Séga, Raï, Bhangra, Funaná and more in-between and beyond.

Special Guest ~ Roma Music Archive 

Listen live - 2nd Saturdays, 3-4PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
Fazlija - Helikopter
Muharrem Ahmet/Cita Kral - Babo
Cansever - Hey Hey
İzmirli Taylan - Haydi Şimdi Oynamaya
DJ Yılmaz/Kobra Murat - 3 MAYMUN
İzmir'li Ömer - Barbi Roman Ritim Show
EFEKAN ÜNLÜ/EROL BALPARMAK - KOŞARLI ÇİFTETELLİ
Kobra Murat - Kaliteyiz Markayız Havalıyız
Alemdağlı Alişan - Zombie
Kibariye - Tepecikli
Sotis Volanis - San to tsigaro me katastrefis
ΒΑΙΟΣ ΠΟΛΥΖΟΣ ΕΛΑ ΠΑΛΑΜΑΝΤΕ ΑΜΑΛΑ.ΣΤΟΥΝΤΙΟ ΑΝΔΡΙΚΟΣ ΣΤΕΛΙΟΣ ΣΑΛΗΣ ΣΤΟΙΧΟΥΣ ΣΤΕΛΙΟΣ ΣΑΛΗΣ
Σαραντης Σαλεας & Ελενη Βιταλη - Κι αναρωτιεμαι
Azis - Kazhi Chestno
Motrat Mustafa - Oda Mbush Me Burra
STEFCHO BEND - Ritam TALLAVA
Lejla - Zumadi
Sasho Jokera - Parenge hoilanena
Ork Djodji Bend - О клавири те пабареса
Rigó Mónika - Szép Az Élet
Vlăduța Lupău/Sandu Ciorba - Ciocolata romaneasca
Nótár Mary - Csigabiga/Rák egye ki
Horváth Family - Te Leszel A Menyasszonyom
Vali Vijelie - M-am jurat pe tiganeste
Printesa de Aur - Uita-Te la Mine
F.Charm/Nea Fane - Egalitate
Zejna - Saoroma
Fanni Tähti - Rosita
Lucas Maia - Quero Esta Cigana
Nininho Vaz Maia - Calon
Canelita/C de Cama/Tino JJ - Dale Comba - Remix
Dj Rumbero518 - Rumbas Portuguesas
Dj Jesús machado - MÚSICA CIGANA
Rumbero518 - rumba portuguesa es que casari
Romaní/MD Chefe/AJ Wav - Bandolero

Open-World w/ Xela & Roma Music Archive - 11JAN2025

Open-World w/ Xela explores a wide range of spaces on the thresholds between contemporary electronic music and provincial, folk traditions across the globe. Each episode will focus on a particular sound, usually outside the bubble of western commercialized, 'global' music categorizations. Expect anything from Dabke, to Cumbia, Kwaito, Séga, Raï, Bhangra, Funaná and more in-between and beyond.

Listen live - 2nd Saturdays, 3-4PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

Due to the nature of how these tracks were found it's difficult to put together a tracklist. If you want to know a specific song just ask id on the mix and we'll do our best to send appropriate links/info.

Open-World w/ Xela - 08FEB2025

From late night sessions of frenetic drumming, singing and trumpets and teenagers shaking their "waists" by the light of the moon, to hard-driving studio simpa tracks with drum machines, vst synths and auto-tuned vocals, simpa is an evolving neo-traditional popular music of the Dagomba people of Northern Ghana that is rarely heard outside of the region. We visit Tamale and the surrounding villages, meet pioneering producer DJ Ebony at his barber shop studio and star singers including Dickson Gawan, Yaa Naraa and Bala Zaaku and dance along with the Nyanshegu simpa group See Is Believing.

Special thanks to:

“Kumtili” Latif Umar Mohammed and Saeed Alhassan Dawuni for translation. To Ebony, Tahid Abu and Mohammed Razak for all their generosity with their materials, contacts and time and Saeed Alhassan Dawuni for everything: transportation, translation, recording and filming assistance, context and friendship; thanks Mohammed Alidu for accommodations in Tamale and use of Bizung School for interviews; thanks to Dave Ewenson for sharing your research and original materials.

PA 034
Produced by Morgan Greenstreet

Planet Afropop - Simpa Sonics: Neo-traditional dance music from Northern Ghana

Open-World w/ Xela explores a wide range of spaces on the thresholds between contemporary electronic music and provincial, folk traditions across the globe. Each episode will focus on a particular sound, usually outside the bubble of western commercialized, 'global' music categorizations. Expect anything from Dabke, to Cumbia, Kwaito, Séga, Raï, Bhangra, Funaná and more in-between and beyond.

Listen live - 2nd Saturdays, 3-4PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
Bağlamacı İbo - Bomba Grani
Rojgül - Mındit Kizek Delilo
Heval Remzi - Yara Mına Bedewe
Hozan Tekin - Zırav Zırav
Azad Medya - Ez Vi Govendê Zanım
Fırat Production - Tulum Halayı
Koma Zerdeşte Kal - Narînê
Serkan Aktar - Kronos Mejwez Arabic Tulum
Havin Müzik - Ayşoke Halay
Aziz Waisi - Xeşxeş
Hozan Muzaffer - Fehima
Cahid batmani - Hoynar Tew Nar
Bismilli Zeko - Vayi Here
Bağlamacı İbo - Cida
Koma Zerdeşte Kal - Zimanê Kurdî

Open-World w/ Xela - 12April2025

Open-World w/ Xela explores a wide range of spaces on the thresholds between contemporary electronic music and provincial, folk traditions across the globe. Each episode will focus on a particular sound, usually outside the bubble of western commercialized, 'global' music categorizations. Expect anything from Dabke, to Cumbia, Kwaito, Séga, Raï, Bhangra, Funaná and more in-between and beyond.

Listen live - 2nd Saturdays, 3-4PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
Tina Dakouri - Gbeghi
Allah Therese & N'goran Laloi - Ma houa ba
Chantre Maguy & Cécile - Fassou
Antoinette Konan - Heyo N'gbin
Mossia - N'tobeni
Bella Nika - Koklo
Tonton Etienno - Bera
TINA DE CHRIST - A Faman
N'dri Koffi Kaket - Mawaba
Antoinette Allany - Sois Moi fidèle
Princesse Taï - Hommage au Peuple Baoulé
N'Guess Bon Sens - Yabahowé
Antoinette Allany - Eyakande

Open-World w/ Xela  - June 2025

🌐 Refuge Worldwide is a radio station and community space based in Berlin-Neukölln.
➡️ More info, more music: www.refugeworldwide.com

Help us stay on air by donating to our fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-refuge-worldwide-community-radio

Is This Afrobeats? - modrums - 24 Jul 2025

"Local Legends" is a mix series introducing African musicians who are considered legends in their home country, without having reached the same level of recognition and success internationally.

+ + +

Jane Nyambura (1965 – 2010) was a Kenyan benga musician performing in Kikuyu language. She was born in Kangema (Murang'a County) and started her career in 1984 as a back-up vocalist for Mbiri Young Stars. She formed her own band Queenja Les Les and released her debut album "Ndorogonye" in 1991.

I have long been addicted to the catchy melodies of her songs, in awe of the minimalistic efficiency of the guitar and keyboard hooks. Her vocals, often doubled or tripled by herself to create an eerie wall of words, cut through any sets of speakers and bounce around in playful call-and-responses with the instruments.

African Studies teacher specialized in Kenyan popular culture Maina Radasafi wrote the following in her obituary for the Daily Nation:

"Wikipedia is not representative of the space that this fallen heroine of Kikuyu popular music has occupied in the Kenyan social imaginary and the cultural scene. Queen Jane will be remembered as the trendsetter of Kikuyu secular music by women. Apart from the Nyakinyua dancers in the ’50s and ’60s, the voices of Kikuyu women were largely muted.

When Queen Jane entered the fray, she fused the old and the new, in terms of lyrics and tunes. In her initial recordings, she would include the traditional folk form "mucungw’a "within contemporary benga. On her album covers, she was dressed in traditional Gikuyu community attire; in muthuuru, which was a skirt made of skin, and huge earrings, known as hang’i. 

Most of contemporary Kikuyu musicians have been products of Queen Jane’s magnanimity. Queen Jane also mentored her younger sisters, Lady Wanja and Princess Aggie, as well as her brother Dr. Michuki, who are now musicians in their own right. 

Her thematic concerns are expressed in the musician’s mastery of the Kikuyu language, and her choice of words clearly captures the idioms of everyday life among Kenyans. In most of her songs, she has directly attacked patriarchal hegemony. Her song "Arume Majini" ("Men are Ghosts") was inspired by an increase in the number of rape and defilement cases in Kenya. This is the same theme echoed in her hit song  "Guka Nindarega" ("I refused to be married to an old man"). In "Nyumburira", she laments that the friends of her lover are discouraging him from continuing with their relationship simply because she is a musician. Queen Jane was never apologetic about her feminist stance, as she once declared: “The fact that men are among my greatest fans simply means that I am telling the truth.”

However, her strong lyrics against men’s abuses have triggered a continuous dialogue in gender relations in the Kikuyu music. Some of her songs attest to the problems she has had to contend with in a career that is male-dominated, and where female musicians are easily mistaken for pros­titutes.

Her music has also been well known for carrying social messages. In her song "Tunua Baggy" ("Loose mouths"), she denounces gossips and rumour mongers. Her repertoire is notable in depicting class consciousness: she was the voice of the voiceless such as orphans, widows, matatu drivers and hawkers who were met with brutality from state officials at the onset of multi-party democracy the early 90's.

Queen Jane died of meningitis in Nairobi after a spell of illness. In death, her music still commands a huge following on YouTube. Her stature as the leading Kikuyu popular musician will remain etched in the memories of many a fan of her benga beat."

00:00 · Hodi Hodi
02:55 · Arata Kuna
06:14 · Ndorogonye
09:00 · Nyina Wa Hardcore
13:06 · Mukingo
16:21 · Murata
19:31 · Ningwendete
22:36 · Tunua Baggy
25:01 · Nyumba Kileleshwa
27:36 · Arûme Nî Njegeni

Local Legends · Queen Jane

God bless the people & soundsystem at LSD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Enjoy this 3hr long deep dive into music magic from the likes of Biosphere, Earthtones, Sheela Bringi, MPU101, Relaxer, Ogoya Nengo And The Dodo Women's Group, Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, The Joy, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, aya, Andrea Taeggi, NEW YORK, FFT, Chypho, Mika Vainio + Ryoji Ikeda + Alva Noto, DIPTERA, Renick Bell & O$VMV$M. 

Recorded on May 15, 2025.

Akanbi Presents Mind Expanding Sounds At LSD 051525

Miramar Mixtape 060 -  IBM Doily (U.S)

Tracklist:
Intro (featuring a word from Arrow & Ras Shorty I)

1. GBM Nutron - Calypso
2. David Rudder - High Mas
3. Leston Paul & The New York Connection - Do Wah Yuh Want
4. Fab 5 - Good Buddy
5. Calypso Rose ft. Machel Montano - Leave Me Alone
6. Devon Matthews - D Journey
7. Voice - Far From Finished
8. Olatunji & System 32 - Midnight Cruise
9. Machel Montano - Fast Wine

Bunji Speaks: Carnival is Woman

10. Alison Hinds, Destra & Denise Belfon - Obsessive Winers
11. Angela Hunte - Big Drum Beat
12. FayAnn Lyons - Girls
13. Bunji Garlin - Big Bad Soca
14. Ultimate Rejects - Full Extreme (Riddim Master Roadmix)
15. Kes the Band & Kernal Roberts - Shake
16. Weird Together ft. RemBunction - Going Back to Trinidad 
17. Rupee - I’ll Be Okay
18. Preedy - Away
19. Aaron Duncan - Can You Feel It Can You Feel It
20. Lyrikal ft. Kes - Unlimited Vibes
21. Blaxx - Rankin Ting
22. Destra - Waistline Killer
23. Lyrikal - Picture Perfect
24. Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin - Buss Head (Robzilla Edit)
25. Benjai Ft. Scarface - Tanty Say
26. Rikki Jai - Leh We Fete (Razorshop Road Mix)
27. Sekon Sta - Kings & Queens
28. Olatunji - OLTL (One Life To Live) 
29. Bunji Garlin - Carnival Tabanca (MeLo-X GodMix)

Outro

RIDDIM & SOUL, VOL. 3

Musician, DJ, journalist, based in NYC @zonalibredjs

modrums (Morgan Greenstreet) is a drummer, DJ, journalist and radio producer based in New York City. He’s a resident DJ of Zona Libre with dj tres dos. modrums approaches his DJ sets with an ear to the sonic footprint of the African diaspora, drawing on an impressive collection built from his years as a radio producer and a musician and shaped by his frequent travels through Europe, West Africa and the Caribbean. He plays with a sense of tension and release, emotion and humor, merging roots, retro pop and current aesthetics into a singular experience of communal joy.

a hot minute - modrums @ Zona Libre @ Black Flamingo 5.19.23

modrums

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