. first release of Nyami Nyami records in tribute to the late  Chiwoniso, a genius Zimbabwean singer and mbira player. 
. 350 copies limited edition 12'' / screen printed covers signed and numbered by artist Misheck Masamvu, each unique in color. Distribution by www.sofarecords.fr
. B side is a remix by Tendai 'Chimurenga Renaissance' Maraire, brother of Chiwoniso and one half of hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces
. release planned  on wednesday april the 15th

Chiwoniso - Zvichapera

Brazil 45, 44 – http://www.mrbongo.com/products/jorge-ben-xica-da-silva-myriam-makeba-xica-da-silva

A. Jorge Ben - Xica da Silva / AA. Myriam Makeba - Xica da Silva

Slightly delayed at the pressing plant, apologies.

Buy 7"

Miriam Makeba - Xica Da Silva

Satingarona Part.1

"El Terrón" The Bongo Hop Feat. Nidia Góngora

Artifacts

Bones

Mon Amour - Feat Mathieu Boogaerts

Federico Aubele - Ante Tus Ojos

Pre-Order: https://wonderwheelrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/5-star-motel

Grand Street Feast / Canción Del Rey

Buy / Pre-Order

Gitkin - Grand Street Feast

Akalé Wubé songs from the album "Mata" available for streaming.

Maryé

Today's premiere comes in the summer-ready shape of Blundetto's "Fly High". Perfect for hot & hazy dreamy days.

Ten years had passed since Blundetto's debut 'Bad Bad Things’, so he's celebrating a decade by reviving the same state of mind.   This time with additional collaborations, atmospheres, and musical styles. 

The old circle of friends remains (Hindi Zahra, General Electrics & Chico Mann) and this first slice into newer more sophisticated openings of Blundetto, comes in the offering of 'Fly High' featuring Hindi Zahra on vocals.  

This first single from his LP 'Good Good Things' due in June, shows us once again that Blundetto's knack for blissed out production is ever present, along with the of excitement that more good good things are in store.

Good Good Things

Fly High

Exclusive Premiere: Blundetto "Fly High" feat. Hindi Zahra (forthcoming on Heavenly Sweetness)

Mulatu Astatke (born 1943; surname sometimes spelled Astatqé) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz.

Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics - An Epic Story

Jupiter & Okwess International's international debut album Hotel Universtakes you right into the heart and onto the streets of modern day Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a politically and economically troubled country. Band leader Jupiter Bokondji is the charismatic and outstanding representative of the innovative scene of street musicians in Kinshasa, a scene which became internationally well-known through the success of Staff Benda Bilili, a band who they shareclose ties with. His idea is to reactivate the forgotten rhythms and melodies of Congo, by injecting the urban groove of the city. “At independence in 1960, the country was in good condition, utilities worked. But our parents were unable to pass the idependence "test", they blew it, they were given the chance but they messed upand they created a sacrified generation”,Jupiter says, “but I'm not interested in the past. What matters now is to lay the foundations for our children and grandchildren.”

When Jupiter wants time off from the daily hustle on the streets of Kinshasa, he rents a room at Hotel Univers. There he can hide from the noise of the streets and seek new inspiration. Many of the ideas of his songs were made up between his room and the bar where he drinks whisky and meets the characters that roam the streets of Kinshasa at night. The song “Magerita” is dedicated to the dangerously attractive women in Kinshasa's nightlife. It became an immediate hit in Lemba, the area on the outskirts of Kinshasa where Jupiter is from. He identifies with this place where many better educated people stay still struggling to find a job.

The middle class is small in Congo and many of the country's riches leave the country immediately or end up in the hands of a small elite. “Bapasi” has become a common expression for the daily life struggles of the community in Lemba. It is a catchphrase people use to search for new motivation in order to tackle their daily difficulties – for instance when the public cleaning service doesn't work, the people in Lemba decided to take care of cleaning up the streets themselves. 

Jupiter, who refers himself to be the 'rebel general' of Congolese music, doesn't see the richness of the country in its mineral resources of coltan and diamonds but in the undiscovered talents. “The material is but an elution,“ he sings in the song “Bakwapanu”, “but only the spiritual remains eternal”.Unlike many of the commercial successful Congolese pop-stars, he doesn't want to praise the ones in power, but relies on the musical richness of the county. To him big musical stars like Kofi Olomide or Werrason often wash down the musical heritage, when their connection to the ones in power as well as their fancy dresses becomes more important than the music itself. Jupiter knows that he won't be at the top of mainstream music in Congo, a place that is quite conservative when it comes to pop music. But he has a brighter vision.

Through his music Jupiter tries to encourage people to take the future into their own hands. Instead of seeking a better future and immediate wealth by emigrating to the west, common expections shown in many local pop music video clips, he wants people to draw from the talents they already have. “I saw how immigrants struggled in Europe and didn't want this for my life. I wanted to make something for my country. I realized that it is my mission to bring a new sound into the Congolese music."

Jupiter has indeed seen this himself. In 1974, as a young boy, he left the Congo to go to East Germany with his father who was appointed executive assistant for the Congo's embassy in Germany. There he spent his adolescence and discovered Europe and its vibrant music scene, and artists such as the Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and James Brown. He set up his own rock band called Der Neger (The Negro) with fellow young Berliners. Their sound was a strange cocktail of Mongo percussions and Zeppelin-esque guitar. The song “The world is my land (Deutschland)” he captures the experiences of this period of his life.

At the age of 20 his father’s mandate ended, and Jupiter went back to the bubbling 80s Kinshasa, his head full of dreams, glory and sounds unimaginable to most of his friends. He left the family home, earning a living singing at funerals and playing percussion in several local orchestras. "From 18 to 20 years, I have lived as a street child. To earn some money, I was doing music in traditional ceremonies. I worked with families from all ethnic groups in the country, this is how I was able to discover the richness of our heritage." He started developing his own unique style, surrounding himself with musicians from Europe. He named this explosive mix 'Bofenia Rock' and in 1983, succeeded in forming his first orchestra, Bongofolk. Then in 1990 he founded his own band: Okwess international. The band developed a vision of a new Congolese sound experimenting with the musical heritage of a nation with more than 450 different ethnicities.

In early 2004, Jupiter met two French travellers, Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye. The connection was immediate, so much so that the Barret and de la Tullaye returned to record the songs of Okwess International and other groups surrounding Jupiter, such as Staff Benda Bilili. "I knew something like this would happen, I was convinced."Jupiter's Dance, a film documenting his musical exploration was released in 2007. On screen, we see his slender silhouette exploring the various districts of Kinshasa, discovering talent artists undiscovered and unknown by the rest of the world. Little Jupiters, he calls them. "Today, there are plenty of young bands who are like me to do music research, dipping into our historical resources. My mission is accomplished transmission. Even if I disappear today, I achieved my goal." The film became his international introduction and worldwide recognition. Damon Albarn ofBlur and Gorillaz fame worked with him on several projects including the electronic album DRC Music - Kinshasa One Two (Warp). Albarn also invited him to perform at the 2012 Africa Express tour in the UK. Jupiter and his band also toured the world with Amadou & Mariam.

After an extensive tour around Africa, Jupiter & Okwess International will be on tour in Europe from May 2013. His debut album will be released on 20 May. Later this year a collection of remixes will be released, including 3D (Massive Attack), Spoek Mathambo, Aero Manyelo and DJ Mo.

Further Links:
Website Artist:  http://www.jupiter-okwess-international.com/Website 
Release: www.outhere.de/homeroots/releases/jupiter-okwess-international/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JupiterAndOkwessInternational
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/okwessinternational
YouTube: http://youtu.be/fGyPKv-jfqI
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/outhererecords/jupiter-okwess-international
Jupiter's Dance trailer: http://youtu.be/TxkaVmpgHcs


Tourdates: 

18/05/2013 Music Meeting - Nijmegen NL (The Netherlands) 
19/05/2013 Festival Musique Métisse - Angoulême (France) 
22/05/2013 Bee Flat - Bern (Switzerland) 
23/05/2013 La Rodia - Besançon (France) 
24/05/2013 La Bellevilloise - Paris (France) 
25/05/2013 Festival Mix' Terres - Blois ( France ) 
28/05/2013 Festival Mawazine - Rabat (Morocco) 
28/06/2013 Glastonbury Festival - Pilton (UK) 
19/07/2013 Festival Terre de Couleurs - St Croix Volvestre (France) 
20/07/2013 Festival Détours du Monde - Chanac (France) 
27/07/2013 Festival Fiesta Sete - Sete (France) 
28/07/2013 Olympic Park - London (Uk) 
07/08/2013 Oya Festival - Oslo (Norway) 
09/08/2013 Flow Festival - Helsinki (Finland) 

And more dates to be announced soon!

Jupiter & Okwess International - Margerita

It is now nearly 18 years of exploring urban Africa. Countless trips to the buzzing megacities of Africa from Lagos, to Accra, Nairobi, Dakar or Jozi. But we also visited remote places such as Asmara the capital of Eritrea or Lusaka in Zambia. Back then we soon realized that the unknown side of Africa was not its exotic traditions, but the booming urban scenes on the continent. Now in 2022 with styles like Afrobeats, Gqom, Afrohouse or Trap Africa is finally starting to reach the international markets.

Back then we asked ourselves: How come not a single kwaitostar from South Africa had an album out internationally. How come the international music market ignored the most popular music styles Africa was dancing to: Kwaito, Bongoflava, Hiplife, Afrohouse, Coupe Decaller … you name it. There was work to do. Work that took us to meet Jo’burgs kwaito cats, dive into the Bongoflava world of Dar es Salaam, meet people like a young 2face, D'Banj, Pee Square and others in Lagos or check out the Hiplife scene in Accra. We celebrated Urban Africa with concerts and tourprojects featuring the likes of Mzekezeke, Bongomuffin, D’Banj, Pee Froiss, Daara J, African China & many many others. Putting out compilations that introduced urban scenes such as Bongo Flava, Afrohouse, Senerap & Naija hiphop to an audience outside of Europe. The new urban music world was growing in Africa – but the rest of the world was just waking up to this new sound. We ended up sitting in a stretch limo end of the 90ies driving down Champs d’Elysee with Magic System. They had just dropped their major hit premier Gaou. In London to the Stratford Rex had 2Face take the stage playing his first show outside of Nigeria. 

Then the journey of Outhere records took a new direction in 2006. It all happend in a Pizza restaurant in Bamako. Bassekou Kouyate gave a relaxed early evening gig together with the likes of Kassemady, Lassana Diabate and other stars of Malian music – together with Westafrican music scholar Lucy Duran it was decided on the spot to record the international debutalbum of Bamako‘s king of the ngoni. The result was ‚Segu Blue‘ an album that became one of the world music successes of 2007. With three albums under his belt Bassekou Kouyate and his band have played everywhere from Mexico to Japan, to New York Central Park, Carnegie hall or London's Royal festival hall. The band has collected numerous awards, a Grammy nomination and has appeared 2 times on BBC‘s Jools Holland.

Today Outhere records works with artists from all over Africa celebrating all kinds of styles. There is the young and inclredible Mokoomba from Zimbabwe, who have fused the different local musicgenres of their country into a new urban style. It's an infectious blend of zamrock, congolese rumba guitars mixed with the raw spirituality of rural Zim traditions. From Accra, Ghana comes our other incredible liveact: Santrofi, named after a colourful bird. This collective is made up of some of the greatest young musicians from Ghana blending raw guitarband Highlife with contemporary afrobeats and trap styles. Never miss any of their shows.  

here's a list of artists we've worked with:
Abass Abass / A.B. Crentsil / AK Yeboah / Afande Sele / African China / Afrikanboy / Afroganic / Alif / Awadi / AY / Azadus / Baay Sooley / Bantu / Bassekou Kouyate / Batman Samini / Bebe Cool / Bongo Maffin / Brown Dash / B.O.P. / C.B.V. / Carlou D /  Da Brains / Da Fugitivz / Danfo Drivers / Daniel Haaksmann / Daz Nundaz / Dede Mabiaku / Djoloff /Dully Sykes / Dread Maxim / D’banj / Dur Dur Band Int. / East African Bashment Crew / Faze / Gidigidi MajiMaji / Godessa / Gokh-Bi System / H2O / JJC & 419 Squad / Juma Nature / Kassemady Diabate / King Ayisoba / Kontihene / KwabenaKwabena / Kwaku-T / K’Naan / K-Sal / Lady JayDee / Leo Muntu / Les Escrocs / Lobi Traore / Lord Ekomy Ndong / Madera Limpia / Mafikizolo / Magic System / Mandoza / Mapaputsi / Modenine / Mokoomba / Mr. Ebbo / Mwana FA / Mzekezeke / Necessary Noize /  Ofori Amponsah / Oskido / Pee Froiss / Peter Miles / Pidgen Allstars / Positive Black Soul / Professor Jay / Rebellion the Recaller / Reggie Rockstone / Revolution / Rokia Traoré / Santrofi / Sbu / Schlachthof Bronx /  Sheriff Ghale Tata Pound / Teba Shumba / Terry Bonchaka / Tiken Jah Fakoly / Tumi / Tumi and the Volume /  V.I.P / WA BMG 44 / Weird MC / X Plastaz / Xuman / Zola / Zoumana Tereta / Zubz / 340ml / 994 Crew /

Jupiter & Okwess International - Margerita

OuthereRecords

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