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The innovative, radical soul of Guadeloupe explored across thirty years of contemporary gwoka music.

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As Guadeloupean vocalist and composer Marie-Line Dahomay writes in her liner notes to the compilation, gwoka is more than a style of music, it is “a way of living and thinking.”

Rooted in the social, musical and ritual practices of enslaved African people and their descendants on Guadeloupe, gwoka has always sought to express the spirit of independence and resistance authentic to the island.

Building on its traditional call-and-response form and the ideas of pivotal figures like Gérard Lockel and Christian Laviso, modern gwoka evolved throughout the second half of the twentieth century to include funk, jazz and electronic influences.

Defined by its propensity for innovation and experimentation, this compilation charts the most radical changes to modern gwoka, capturing a sensory riot of traditional répertoires, rhythms and makè techniques fused with a rich seam of genre-defying experimentation.

Whether heard in the deeply cosmic, spiritual music of Dao, Freydy Doressamy and Gaoulé Mizik, or the jazz funk inflections of Gui Konket and Horizon, the music here is united by the feeling of santiman ka, crucial not only to gwoka music but the identity of Guadeloupe at large.

As co-curator Cédric Lassonde writes: “What unifies these selections is the depth of the compositions, the experimentation around the santiman ka, and the spirit of resistance and liberation against slavery, be it modern or ancestral. With a thirst for innovation typical of the island’s creole culture, the ka spirit is deeply rooted in collective history and in a quest for identity.”

Co-curator Brandon Hocura continues: “The creative energy of these musicians is powerful and demonstrates a universal pursuit of resistance, freedom and identity. Their voices are distinct, but the chorus rises high and carries their message far across the sea.”

Released on double LP, L’Esprit Ka: New Directions in Gwoka Music from Guadeloupe 1981-2010 is the first compilation of its kind to bring the sound of modern gwoka to a wider audience, with many of the musicians features still active today.

Presented with typical attention to detail, the release features a specially commissioned essay by Guadeloupean musician Marie-Line Dahomey, and extensive liner notes from Cédric Lassonde and Séance Centre’s Brandon Hocura. 

True to the hybrid nature of the music, the compilation seeks not to provide a definitive sound, but express the variety of contemporary forms gwoka has grown to take. Just as Guadeloupean trailblazers Kassav fused gwoka with funk and cadence to create zouk, so did the musicians on this collection push gwoka in new directions rarely heard beyond its shores.

In the words of Gérard Lockel, “gwoka is the soul of Guadeloupe”.

Lèspri Ka : New Directions in Gwo Ka Music from Guadeloupe 1981-201

Dao - Chen'n La

https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/habibi-funk-018-the-slam-years-1983-1988

Hamid Al Shaeri -  Ayonha (Habibi Funk 018)

Olindo Records sister label Música Infinita presents the raw and uncompromising Afro Latin sound of Ray Perez and Los Kenya, one of the most interesting groups to spring out of the Venezuelan salsa scene in the late sixties, with a brand new remaster of their debut album ‘Siempre Afro-Latino’ set for release on May 27.

Siempre Afro-Latino

Los Kenya - Record En T.V.

Kalita are proud to unveil the first ever compilation focussing on the phenomenon of ‘Burger Highlife’, a crossover of West African melodies with synthesizers, disco and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the 1980’s and beyond. Highlighting key recordings from genre-defining artists including Thomas Frempong and George Darko, as well as more obscure sought-after tracks by elusive bands such as Aban and Uncle Joe’s Afri-Beat, Kalita come to the rescue of audiophiles, DJs and music-lovers alike with ‘Borga Revolution!’ Spread over a double-LP housed in a gatefold sleeve. Accompanied by a 16-page booklet featuring extensive interview-based liner notes on each artist and never-before-seen archival photos.

The 1970s had witnessed an increased Western airtime and physical presence in Ghana introducing funk, soul and disco sounds to the region. By the turn of the decade the country was also enduring economic turmoil, with rising poverty, military dictatorships and long periods of enforced curfews (amongst other factors) making it impossible for artists to survive.

As a result, many Ghanaian artists with a broader outlook began to pursue their careers in the West, moving to both Europe and America in search of stardom. It was here that Ghanaian musicians developed a digitised version of highlife music which fully embraced Western contemporary music styles and newly introduced technology such as the DX7 synthesizer and various drum machines.

It is in this context in which the evolution of Ghanaian dance music and the emergence of ‘burger highlife’ was born. With ‘Borga Revolution!’ Kalita endeavour to tell this story, with prominent and lesser-known musicians’ accounts and documentary evidence providing a comprehensive understanding of this shift to the digital age.

Borga Revolution! Ghanaian Dance Music In The Digital Age, 1983 - 1992 (Volume 1)

Mada Meho So

Buy Here!

A2. Thomas Frempong - Mada Meho So

Medo Menuanom (12" Version)

B1. George Darko - Medo Menuanom (12" Version)

Saxon lee & The Shadows international: Mind your buisness ( Dj Julien Lebrun edit)

Son Palenque - Tungalala (El Sapo)

In conjunction with compiler and highlife researcher Dr. Markus Coester, Soundway Records present a very special release. Double CD & triple 180g gatefold vinyl (with a bonus 7 inch).

This 45 includes the two first ever recordings by a certain Fela Ransome Kuti with his band The Highlife Rakers. Recorded by Melodisc in London in 1960 both tracks have been unearthed after more than fifty years in hiding.

In many ways this compilation is a prequel of sorts to Soundway's groundbreaking Nigeria & Ghana Special compilations, telling the early story of modern highlife's foundation & formulation. It traces the music from West Africa to London, adding elements of jazz, mambo and calypso along the way and paving the way for the afro sounds of the 1970s.

Accompanied by a 44 page CD booklet and 12 page vinyl booklet, the notes by Dr. Coester include rare photographs, labels and advert reproductions alongside some stunning and very rare recordings. 

Pre-order: 

Pre-order

Fela Ransome-Kuti & The Highlife Rakers - Fela’s Special

From the self-titled album 'Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band,' out June 15th on Strut. 

iTunes: http://geni.us/PatThomasKwashibu
Strut Store: http://bit.ly/PatThomasStrut

From the album liner notes:
‘Gyae Su’ is a rearrangement of an older song, with a guitar concept typical of the classic Kwa or Kumasi bands and an overall tropical style. Ebo Taylor’s horn arrangements evoke the classic Afro-funk vibe that he originally made famous. The lyrics are as catchy as they are plaintive, with Thomas comforting the listener, “Don’t cry! Life has its ups and downs. Just take it easy and don’t shed any tears.”

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Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band

Gyae Su

Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band - Gyae Su

New update of Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas classic! Out on Strut July 10th (digital) and September 4th (12").

http://www.strut-records.com
http://www.facebook.com/StrutRecords

Ene Nyame (Henrik Schwarz Blend)

Ebo Taylor / Pat Thomas / Henrik Schwarz - Ene Nyame 'A' Mensuro (Henrik Schwarz Blend)

https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/legend-of-funana-the-forbidden-music-of-the-cape-verde-islands

It is 1997. A quiet, unassuming man of 59 years old named Victor Tavares - better know as Bitori - walks into a recording studio for the first time. The result is a musical masterpiece - a recording which many consider to be the best Funaná album ever made.

Bitori´s musical adventure had begun long before this point. It was 1954 when he embarked on a journey across the seas to the island of Sao Tomé & Principe. The young man´s hope was to return to Cabo Verde with an accordion. 

Following two years of hard labour Bitori had succeeded in saving enough money to acquire what was to become his most valued possession, his cherished instrument. The two month journey back to Santiago, his island of birth, proved time enough to master it.

Self taught, Bitori developed his own style, an infectious blaze, that quickly caught the attention of the older generation. Before long Bitori was being asked to share his musical talents, igniting the local festivities around Praia with his music.

But not everybody welcomed the rural accordion-based sound. Perceived as a symbol of the struggle for Cape Verdean independence and frowned upon as music of uneducated peasants, Funaná was prohibited by the Portuguese colonial rulers. Performing it in public or in urban centres had serious consequences - often jail time and torture awaited musicians that were “caught in the act”. In light of such persecution the genre of Funaná began to slowly disappear.

In 1975 Cabo Verde achieved independence from Portuguese colonial rule. Along with Cabo Verde’s independence came a lifting of the ban placed on Funaná. The musical repercussions in Cabo Verde were plenty - many upcoming artists embraced Funaná, translating and adapting its musical form in new ways. It was not to be until the mid-1990’s, however, that Funaná in its traditional form was actually recorded.

It was a young singer from Tarafal, Chando Graciosa, who was to play a key role in this event. Upon hearing Bitori, Graciosa immediately felt drawn to Bitori's unique playing style - a raw and passionate sound accompanied by honest lyrics that reflected the harsh reality of the Cabo Verdean working class. He eagerly approached Bitori suggesting they join forces and travel overseas with the objective of taking Funaná beyond its rural roots.

The two of them, with others in tow, achieved their goal and travelled to Europe, introducing a receptive European audience to the vibrant energy of Funaná. Eventually Bitori returned to his beloved Cabo Verde. Graciosa opted to settle in Rotterdam in order to pursue his career - he vowed, however, to bring Bitori across to Holland at a later date to record an album.

In 1997 the time was ripe to immortalise the sound Bitori had shaped over a time span of four decades. Built around a formidable rhythm section, formed of drummer Grace Evora and bass player Danilo Tavares, "Bitori Nha Bibinha" was recorded. The recording catapulted Chando Graciosa to stardom, making him Cabo Verde´s No.1 interpreter of Funaná. The success in Cabo Verde was phenomenal and Funaná rapidly gained the recognition it deserved, especially in urban dance clubs. Bitori´s songs quickly became standards - classics known and loved throughout the country. The musical success, however, was solely limited to the Cabo Verdean islands - until now!

Analog Africa is proud to contribute to the worldwide promotion of Funaná - the once forbidden sound of the Cabo Verde archipelago - by releasing a worldwide re-issue of Bitori and Chando Graciosa´s legendary recording. 

The release will herald Bitori´s first European Tour taking place during the summer of 2016. Watch this space! And listen!

Legend of Funaná

Bitori - Bitori Nha Bibinha (Leave a comment for Victor Tavares aka "Bitori"....we will forward)

Support: http://radi.al/Hream
Follow: https://www.facebook.com/doughreamblunt
More info: https://www.doughreamblunt.com

Doug Hream Blunt learnt to play music at the age of 35, by taking an adult class in the late 1980s. The class was organized by a high school music teacher and his wife, and held in their small garage in the Golden Gate Park neighborhood of San Francisco. The other students of the class became Doug’s band members, while his teacher joined on vibes, and his wife on bass. To promote his music, Doug would play acoustic, solo shows for patients and elderly people at a hospital where he worked as a nurse’s aid. On a few occasions, he also brought the other students together to play on the City Visions Public Access television show.

My Name Is Doug Hream Blunt: Featuring the Hit Gentle Persuasion

Doug Hream Blunt - Gentle Persuasion

Kenya - The Lulus Band - Disco Ni Undigicite

Just 2 days ago I was sitting in a cafe during my recent trip for Lebanon and Egypt when Donald Trump announced his ban of muslim people visiting the USA marking another climax of xenophobia, anti muslim and anti Arabic narrative (الترجمة العربية أسفله).  At the same time I was in Cairo, a colorful, energetic and vital city that despite the cities and countries problems has not much in common with the stereotypical narrative of the Arabic world that is so largely told in the Western media. I’m aware that in times of these music is just a tiny piece of the puzzle to tell a different story but given that this is what I’m working with I felt it was the right time to drop another mix of music from Arabic tapes, vinyl and master tapes. Music that is very different to what a lot of people might expect. Straight up Chicago soul music with the „The Cats“, an Egyptian band covering „The Dells“, Lo-Fi electronic music from Sudan, tropical sounds from Cairo by "Al Massrieen", energetic disco from Algeria by „Zohra", another unknown banger by Morocco’s answer to James Brown „Fadoul“. Or what about some incredible AOR / yacht pop from Lebanon feat. Ziad Rahbani on keys with „Games“ and another little preview of our forthcoming „Ahmed Malek & Flako“ record among some other great music? Music that tells a different story, music to listen to when the world is going crazy and everything in between. #antitrumpmusic

قبل يومين، كنت جالسا في مقهى في القاهرة، حين أعلن دونالد ترامب منعه للمسلمين من زيارة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، مظهرا بذلك مظهرا آخر من العنصرية ضد المسلمين و العرب. 
في نفس ذلك الوقت، أنا كنت في القاهرة، مدينة مفعمة بالطاقة و الألوان، هذه المدينة التي رغم المشاكل التي تحيط بها، لا تشبه أي من الصور النمطية الشائعة على الإعلام الغربي.
إنني مدرك أنه خضم هكذا أجواء، الموسيقى لا تشكل سوا جزء صغير من الأحجية، و بما أنه المجال الذي اشتغل فيه، أحسست أنه الوقت المناسب لإصدار ميكس جديد من الموسيقى العربية. موسيقى مختلفة عن ما قد يتوقعه الناس. موسيقى السول مع " The cats"، فرقة موسيقية تعيد غناء أغاني "The Dells"، " لوفي" موسيقى الكترونية من السودان، انغام استوائية من القاهرة مع " AlMasrieen"، موسيقى ديسكو جزائرية مع "Zohra"، و أغنية مجهولة لصاحبها، جايمس براون المغرب فضول.
هناك أيضا موسيقى رائعة من فرقة لبنانية اسمها "Games" عزف فيها زياد الرحباني على البيانو.
 نبذة عن إصدارنا القادم و هو تسجيل " Ahmed Malek & Flako" مرفوق بموسيقى أخرى، موسيقى تستحق الاستماع إليها في الظروف التي يمر منها العالم في هذه الفترة

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"Habibi Funk 007 Mix" (More 1970s & 1980s sounds from the Arabic world #AntiTrumpMusic)

Soul Jazz Records Presents Hustle Sample Mix

http://time-capsule.space/portfolios/choice-works/

Artist: Yuji Toriyama (鳥山雄司)
Title: Choice Works 1982 - 1985
Gnere: Electronic, Jazz/Soul
Style: Fusion, Boogie, Disco
Label: Time Capsule
Cat Num: TIME002
Format: 180g heavy Vinyl. 45rpm loud cut. Obi for the first pressing. New original artwork by Ben Arfur.
Remastered: Tim Young, Metropolis Studios (Grammy Award Winner mastering engineer)
 
Tracklist:
A1: Night Together (1982) 
A2: Stranger In The Mirror (1983)
B1: Donna (1983)
B2: Maze (1985)
B3: Bay / Sky Provincetown 1977 (1985)

A1 - Night Together

Tim Maia, THE Brazilian Funk Soul Godfather was the real thing. His 1970 debut album introduced his audacious talent, as well as North American soul and funk musical influences, forever changing Brazilian popular music. His legendary appetites sought out carnal AND spiritual fulfillment in equal measure.  He bought 100 hits of LSD and handed them out to the staff of his record label. At the height of his mid-70s success he joined the Cult of Racional Energy; watching for spaceships while wearing only white clothes and playing only white instruments! Yet the two albums he recorded for the Cult are among his best. His songs search for love, and they dig into the existential. His own lyrics say it best: “I am so groovy now and I don’t care!”

'Ela Partiu' on iTunes

Tim Maia - Ela Partiu

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Far Out Recordings proudly presents two albums of previously unheard Azymuth demo recordings from 1973-75

Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock ‘n’ roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature ‘Samba Doido’ (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.
But before they became Azymuth, Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil.

Bertrami was also contracted as an arranger and songwriter at some the biggest labels of the era: Polydor, Philips, Som Livre, and EMI being just a few. Azymuth’s name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music - from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropicália on home turf - the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward.Any spare moment in which they weren’t in sessions and writing music for other artists, they would be carving out their own sound.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’.

One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.
When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was “blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.” Beginning a long and fruitful relationship, ‘Prefacio’ would be the first track Azymuth recorded for Far Out Recordings and was released on the Carnival album (1996).

Along with ‘Manhã’ and ‘Prefacio’, only a handful of these demos were ever professionally recorded and released, making this the first opportunity to hear many of these early Azymuth compositions in their raw, original form.

On every track the frenetic energy in the studio is palpable, giving the recordings a beautifully personal feel and a sense of the phenomenally creative vision Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti were realising at the time. Fifty years on, Azymuth’s earliest recorded music retains an ineffable, futuristic quality, standing amongst their most captivating and moving work.

Vinyl / CD / Digi

Azymuth - Manha

We present our first release of 2019 and the third in our initial Venezuelan trilogy of 45s. Featuring 2 original compositions by Caracas based multi-instrumentalist and composer Isaac Sasson with a remix on the flipside by London producer & drummer Hector Plimmer (Albert's Favourites).

Side A kicks off with "Paseo en un sueño", a short composition that reflects a dream that begins in the village of El Hatillo and ends at dawn in the hills of Caicaguana, its main theme is a beautiful flute melody played by Tomasito Garcia. As the instruments and vocals fade away, "Canción para mi familia, Venezuela" begins, with Isaac singing "esta melodia es especial para mi mamá, dedicada a mis abuelos, a mis hermanos y a mi papá". This song is a sort of mantra or prayer dedicated to Venezuela and Isaac's family and friends; its spiraling guitar riff and various percussion instruments quickly descending towards a chaotic state of bliss.

Hector Plimmer's remix on the B side reassembles elements from another Sasson original,  "Cantos Campesinos", focusing on a particular vocal motif. Hector retunes the rhythm to his purposes, building tension and borrowing a bell sound to raise it even further, before releasing a skittering drum pattern with plenty of swing and a heavy dose of low end. Before the song ends, Hector goes deeper, adding sensual synth chords and finally a flute-like synth solo to complete this musical trip that is surely destined to soundtrack a few hazy evenings this summer.

The music on this EP has been previously self-released by Isaac on his album "Memorias del canto campesino", but appears here for the first time on vinyl, limited to 300 copies.

Recorded at Estudios El Gran Misterio & Garabato Estudio. Caracas, Venezuela

Re-mastered for vinyl by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London

Isaac Sasson - Paseo en un sueño / Canción para mi familia, Venezuela

Available on Analog Africa No.13 - The Skeletal Essences of Afro Funk
Release date: April 30th

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