Soulful! I can imagine myself there - watching local music history being made. Then...the tempo 100% changes...yo yo yo

1st Single of compilation "Saturno 2000 - La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962 - 1983"

In 2010, I had asked Eamon Ore-Giron - aka DJ Lengua - if he would be interested in compiling a Latin project for Analog Africa, and if so, if he had a theme in mind. He replied, “Have you ever heard of rebajada?“ The question mark above my head, together with the wall of China, must have been the only other object visible from out of space because Eamon, probably noticing I got paralysed, continued, “Rebajada in Spanish means “to reduce, to lower”. It’s basically Mexican sonideros (sound-system operators) slowing down the beat of a Cumbia to create a much more tangible music to dance to. I’ll send you a mix I made last year and let me know what you think.“ And so he did.

That mix was called Rebajada Mota Mix and I began listening to it on a loop. Although I was not immediately hooked it was intriguing from the get-go, and so I kept listening until magic began unfolding. Slowed down music allows you enough time to hear right through it, revealing itself in ways I had rarely experienced before. Everything became more transparent and I was noticing sounds normally only perceptible by bats. A near psychedelic experience. That mysterious mix included a few Ecuadorian songs by Junior y su Equipo - aka Polibio Mayorga (a cult figure in the sonidero scene), a couple of Mexican tunes, one Colombian, and various Peruvian songs, undoubtedly the driving force behind this project.

The sonidero who brought Peruvian and Ecuadorian music to Mexico was the legendary Pablo Perea from Sonido Arco-Iris, and although his fingerprints are all over the compilation Saturno 2000, this selection of songs in rebajada is exclusive to DJ Lengua. With the exception of a few classics from Polibio Mayorga and La Sampuesana – the queen of all rebajadas – most of these songs were probably never performed as such before, let alone released. 

So how did rebajada come to be? In a nutshell; Rebajada started with two families of brothers – the Pereas and the Ortegas – who travelled all over Latin America and returned to Mexico with heavy loads of records which they would sell to the various sonideros always on the lookout for new tunes. Colombian beats especially seemed to fit almost perfectly with the Mexican dance steps – but they were just a bit too fast. As a result some sonideros began experimenting with equipment, and Marco Antonio Cedillo of Sonido Imperial created a revolutionary pitching system that could slow records down to an extent other players could only dream about. And so rebajada was born . . . or so we thought. 

At the same time in north of the country, in Monterrey, sonidero Gabriel Dueñez almost got electrocuted by a short circuit that nearly set his record player on fire. As a result the platter started spinning in slow motion for the rest of the party, turning Cumbia into a different affair altogether. The youngsters went crazy for it and started harassing the sonidero with requests to record cassettes for them. Reluctant at first, Dueñez finally began recording a series of pirated cassettes called “Rebajada” which included mainly Colombian cumbia and porro in slow-mo exclusively. Those tapes took the city by storm and turned rebajada into a celebrated and defiant movement of the youth. 

Of course it would not be a Mexican urban legend if it didn’t include dramaturgical elements, and so for nearly 30 years, until this day and probably for ever, both cities have been arguing and claiming ownership the creation of rebajada for themselves. But sonidera Joyce Musicolor, who never has time for such trivial arguments, got straight to the point: “Rebajada, and the equipment to perform it, is from here [Mexico City] but it was Monterrey that popularised it.“

La Borrachita - Junior Y Su Equipo (Leave a comment for Composer Polibio Mayorga, I'll forward)

Papé Nziengui et son Groupe: modernized traditional music from Gabon (1989)
Pre orer LP/CD/Tape/Digital https://linktr.ee/PapeNziengui

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.   
Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué.
In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.
Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabon’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.
On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui—not only the musician, but the man—someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity.

Kadi Yombo

Papé Nziengui et son Groupe — Moghogho

Sofrito Mixes

Hugo Mendez // After Hours Percussions Mix

From Cosmic Cabo Verde to synth-reggae at the Horn of Africa.

(Special Mix for Vinyl Factory)
Frankfurt-based label Analog Africa is easily one of the most noteworthy labels rescuing and reissuing Afro sounds.

In 2015, the label gave us an exceptional anthology of Afro-Cuban pioneer Amara Touré, not to mention a compilation of tracks plucked straight from the dance floors of ’70s Senegal. Last year, they blew our human minds with some of the most extraterrestrial synth music we’ve ever heard on Space Echo.

This year, the label turns ten. To celebrate label boss Samy Ben Redjeb and his DJ partner Pedo Knopp have recorded a special mix which we’re delighted to share here.

“What is special about this mix is the fact that all the songs, except one, will be released on Analog Africa in 2017,” says Samy. “They have all been handpicked by myself and mixed in real time, without loops or any other kind of gimmicks by Pedo.”

It’s a synth-ridden journey from reggae in the Horn of African to Cosmic sounds of Cabo Verde, wavey soca-boogie monsters and other proto-electronic Afro jams.

Get The Music

Analog Africa Selection Vol.6 (2017) - 10 Years Anniversary Mix - Download and Share it !!!

Cotonete "Cabo" EP is available!
Including the original Cabo track, and a remix by Phil Asher.
This is the last part of the Cotonete trilogy: 3 EPs with "Inside Outside" and "Earth Overshoot Day"
Available on all platforms: https://IDOL.lnk.to/Cabo
Buy the vinyl in our shop: https://www.wiseband.com/yo/shop.php?indispo=1&visuel=1&boutique=3772

Cotonete - CABO

Soul Fever live mix - featuring Fred Kramer (Radio Martiko) & Peter Piper (Soul Fever)
Calamari Moon Suite
Recorded 09.02.2018 @ the Cumberlandsche Galerie / Hannover

Soul Fever

SOUL FEVER - Radio Martiko Special (Cumberlandsche Galerie 09.02.2018)

Here's a mix originally made for Lyl Radio in Dec.17 now to share! 
Original vinyls only, recorded mainly in the french  West Indies and close by, from the 70s. 
Guadaloupe/Martinique/Guyana ... 
Enjoy ! 
Love to all <3

Sweet West-Indies Flavor

A little preparty mix for our Ten year anniversary party the 1st of december. If you are in stockholm join in! 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1868651993169882/

Bon Valentino - Bon Chance! 10 Year Pre Party Mix

Drenched in Africa: a selection of killer and super rare original 45's from West and East Africa

💥PRE-ORDER NOW💥

The Dancing Devils of Djibouti. Out June 5.

2LP/CD ➡️ lnk.to/dancingdevils
Digital/Stream ➡️ lnk.to/8spABTID

A stunning collision of Somali funk, American jazz, Jamaican reggae, Indian Bollywood, and the synth melodies of the Red Sea by Groupe RTD, one of East Africa's best kept secrets.

Freshly pressed double LP cut at 45 RPM, housed in a reverse board printed gatefold sleeve, alongside a hardcover CD bookcase with a 12-page booklet.

Recorded in three days -- as per the strict limit set by Djibouti's national radio authorities -- with a state-of-the-art mobile recording studio replete with the very best audio interfaces and carefully positioned microphones around a less than soundproof room to achieve a vibrant, professional sound while maintaining the analog warmth of decades prior.

The Dancing Devils of Djibouti

BUY NOW!

Raga Kaan Ka’Eegtow (You Are The One I Love) / Asma Omar

Here's our second mixtape! 
50 minutes dedicated to little-known musics from Niger, from groovy pachangas/boogaloos to afro/blues/psych killer tunes, through reggae hits. The material comes from tapes found in Niamey, Niger, in 2015 and 2019, 7 inches, master tapes digitalization, radio recordings, and internet. 
A lot of track featured on it are not audible elsewhere. 
Tape-style audio quality, despite our attempt to make the track sound better! 

More/buy: https://www.sofarecords.fr/wallay-niger-1974-1997-la-mixtape/i3121018130,2

Graphic design by La Brigade Cynophile
Risograph print at Toner Toner
Selected by Sofa Records/Sancho D.

Wallay! Niger 1974-1997 — La Mixtape

OUR RECOMMANDATIONS

SOFA Records Shop
7 rue d'Algérie
Lyon, France

Vinyle records dealer since 1999

Wallay! Niger 1974-1997 — La Mixtape

SOFA RECORDS

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