Format: 2LP, CD, Digital
Release: 05.05.2017

It's the utmost honor for Sonar Kollektiv to be in the position to introduce “Ankhor”, the brand new album by Liz Aku. Having recorded all sorts of music with different outfits as well as solo projects over the last fifteen years the Belgian soul singer and highly gifted songwriter definitely earned her stripes and is anything but a newcomer to this game. She seems to have found her own, distinctive voice only now, after traveling to New Zealand and a far-reaching encounter with Mara TK from Electric Wire Hustle.
With “Ankhor” (a combination of the Egyptian symbol for eternal life “Ankh” and “anchor”) Aku accomplished a masterpiece of Nu Soul, Jazz and Pop, which will make her join the upper league of the players on the scene. For this cause, several allies and befriended producers have helped her out. With Mara TK leading the way obviously, who co-produced three out of the album's twelve songs. On “Breathing Water” and the sublime, for the whole album groove defining opening song “The Drum Major Instinct” the native New Zealander duets with Aku.

Further collaborators on “Ankhor” are for instance the Hip-hop rooted Canadian producer duo Potatohead People. Their 2015 track “Blue Charms” is purified by Liz Aku's voice and becomes “Seasons Change”. Also built on a sample (“Waters” by Electric Wire Hustles) is the bass heavy and lasciviously lolling “Deceive The Mind”. The Rotterdam based beat smith Maximoe is responsible for this co-production, as well as for the Piano looping “Hunger”. For “Just What I Need”, one of the most sophisticated pieces of the album, Aku drummed up a whole band with the Belgian Jazz pianist Bram Weijters, the drummer Lander Ghyselinck, the bass player Juan Manssens, the trumpet player Bars Maris and the background singers Ann Waets, Steve Kashala, Vicky Venijn and Charlotte Adigéry. Bart Vincent and Serge Hertoge produced this song, as well as “Ashamed”. Both two companions from Aku's home country. Also at home in Belgium, in Ghent to be exact, is the female rapper Zulu Moon, who delivers on the title song “Ankhor” a spoken word performance in the vein of Ursula Rucker or Me'Shell NdegéOcello. The Bruxelles based producer Morshmellow adopts a quieter tone for this track and creates together with his two compatriots a mood which is present all over the whole album: A positive confidence, a brave outlook in times of unrest, an assertive statement to believe in oneself and of course lots of feeling, or more precisely, soul. And if soul music 2017 has to sound like something, then it should sound exactly like this. Thanks, Liz Aku.

Liz Aku - Ankhor (SK340LP / illicity) Snippets

BUY: labcleaningjams.bandcamp.com/
(official release date 23.02.2024)
Deep dubby organic house, slightly reminding of early works from northern producers like Illumination and Biosphere. Loopy smooth percussion filled with funky stabs and random spoken words. We would not be surprised to see this amazing track fit into the recordbags of main players such as Move D and Ricardo. Yet another quality release from Oslo producer Ivaylo and his vault label Lab Cleaning Jams.

Ivaylo - Baqer Way - Lab Cleaning Jams [OCC PREMIERE]

Steve Conry – Ten Lovers Music Radio Show 04.05.24

All the tracks of this Dj mix can be acquired on:

https://ilyasantana.bandcamp.com/

Ilya Santana_A retro space disco affair Dj mix

Baby Rollén - Kaleidoscope (Mr Wilkinson Chug Remix)

We’re so happy to have had these two incredible local heroes for a TSIB show, on Friday, 1st of March.

Delfonic & Ziggy Zeitgeist (ZFEX) have blessed us with a two hours DJ set, sharing their favourite old/new and selfmade music with us.

Delfonic & Ziggy Zeitgeist from The Space In Between // 03-01-2024

www.openlab.fm | 106.4FM in Ibiza & Formentera

The Tent at the End of the Universe returns to OpenLab this month, featuring a guest mix from David Triana & Rakim Under. Since founding Soursopp in London in 2018, Rakim Under and David Triana have aimed to create a community space that reflects their musical ethos. The duo is renowned for blending classics with their own productions, captivating audiences across Europe.

Download our App:
IOS: bit.ly/OLappApple
Android: bit.ly/OlAppAndroid

The Tent (at the End of the Universe) 10 - David Triana & Rakim Under

www.openlab.fm | 106.4FM in Ibiza & Formentera

Richard Marshall is joined by N1NJA on this month's edition of Sub Sahara. Farah Nanji, known by her artist alias, N1NJA, is British born, Kenyan/Indian DJ, producer, TEDx speaker, and the host of the no.1 podcast series, Mission Makers. N1NJA paints her canvas through a fusion of ethnic and afro instruments hypnotically looped into portals of ethereal techno, with releases on prestigious imprints such as Mobilee and Sol Selectas. Don't miss out!

Download our App:
IOS: bit.ly/OLappApple
Android: bit.ly/OlAppAndroid

Sub Sahara 017 - Richard Marshall [with N1NJA]

For this episode we had the great pleasure to host one of our dear friends, incredible musical mind and soul buddy, who’s Jon bbe. He’s played a deep jazzy set out from his music collection.

Jon bbe from The Space In Between // 06-07-2024

For this stream Eva Be & Cle decided to present their record treasures in the area of Dub & Reggae. This is relatively obvious, as Eva Be released her first album on the label Sonarkollektiv, which displays exactly this genre and featured none other than Joe Dukie (Fat Freddys Drop), as well as the Dub legend from Vienna Sugar B. amongst others.

Cle & Eva Be (LoYoTo) from The Space In Between // 04-26-2024

For this episode Henry Weekes & Daniel W. Best from the XJAZZ festival team gave us some deeper insights on the line up and played music from attending artists as well as from their upcoming compilation Entangled Grounds.

XJAZZ FESTIVAL SPECIAL w/ Daniel W. Best & Henry Weekes from The Space In Between // 05-03-2024

Format: Digital Single ; Release: 24.02.2017

Probably it got around already: In May one of this year's most anticipated and most important releases for Sonar Kollektiv is in store, Belgian soul singer and songwriter Liz Aku's debut for the label, “Ankhor”. The first single off the twelve-tracks strong album, “Seasons Change”, hits now the digital stores. Credits for the song go to producer duo Potatohead People (Nick Wisdom & AstroLogical). Their track “Blue Charms” (together with guitar player Danny McKinnon), already featured on their 2015 album “Big Luxury”, serves as the ultimate foundation for Liz Aku's tantalizing voice. To be honest, everything matches so perfectly, you more likely tend to imagine how these four musicians composed and recorded the song together in the same studio. Eventually they created a tune which is a pleasant presentiment for the album named “Ankhor” coming out in May 2017.

Liz Aku - Seasons Change (Snippet)

05 - Liz Aku - Secrets Die

03 - Liz Aku - Deceive The Mind

02 - Liz Aku - Slowly

01 - Liz Aku - The Drum Major Instinct Feat. Mara TK

Sonar Kollektiv was founded in 1997 by Jazzanova. Designed as a platform for own releases it soon attracted numerous new discoveries and like-minded musicians to lead their trumps right here. Still it was never the intention of Sonar Kollektiv to pursue one specific sound or provide an already existing scene. Each and every release on the label (450 and counting) was at all times meant to illustrate the musical taste of the collective, its flavourful development and recollection of past sounds. The various compilations and label showcases played a big part of it. From the renowed „Secret Love“ compilation (No. 6 will be released these days), the „Computer Incarnations For World Peace“ edition, the  „...Boadcasting“ and „....Mixing“-series to the „Romanian Jazz“ label showcase Sonar Kollektiv continuously cares about broadening its own and the horizon of any type of music lovers. How broad this horizon can be expanded showed the release of Âme’s „Rej“ in 2005. Shorthandly minimal techno was redifined and at the same time the sublabel Innervisions (runned by Dixon) was leveraged to worldwide fame. Other milestones in the eventful history of Sonar Kolletiv were the discovery of the New Zealand reggae soul combo Fat Freddy’s Drop (2005), the debuts by Micatone (2003), Benny Sings (2005), Clara Hill (2003) and Eva Be (2004), the first releases by Dimlite (2003), Tricksi (2006), Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson (2007), as well as Georg Levin (2005) and his collaborative project with Dixon, Wahoo (2004). Also for some of today’s legends of more sophisticated electronic music, like Ulrich Schnauss, Ben Klock and Marcin Kozlowski (now a member of Whitest Boy Alive) Sonar Kollektiv offered a stepping stone to their international careers. And in 2003 a certain Eric Wahlforss released his first record here, just before founding Soundcloud.

When at the end of 2009 the rate of fire ceased some thought the label is running on empty or lost touch to contemporary sounds. But the releases of this year so far should prove doubters wrong. The remix album „Jazzanova Upside Down“ (released in January) gathers the who’s who of the currenty most happening and game-changing DJs and producers (Henrik Schwarz, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Filippo Moscatello, Manuel Tur, Mark E, and more) to catapult Jazzanova classics into the future. By signing Phil Gerus from Moscow, the new project Hot Coins out of the UK, EnaWadan from South Africa and the pan-Geman duo Paskal & Urban Absolutes four of the most promising new acts slantingly offside the dancefloor have been added to the already impressive roster. And once again all true pop aficionados with an addiction for soul and a genuine craft in songwriting are pierced to the heart with the brand new albums by FETSUM („The Colors Of Hope“) and Micatone („Wish I Was Here“).

But what is the formula of success of the Berlin based label? A dance music imprint that – with a few exceptions – actually doesn’t release club music? Is it even after all exactly this? Delievering music for prior to, succeeding and one day after a club night?

There’s no other German record label that can boast such an adventurous range of styles: reggae, folk, electronica, jazz, funk, calypso, house, techno and now also chillwave, dubstep, dream pop, and so on. At Sonar Kollektiv there’s somehow room for everything. Still, all of the 250 and counting releases have one common denominator: It’s music made out of passion - without any financial aim or attemps of ingratiation. From and for music lovers.

03 - Liz Aku - Deceive The Mind

Sonar Kollektiv

Recent comments

hollispmonroe

Related tracks