Hip-Hop News

Antibalas established themselves in the late 1990s as a burning, tough, horn, bass and drum driven Afrobeat ensemble cut from the Fela Kuti mold, who were politically savvy and socially conscious. Their live shows have been incendiary events where rhythm and perspiration from completely crazy, booty-shaking audience members shared something deeper and wider than the music itself. Security is Antibalas' fourth album. It was co-produced by the band with John McEntire from Tortoise.

The group, whose name means "bulletproof" in Spanish, has indeed proved they possess the mettle to not only survive but also thrive by employing a musical arsenal that has become known worldwide. Initially using the revolutionary blueprint of afrobeat as a launching pad, the dozen-strong members of Antibalas weave a rich tapestry of latin, jazz, classical, funk and soul into their horn-driven mix. Words fail in trying to describe the result: simultaneously polyrhythmic and political, independent and contagious, and the reason why many have credited the band for introducing afrobeat's framework to a new generation.

Security is available as a numbered limited edition of 500 copies on white vinyl and is packaged in a gatefold sleeve.

Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin’s music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Mesfin’s recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums – the first time that his music has been presented in this form. These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin’s uber-rare 7” single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Tewedije Limut gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7” single releases. Contains an oversized 11” x 11” 16 page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin’s role within it.

Baharat is the 4th release on Batov's Middle Eastern Grooves 7" series

In middle eastern cuisine, it’s well known - "don't forget to add some Baharat to the dish! It always brings the magic!" We are very pleased and excited to add a special new spice to the Batov Records kitchen!

Baharat is a band of 3 of Tel-Aviv's finest hipsters, mixing the flavors of middle-eastern sounds with the vintage vibes of surf music. This tasty EP was recorded at home with minimal equipment, superb musicianship, lots of humility, a tape machine, and no drugs. It is still a hallucination of timeless tunes.. and if you don't think we're objective about it, you are definitely right.

All of the band members also playing or used to play with the following acts/bands:
Ester Rada, Hoodna Orchestra, Karolina, Three and many more

Togo’s most celebrated vocalist, Bella Bellow, first achieved international attention in 1966, when she represented her country at the first World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, which caught the attention of the pioneering Paris-based Togolese musician/producer Gerard Akueson, who sought to market her as the next Miriam Makeba. Album Souvenir compiled singles cut for Akueson between 1968-71, including ‘Nye Dzi,’ ‘Zelie’ and ‘Bem Bem,’ all marked by the slick production values that aimed for international audiences, rather than the grassroots African niche. Tune in and understand the iconic Bellow’s commanding appeal!

We're absolutely thrilled to present a landmark album in Afro-Venezuelan music on vinyl for the first time. Originally released in 2017 on CD and Digital formats, Loé Loá gained critical acclaim in North America and Europe from the likes of NPR, The New York Times, and Songlines.

Most of the music on the album is in the style of 'Parranda', a traditional Venezuelan genre that literally translates into party. However, not every song is about joy and celebration as the band often sing about many of the most painful topics of daily life in Venezuela, as prevalent in 2019 as they were in 2017 when originally released: hunger, poverty, and shortages of basic medicine.

The entire album was recorded out in the open in Betsayda's home town of El Clavo in Barlovento, a region in the central Caribbean coast of Venezuela known for its cacao plantations and African heritage. It features 17 singers and 12 percussionists compared to the hundred or so that might be part of a real-life celebration. Yet the spirit, one of defiant survival and sheer joy, resounds the moment they strike the drum or sing the first note.

Viking of the Sky kicks off with 2 songs from Bibi's first LP Ngayibamba on Heads Productions 1984, which to date remains completely invisible with no info or even a picture of this LP online. Due to heavy government censorship in South Africa at the time, most of the LPs were destroyed due to the political nature of some of the songs. The two tracks on this compilation feature all live musicians and are sung in both English and Zulu.

The next 2 songs are taken from Bibi Msomi's 12" maxi dance single "Viking of the Sky" with "I Just Can't Believe You" on the B side, released on WEA Records in 1985. Here we get to the classic mid 80s SA boogie sound featuring banging drum machines, synths, live guitars and bass, and sultry female backing vocals by Thandi Seoka (Sipho Hot Stix Mabuse, Shalom) behind Bibi's powerful voice.

And the last 2 tracks are taken from the much sought after Bibi & Satari LP Whisper in the Dark released in 1986 on WEA Records. Also featuring a great blend of drum machines, synths, live bass, guitar and gospel influenced backing vocals, these tracks were produced by two of South Africa's most prolific producers - Sidwell Duda and Thokoza Memela.

All 6 songs contain upbeat, dancefloor friendly music full of live instruments played by South Africa's best session musicians backing Bibi Msomi powerful vocals. including:

Sidwell Duda (Stimuli, Don Laka, Image), Thokoza Memela (The Disco Cats), Satari band featuring Cecelia, Jabu Nkosi (Peace, The Drive, Thetha), Thandi Seoka (Sipho Hot Stix Mabuse, Shalom), Jimmy Mojapelo (The Black Five), Janshi Mayo (Umoja Singers Chorale), Peter Mokoena (Cisco Mokoena), Solly "Ace" Letwaba (Juluka), Bob "Blackie" Sibisi (Brenda & The Big Dudes), Joey Mabe (Mahlathini And Mahotella Queens) and many more.

We've also got an exclusive interview with the artist, with lots of interesting insight into the musicians, recordings, history and political climate during the making of these recordings from 1984-86.

It's 1992. You're seven to twelve years old. What are you doing? You're probably biking home from Blockbuster with a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 cartridge. You've waited weeks to get your paws on it, but since it's still a "new release," it's only a three day rental. No matter - you've already stocked a whole weekend's worth of Surge and Fun Dip. You fire up your Genesis. Your television screen erupts with a blinding flash of white light, as The Blue One tears across the screen leaving the letters S - E - G - A emblazoned in his path. You're in a tizzy. Your thumbs begin to twitch in anticipation. Level two, CHEMICAL PLANT ZONE, is uncharted territory. Your palms start to get sweat as you see toxic sludge fill the screen. The Surge and the Fun Dip hit you at the same time. Rings, spin dashes, Chaos Emeralds...everything blurs into a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes and sounds and... You snap out of it. It's not the nineties. It's 2021 and you're in your 30s. Drats. The good news is the new "Chemical Plant Zone" 45 by Minneapolis rascals Black Market Brass. A 12-piece psych-afrobeat band covering music from the Sonic 2 soundtrack? Pshaw!

'BMB x OBI' marks a new venture for the long-time instrumental powerhouse Black Market Brass. Teaming up with Obi Original, the young and visionary Minneapolis talent with a mission to share the heart of African music with the world, Black Market Brass delivers both proverbial and prophetic messages for the year to come - 'You've got to be Battle Ready!'. Inspired by the raw energy and messages of Fela Kuti and indebted to Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou for their heavy fusion of voodoo-infused Afro-beat, Black Market Brass points in both directions towards the resurgent history of West African funk and the future of where a younger generation can lead us. These tracks are bursting at the seams with energy and force the listener to wise up and march along as soon as the drums thunder and the horns blare their first notes. The A-side, 'Battle Ready,' is what it claims: a band armed and ready to take on whatever may come. Strapped to the hilt with three drummers, this infectiously rhythmic track simmers, if not boils, under Obi's demands to mount up. The energy is high, edgy, and proves that getting nine musicians in the same room to track live captures a passion that bulldozes through anything placed in its way. The B-side, 'What You Make It,' encapsulates a musical quality that Black Market Brass has refined over its many years together, with polyrhythmic ideas you don't have to understand to know it feels good. Infused with elements of ethno-funk and classic highlife, this Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas inspired work approaches the listener with a simple message amongst a danceable cacophony of sounds - 'Life is what you make it.' Move in 4, dance in 3, or sway in 6. Whichever you choose, choose it deliberately; the music will be there to support you.

Swedish visionary Boko Yout is releasing their long-awaited debut album GUSTO, out via Hoopdiggas Recordings.
GUSTO is Boko Yout’s debut album – a kaleidoscopic journey through memory, trauma, humour and healing. Framed as a fictional therapy programme led by the eccentric Dr. Gusto, each track represents a confrontation with a different shadow of the self: unspoken fears, inherited burdens, or unresolved inner conflicts. But GUSTO is not just about darkness – it’s also about hope, longing and the light that makes those shadows visible in the first place.
Boko Yout weaves together raw emotion, spiritual symbolism and bold experimentation. Referencing vodun philosophy, Jungian archetypes and post-genre production, they draws inspiration from artists like Yves Tumor, Odd Future and LCD Soundsystem. The result is a debut that feels more like a sonic manifesto – driven by love, intention and a deep commitment to artistic freedom.

Boubacar Traore - album ‘Mbalimaou’ now released as a 2LP Set. Produced by Ballaké Sissoko and Christian Mousset, recorded at the Bogolan studios in Bamako, ‘Mbalimaou’ is a milestone in the work of Boubacar Traore.

His inimitable guitar style, and the poetry that pervades his songs, have all matured over the years. Infused with nostalgia and melancholy, ‘Mbalimaou’ is a record of great depth,

one of the finest in this unique artist’s long career.

Classic PPU double sider back in stock.

Featuring Bozeman & Roberts "Working Mama" b/w Dennard "Grandma"

Saxophonist, composer, bandleader and innovator Camilla George makes a stunning return with her third album 'Ibio-Ibio' - a rich, cultural journey dedicated to her Ibibio tribe of south eastern coastal Nigeria, out on Ever Records / !K7. The album is a heady mix of afrobeat, hip hop and jazz coproduced by Camilla George. Across eight tracks, Camilla's virtuosic alto saxophone performance collaborates with a stellar line-up of some of the hottest players in London's jazz scene including Daniel Casimir (bass), Shirley Tetteh (guitar), Winston Clifford (drums), Sheila Maurice-Grey (trumpet), Rosie Turton (trombone), Renato Paris (vocals), Sarah Tandy (keys), plus Senegalese kora player Kadialy Kouyate, acclaimed US drummer Daru Jones (Jack White, Pete Rock, Talib Kweli), and Birmingham's finest MC Lady Sanity.

Saxophonist, composer, bandleader and innovator Camilla George makes a stunning return with her third album 'Ibio-Ibio' - a rich, cultural journey dedicated to her Ibibio tribe of south eastern coastal Nigeria, out on Ever Records / !K7. The album is a heady mix of afrobeat, hip hop and jazz coproduced by Camilla George. Across eight tracks, Camilla's virtuosic alto saxophone performance collaborates with a stellar line-up of some of the hottest players in London's jazz scene including Daniel Casimir (bass), Shirley Tetteh (guitar), Winston Clifford (drums), Sheila Maurice-Grey (trumpet), Rosie Turton (trombone), Renato Paris (vocals), Sarah Tandy (keys), plus Senegalese kora player Kadialy Kouyate, acclaimed US drummer Daru Jones (Jack White, Pete Rock, Talib Kweli), and Birmingham's finest MC Lady Sanity.

Following the first two documentaries Woza & Yenkyi focused respectively on Gqom in Durban, and Afrobass in Accra, visual collective Crudo Volta, which documents contemporary African urban music, has produced a new chapter titled Taxi Waves. The miniserie

The 11th installment in Fat Beats’ heralded instrumental series. “I’ve been developing the ear for composition since my born day. My father is a jazz pianist, I grew up everyday listening to hours of his practicing solo improv. That’s why my sequences are

We all hear the music of the World but we don't often stop to listen'. So says David Lyn by way of explaining the raison d'etre of his debut album The World I Hear (Essence of Life). This album is the first in a series that explores the elements of fire, earth, water and wind and focuses on the twin entities of love and water; both of which flow and ebb, trickle and crash. It is an album of songs and musical collaborations which interprets David's own visions of love as the foundation of everything. As he says, 'we all need more love'.
Releasing on the 1st of June on vinyl and digital The World I Hear (Essence of Life) will be available for pre-order from Friday 24th May with the two tracks, Drum Connection and Maria Juana, leading the release. Drum Connection has been remixed by Chicago legend and Frankie Knuckles protege Elbert Phillips whilst Maria Juana features the Ibero-Cuban artist and songwriter Arema Arega (Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura) and the composer and producer Andrew Nicholas AKA Born74 (Earthsouls, Colin Curtis' Jazz Dance Fusion Vol. 4).
Engineered by Shamrock Guitar and mastered by Andy Compton at Peng Studios, with arrangements from Dr Bob Jones and Gee W and vocal contributions from Vuyelwa Mgatyelwa and Elena Rogozhina, The World I Hear (Essence of Life) truly is an international collaboration of music for the heart, the soul, the dance floor and the head. David Lyn, whose creative vision for this album is adulterated with his love of Jazz, Reggae and Country music, is playing the flute, clarinet, saxophone and piano and his vast experience of creating diverse DJ sets of Music Without Labels

"Ansiedade" expands Dani's signature revolutionary batida, stretching and adding to the template, a true creative breakthrough signaled by the previous "Dia Não Mata Dia" EP. Loose and raw, not conforming to even the commonly accepted non-written rules of the genre, this is forward-thinking songwriting, not mere dance music production.

But the music also looks back to a certain easy going, naked, experimental vibe of the early 2010s, flowing effortlessly through the channels like a warm breeze from the South. Organic percussion points to a very well grounded, intuitive rhythm construction, adding keys, bass, guitar and drums in the spirit of a jam. Vocals come in and out, repeating some mantras in support of the beat, shouting out personal afflictions, revealing a few tense situations.

In "Robert Johnson" we hear "levanta a cabeça / segura". Face things. The music stutters along with conviction, as if demonstrating the fragile nature of such personal decisions. Being inspired by one of the most iconic and irreplaceable names in blues, the song is everything but a simulation of the

Strut proudly presents the first-ever reissue of a landmark 1974 Ghanaian highlife classic Sikyi Highlife by Dr K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings, originally released on Essiebons.

A defining recording of the era, Sikyi Highlife bridges tradition and innovation at a pivotal moment in Ghanaian music. Deeply rooted in the classic 1950s–’60s highlife sound, K. Gyasi drew inspiration from the ancient sikyi drum-dance of the Akan people of southern Ghana, shaping the album’s rhythms around its distinctive pulse.

The vocal arrangements echo the traditional Akan modal style, grounding the music firmly in Ghana’s cultural heritage. Yet Sikyi Highlife is equally forward-thinking. As electric guitars became standard in highlife during the 1960s, the 1970s ushered in further experimentation. The Noble Kings broke new ground as the first highlife guitar band to incorporate keyboards and a full horn section into their sound, expanding the genre’s sonic possibilities while retaining its rootsy spirit.

Gyasi’s approach was part of a broader indigenisation movement among Ghana’s electric highlife bands in the post-independence era. Inspired by the nation’s ‘African Personality’ ethos and reinforced by Afrocentric messages arriving from American soul and funk, artists began reclaiming traditional forms within modern arrangements. Contemporaries included Koo Nimo, who revived the older palmwine style, and drummer Nii Ashitey, whose Wulomei band pioneered a folklorised Ga highlife sound from 1973.

Like many musicians of his generation, Gyasi was a passionate supporter of Ghana’s independence movement. In 1963, he travelled as a musical ambassador alongside Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, performing across North Africa and the USSR and carrying Ghanaian culture onto the world stage.

The Noble Kings’ mid-’70s line-up featured some of the country’s finest musicians, including guitarist Eric Agyeman (who led the band at the time), Thomas Frimpong on drums and vocals, Ernest Honny on organ, and bassist Ralph Karikari - who was renowned for his innovative technique of translating the rhythms and tonal language of the traditional talking drum onto electric bass.

Upon its original release, Sikyi Highlife became one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s for Essiebons, earning Gyasi the affectionate honorary title of “Dr” from his devoted fans. Today, the album remains an evergreen classic, still cherished across Ghana and beyond.

Having toured the world with Mczo and been at the helm of his own studio Pamoja Records since he was just 18, influential Singeli producer Duke, now 25, is one of Tanzania's busiest club alchemists. On his acclaimed solo debut "Uingizaji Hewa" we were introduced to his idiosyncratic "hip-hop Singeli" sound, a slower cousin to the Dar Es Salaam-rooted hard 'n fast club template that takes as much special sauce from Busta Rhymes and Eminem as it does the 200BPM clatter of genre veterans Jay Mitta and Sisso. On September's "Sounds Of Pamoja," we were treated to a closer look into Duke's studio, and specifically at his work with the city's best young MCs like Dogo Kibo, Pirato MC and MC Kuke. "Early Instrumentals" allows us to witness the depth of Duke's evolution with a selection of unearthed genre melting Singeli mutations laid completely bare without vocals. This 11-track set features some of his most arresting hybrid dance music yet, expressing his visionary fusion of contemporary rave sounds, US rap attitude, and Tanzanian dance history. While the roots of Singeli are in taraab, a popular fusion of East African and Middle Eastern traditional dance rhythms and melodies, Duke steers the sound into a synth-led, syncopated firework display that sounds spry and futuristic. Centered arounda bumping staccato melody and urgent synth strings 'Dukelo Fl Sing' echoes the lo-swung swagger of early Dr. Dre productions, but kicks the tempo into overdrive, decorating any gaps with flickering late-nite synths. 'Beat Kali Duke' meanwhile drives carnival trance leads through hard and fast rolls of kick drums, whistles and woodblock cracks. It's not all completely high speed either: 'Duke Selecta' is almost afro-house, with slow, sexy bass and woozy vocal melodies, and 'KKKKKKKKKKKKKKK' absorbs the propulsive spirit of South African gqom. "Early Instrumentals" is the most varied picture we've been presented yet of Duke's rousing dance cocktail. IT's a physical call to action that assures listeners the genre is for movement, not headphone listening

BBE Music unearth ‘Palaver’, a long-lost, previously unreleased 1980 album from Ghanaian guitarist and songwriter Ebo Taylor. If Fela Kuti was the king of Nigerian Afrobeat, then Ebo Taylor, 83 and still playing hard, is the king of Ghana Funky-Highlife. No doubt whatsoever. Much of Ebo’s beautiful 70s and 80s output has been reissued, as more and more Afro music lovers are being converted to his unique pan-West African sound. In 1980 while on a club tour of Nigeria with his regular touring band, Ebo bumped into Chief Tabansi of Tabansi Records. They agreed that Taylor would record a one-album session to be released exclusively on Tabansi. Within a few days the deal was signed, the session completed, the tapes signed off, and Ebo and his band went on their way to complete their Nigerian tour. But for reasons that no-one (including Ebo) can now fully recall, the master tapes got shelved in a dusty backroom in Tabansi’s Onitsha HQ. Where they remained, undisturbed, unreleased, unplayed, for almost forty years. Last year, Peter Adarkwah of BBE Music signed off on a major multi-album reissue deal with Tabansi and its affiliated labels. ‘What about unissued material, if we find any?’ Joe Tabansi, Chief’s son and current administrator of the label, casually asked. Yes, replied Peter- but WHAT unissued material? Upon which, Joe produces these masters. The tapes are rushed to the redoubtable Carvery vinyl remastering and pressing plant in East London, and all at BBE soon realised that they had a masterpiece on their hands. All-new material, all Ebo’s own compositions, all recorded with Ebo’s crème-de-la-crème touring and recording players, including George Amissah. Mat Hammond, George Kennedy and George Abunuah among others. Here it is, for the first time, anywhere. Ebo Taylor’s Lost Nigeria Sessions.

With the release of his new record, 99 Cent Dreams, Eli Paperboy Reed begins his second decade as an artist much in the same way he began his first: in love with soul music.

Reed is ten years wiser this time around, writing with the kind of freewheeling confidence. The result is the finest of his career. Cut at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN, and produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason

Isbell, Margo Price), 99 Cent Dreams is exuberant, a celebration of life delivered by an ecstatic messenger. Reeds arrangements on the album are lean, filtering vintage R&B, soul, and gospel through the heart of a modern

songwriter. His stunning voice remains front and center but his performances have matured, a sign perhaps of the newfound perspective hes gained with fatherhood.

Fueled by love and hope, this is a collection that, despite its moments of loneliness and pain, ultimately insists on seeing the bigger picture, on recognising each and every day for the gift that it is.

In early 2014, the Danish-resident conga player and bandleader Eliel Lazo invented a concept that he dubbed 'Cuban Nights', the goal of which was to play and present new and authentic Cuban music on many stages, including the Copenhagen JazzHouse Montmartre. After many successful Cuban nights across the country and around Europe with various musicians, Eliel decided to return to the original line-up.
So, here's the dream team back together again, including legendary pianist Javier 'Caramelo de Cuba' Masso, bassist Yasser Pino, drumming genius and Grammy winner Raul Pineda and Eliel himself to collectively turn up the heat, all gloriously recorded in the legendary Musigrama studio in Madrid. Cuban Jazz Report is honest and engaging music with rhythms and emotions prioritized over Latin jazz's usual commercial clichés. If you are looking for lush and euphoric tunes with impressive polyrhythms and something totally refreshing, then you need look no further!

There we go with another Afro Beat classic that did not really leave Nigeria back in the day it was released. Therefore we can only guess the value among collectors but some reliable sources tell us that even not so mint original copies go for up to 600 $. The AFRODISIA sublabel of DECCA music is responsible for quite a few awesome afro beat gems that have only recently been rediscovered by never sleeping music lovers such as the folks behind EVERLAND MUSIC from the Netherlands and here we go with the first ever official reissue of Eric Showboy Akaeze’s second album with HIS ROYAL ERICOS.

* For fans of Fela Kuti, Mixed Grill, Ofege, Witch, Zam Rock, Afro Beat, Peter Tosh, Segun Bucknor
* First ever and long overdue official reissue of this long lost afro beat classic from 1974
* Haunting, commanding brass and farfisa organ driven soul, funk, rocksteady and rock crossover
* Including as bonus the two songs from the 1975 7inch “Akalaka“

Marking twenty years since South African producer and DJ Esa Williams left Cape Town, Dala What We Must is a deeply personal and expansive debut LP, an exploration of movement, memory, and sound shaped by two decades of creative evolution. Co-created with collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Robin G. Breeze, the album deftly combines field recordings, layered instrumentation, and emotionally resonant compositions into a nuanced, globally influenced body of work. It also stands as Esa’s most collaborative release to date, featuring contributions from musicians across London, Oaxaca, Nairobi, and Cape Town, each adding their own creative energy to a project built on openness, trust, and shared experience. The album draws inspiration from Esa’s recent ventures into documentary scoring and soundtracking, with projects like Cursed (Audible) and The Invisible Hand teaching him to listen differently, to honour space, to serve the story. That sensibility permeates the album, resulting in music that breathes, lingers, and listens as much as it speaks.

The title, Dala What We Must, is a South African call to action: a reminder to do what’s necessary, even in uncertainty. Finalised in the months leading up to Esa’s transition into fatherhood, the record carries a sense of grounding, care, and quiet transformation. Dala What We Must is a sonic reflection of journey and community, a deeply collaborative project rooted in connection and guided by intention.

New spiritual jazz album by the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, led by

legendary Chicago percussionist Kahil ElZabar, an artist in a league of his

own, acknowledged throughout the world as the leader in the vanguard

of spiritual and afro-futuristic jazz.


Alongside ElZabar on multi-percussion & vocals is Corey Wilkes on trumpet,

Alex Harding on baritone sax and Ian Maksin on cello. This is beautiful

Afro-centric spiritual jazz on the forefront of the current popular jazz scene.

The Ethnic Heritage Ensembles music seeks to spark a time in which

heightened sensibility and higher consciousness will universally be known.

Favourite People is a new band from the Brooklyn boroughs orbiting blues-rock with faint psychedelic radio waves. The band met in ‘International Waters’, the legendary after-hours club in the East Village and soon began rehearsing at Selva after a chance meeting with Quantic.

2021 marks the 50th Anniversary of the legendary record Fela Kuti made
with Ginger Baker of Cream.
 This Anniversary edition features a newly unearthed second drum solo
from Tony Allen and Ginger Baker, taken from Afrika 70’s performance
at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival. Part I has never appeared on vinyl and
this second part has never been heard - until now.
 1978’s Berlin Jazz Festival marked Afrika 70’s final live performance with
Fela. In the Spring of 1979, several members of Afrika 70, including
Allen, would leave the band. Allen had been with Fela since 1964. 1980
saw the birth of Egypt 80, with Baritone saxophonist Lekan Animashaun,
who had been with Fela since 1965, as its founding bandleader.
 Reissued with Abbey Road mastered audio.
 Red double vinyl with collector's 50th Anniversary gold foil obi strip.
 Bespoke etching of album artwork on Side D.
 Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk,
hip-hop, rock and beyond. While he never achieved true icon status
during his lifetime, the last (roughly) decade has seen a broad
resurgence in his popularity and a critical reevaluation of his life, music
and influence. In 2008, the biographical musical ‘Fela!’ (co-produced by
Jay-Z and Will Smith) became a surprise hit off-Broadway and then
Broadway itself. Since then, Beyoncé performed Fela’s ‘Zombie’ at
Coachella, he’s been called out as an influence by everyone from Paul
McCartney to Questlove and sampled by Missy Elliott, Kendrick Lamar,
J. Cole, Nas, and more. Vice President Kamala Harris even used Fela’s
music at her and President Biden's first joint event together.
 ‘Let’s Start’ features prominently in the trailer and the soundtrack for the
new Western, ‘The Harder They Fall’, staring Idris Elba and Regina King.
 Fela features prominently in an episode of Hulu’s docuseries ‘McCartney
3, 2, 1’, where Paul McCartney cites Fela as one of his important
influences.
 This past spring Fela came in second place, behind Tina Turner, for the
fan vote for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame nominations and received
great press coverage in NY Times, Rolling Stone, MOJO, Record
Collector and more.

Fela Kuti (1938-1997) was a Nigerian musician,
producer, arranger, political radical and outlaw, and the
originator of Afrobeat. A titanic musical and sociopolitical
voice, Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres,
touching on jazz, pop, funk, hip-hop, rock and beyond.
 After graduating from Trinity College of Music (now
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) in
London, Fela returned to Nigeria with his band Koola
Lobitos. Fusing the sounds of Jazz and Funk with the
traditional African music he had been raised on, his star
status began to flourish.
 EMI, his label at the time, saw the true power of his
musical creation, what we now know as Afrobeat, and
brought Fela and his band back to London. The result
was ‘London Scene’. While recording, Fela began his
friendship with Ginger Baker, who plays uncredited on
the track ‘Egbe Mi O’.
 ‘London Scene’ is the beginning of what would become
Fela’s signature Afrobeat style and serves as a great
introduction to Fela’s music. Recorded and remastered
at none other than Abbey Road Studio.
 This 50th Anniversary edition of the classic Fela album
comes on red, blue and white splatter vinyl, with a gold
foil obi strip that will be the hallmark of all of the Fela
50th Anniversary reissues.
 Liner notes by the legendary Chris May.
 Fela recently came in second place, behind Tina Turner,
for the fan vote for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
nominations and received great press coverage in NY
Times, Rolling Stone, MOJO, Record Collector and
more.

Ein einzigartige und legendäres Afrobeat Album geschrieben für die kommunistische Revolution Benins. Ferry Djimmy, befreundet mit Muhammad Ali und Fela Kuti und späterer Bodyguard von Jacques Chirac, bringt auf dem im Satel Studio in Cotonou aufgenommenen Album eine Mischung wilden Afrobeat und Rhythmen, Afro-Funk und Gitarrenrock á la Jimi Hendrix zusammen. Ein musikalischer Wegbegleiter der kommunistischen Revolution in Benin und ein unentbehrliches Stück Musikgeschichte für Fans des Afrobeats.

Recorded for Benin’s Communist revolution,
‘Rhythm Revolution’ is a rare and truly unique
Afrobeat record - it’s rumoured only 200 copies of
the original release survived.

 Ferry Djimmy was a schoolteacher, former boxer,
and a personal friend of Muhammad Ali and Fela
Kuti. He was later Jacques Chirac’s personal
bodyguard.

 Recorded at the Satel Studio in Cotonou, the
album is one of the toughest, wildest and deepest
slices of Afro-Funk cut - with raw African rhythms,
distortion, energy and wit.

 Alongside nods to Hendrix, Kuti and James Brown,
there is something truly unique about Ferry
Djimmy’s musical legacy.


 A must-have for Afrobeat, Afro Funk and Psych
collectors.

Foshe and Bentley are two separate entities who regularly collaborate in their home city of Sydney. Foshe create fully improvised polyrhythmic-afro-Latin-synth-ambient-jazz-house. The trio have been gigging heavily from 2018, engaging in energetic weekly residencies, and supporting artists from Lonnie Liston Smith to the 30/70 collective, Horatio Luna and ZFEX, GODTET and more.

Mike Bentley is a drummer who collaborates with friends around Sydney/Melbourne, creating deeply groovy, rhythmically hypnotic journeys through jazz, hip hop and house, inspired by the likes of Kamaal Williams & Vijay Iyer. Producing modern jazz-house combined with odd time signatures, Mike was a key driving force behind this set of new, live recordings.

The ‘Parlour Cucina’ album is the result of a live residency at the Sydney venue of the same name. The residency was split between sets with the regular Foshe trio (Mike, Zigi, Tom) and open collaborations with other artists through Bentley.

The world’s first collection of gorgeous pop songs from Frank and His Sisters, a family band from Moshi, Tanzania.
Formed in the early 1950s by Frank Humplick, Thecla Clara and Maria Regina, the trio recorded and toured throughout East Africa and issued a string of instant classics, capturing fans with their beautifully harmonized singing, clever lyrics, and Frank’s stunning guitar work. Imagine the fingerstyle finesse of John Fahey with a pure pop melodicism, combined with the family harmony of groups like The Carter Family, The Roches, and The Beach Boys, set in the golden age of Tanzanian music!
Frank composed many of his songs while working the land on his beloved tractor (really), and once instigated a house-to-house search to destroy all copies of his record “Yes/No” due to political lyrics. He went on to record and tour with the Jambo Boys band before retiring from the music industry in the early 1960s, to focus on his passion for agriculture. But his favorite songs were always the ones he created with his sisters, and we are proud to present 12 of their best.
Previously only heard on painfully rare 78 rpm discs and Tanzanian oldies radio, this album collects the trio’s nest songs, lovingly restored and remastered. We love this music so much that in late 2018 we traveled to Tanzania to meet Frank’s family and collaborate on this album.
The result is a colorful 8-page booklet featuring complete lyrics in English, Swahili and Chaga, as well as previously unpublished photographs, extensive interviews and anecdotes, and a biography by Tanzanian musician and radio host John Kitime. All tracks fully licensed from the Humplick family.

Led by Chris Hazelton, The Freedom Affair is a freight train of Kansas City soul! Dirty, funky drums, gritty horns, and the combined vocals of Misha Roberts, Seyko Groves, and Paula Saunders to put this band over the top. Politically charged soul music for the dancefloor!

Rare Nigerian Afrobeat-Funk from 1976.

First vinyl reissue since 1976.

First Ever Release Outside Of The African Continent.
Comes With Insert/Liner Notes.
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip) - Non-Returnable.
THE FRIIMEN MUZIK COMPANY (also known as FRIIMEN) was formed after the Biafran war in 1973-1974 in the town of ABA in the eastern part of Nigeria. Aba was the Number 1 Music Hub in the entire Eastern Region of Nigeria. While bands and artists like ‘Ofege’ and ‘Fela Kuti’ ruled the LAGOS scene, bands like ‘Friimen’ and ‘The Apostles’ were ruling the ABA scene.
Before forming the band, most of its members were already working together as freelance session musicians backing up solo artists on several recordings and concerts (or were playing in military bands that gradually became civilian bands because the war had just ended). FRIIMEN members’ credits were numerous and they played, wrote or performed on recordings from well-known acts like The Funkees, The Jets, The Apostles…and countless others.
When they started concentrating on writing their own songs, the group instantly took off and became an overnight hit that resulted in them doing multiple successful nationwide tours. FRIIMEN would go on to record three albums: Free Man (1976), We Can Get It On (1978) and Merry Man (1979). All three albums were released on the Aba based label Anodisc Records (THE key label to be on if you wanted your music heard and out there), Anodisc also released hit records by ‘Sweet Unit’ and ‘Voice Of The Cross’ but The Friimen Muzik Company was the label’s signature band.
The Friimen Muzik Company was so solid that every new group or artist wanted the Friimen to back them up in the recording studio. As a result, Anodisc Records received tons of demo cassettes from aspiring artists…the label would then first consult the Friimen members to see if these new acts were worthy of giving a chance to record and release an album for Anodisc. Over the course of the years the band went through several line-up changes…but in 1980 the band finally broke up and their story came to an end.
The album we are presenting you today (Free Man from 1976) was recorded at the famous Decca Studios in Lagos and comes swinging right out of the gate with a set of no less than EIGHT monster tunes. Expect nothing less than crazy afrobeat and over the top melodic funk influenced by a wide array of artists (both local and international). Mesmerizing solos, captivating grooves, impeccable sequences that turned many heads…everything you need to get a dancehall into a complete uproar. The musicians’ skills are just plain incredible! FREE MAN is a quintessential record that every serious collector or fan needs to have in his/her collection.
This reissue also comes with an insert featuring pictures of the band and extensive liner notes from band-member Arthur Freds.
Tracklist:
Release Yourself , Free Man , My Dreams , Funky Workshop , Word of the Lord , We'll Get Our Share , You Can't Change Anything , Gimme Some Time

6 Track short and sweet raw recording of Gasper Nali playing on the shore of Lake Malawi. Nothing added, nothing overdubbed, just pure Malawian Roots. Gasper Nali plays a Babatoni - a 3 meter, one-stringed, home-made bass guitar - with an empty bottle and a stick. And makes the most beautiful and catchy original afro-beats possible.

"I am Gasper Nali. I live in Nkhata-Bay but I was born in Mzimba, a town close to Nkhata-Bay. I started singing and performing in 1997 with my two brothers who passed away in 2002. After they passed away I started on my own as a soloist. After singing for a long time I decided to make my own guitar with one wire string called the Babatoni. I just came up with the idea from nowhere. I made the instrument and started practising my songs. Nobody taught me how to play the instrument, I taught myself everything from making it to making music with it. I like the Babatoni because it does not need electricity to play with, so I can bring it everywhere with me and play it without plugging it to electricity. I use cow skin for making the cover of the body, and took part of the blue-gum tree to form the fretboard and the neck of the guitar, and I use car tire wire to make the string. I also play a self-made local bass drum with a self-made pedal, together with the Babatoni."

No shortage of colorful characters emerged from Cameroon’s bikutsi scene in the 1980’s and early 90’s. Gibraltar Drakus is one of the most enduring and enigmatic of the artists who helped transform bikutsi into a beautifully endless fabric of triplet rhythms that eventually reached ears around the world.

Following the advent of Cameroon Radio Television in 1987, bikutsi began to supplant makossa and soukous for domination of the local airwaves and the attention of cosmopolitan, thrill-seeking residents of Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé and beyond. Biktusi perfectly fused Beti traditional music and increasingly electronic, highly rhythmic guitarbased bikutsi. Mimicking the sound of village-based xylophone music by rigging a mute to electric guitar strings, bikutsi artists provided a relentlessly energetic dance format for those with a taste for music steeped in their hometown sensibility (countering the popular makossa that many felt sounded less indigenous).

By the early 1990’s, Les Tetes Brûlées were indisputably the most famous and influential artists in bikutsi, due in part to the innovations of their incendiary guitarist Théodore Zanzibar Epeme. Following their first European tour in 1987, the band blew up internationally but Zanzibar tragically, and mysteriously, passed away, which nearly brought an end to the band completely. In hindsight, the consensus among most Cameroonians is Zanzibar’s contributions to biktusi were transformational and immeasurable.

“Zanzibar is the one who taught me how to compose a song, and I learned a lot from Zanzibar musically. We spent whole nights working on methods and other approaches to compose beautiful songs. I owe half of everything I have today to Zanzibar!”

Swept up in all this was Gibraltar Drakus, who was the youngest member of Les Têtes Brûlées and was also the protégé of his biggest supporter, Zanzibar. So it was fitting that he dedicate his 1989 debut to their groundbreaking late guitarist who had meant so much to him. Drakus literally exploded from his first album Hommage A Zanzibar (1989), which sold over 100,000 copies despite rampant piracy. For the recording, Drakus made sure he engaged prolific producer Mystic Jim to record and mix the album. The innovation musically rests both within the guitar interplay and the discipline in the orchestration, which result in a mind-bending clockwork of cross-rhythmic harmony.

Tropidelicos is the electrifying new album from Houston/Denver powerhouse duo Gio Chamba, a kaleidoscopic fusion of cumbia, psych-funk, and global bass. Fueled by hypnotic percussion and cosmic guitar lines , the record embodies the next wave of Latin futurism — rooted in tradition yet exploding into vibrant, genre-defying sound.
Pressed on limited-edition 1×LP “Mango Viper Swirl” colored vinyl, Tropidelicos captures the radiant heat and joy of Gio Chamba’s live energy—music made for movement, community, and spiritual release. From sweaty dance floors to desert sunsets, every groove invites you deeper into the tropidelic revolution.

'Gonora Sounds aus Simbabwe wird von dem blinden Gitarristen Daniel Gonora geleitet. Sein Stil nennt sich Sungura, der die Traditionen Simbabwes - Gitarrenpicking, das an die Klimpermuster von Daumenklavieren erinnert - mit Stilen aus ganz Afrika verbindet.' - Jon Pareles, New York Times 'Sungura hat die Fähigkeit, den Sommer zu bringen, egal, wann man ihn hört. Die schimmernden E-Gitarren, der wummernde Bass, die straffen Harmonien und die raue, aber leidenschaftliche Stimme von Daniel Gonora verleihen diesem Album ein leichtes, unbeschwertes und fröhliches Gefühl.' - Jim Hickson, The Quietus

Grupo Medusa was one of the best instrumental bands in Brazil during the 70s and 80s, blending Jazz, African Influences, and traditional Brazilian Rhythms.

Formed By Chico Medori, Claudio Bertrami, Amilson Godoy and Heraldo do Monte.

Original release in 1981, reissued for the first time Worldwide.