World music
New Track: Akusmi previews ‘Fleeting Future’, title track from his forthcoming album of intricate minimalism and vibrant electro-acoustic conversations.
London based composer/producer Pascal Bideau aka Akusmi doesn’t do music that simply grows on you. Want proof then tune into those digi-platforms and catch his new track ‘Fleeting Future’ from his soon-come album of the same name. It’s a piece that draws you into a world of sound which flourishes as you listen, from the …
Track/Video: Istanbul’s dark electro-rock agitators Lalalar deliver ‘Alba Deme Lazim Olur’ ahead of album debut ‘‘Bi Cinnete Bakar’.
The sound of the Istanbul underground is juddering ever nearer to your listening posts in the shape of electro-alt-rock agitators Lalalar. With a name that approximates (semi-ironically) ‘The Wise Guys’, this trio has the in-built swagger, edge and beat power to tear up any template of new wave Anatolian psyche that you might cosy up …
Album Review: The Ano Nobo Quartet – ‘The Strings of Sao Domingos’: guitar driven rhythms and sumptuous songs from Cabo Verde’s soul.
New York’s Ostinato Records mission to recover and re-examine the rich legacy of lost musical cultures is tireless. You may have already been knocked out by the label’s benchmark trio of retrospectives that charted the rippling currents of Cabo Verde’s music but now they are bringing our attention to more contemporary sounds from the community …
Track: Global beat fusionists The Bongo Hop drop ‘The Red Hill’, prime Latin hip hop vibes to announce soon come mini album.
French musician/producer Etienne Sevet (aka. The Bongo Hop), traveller, sound selector, trumpeter has his finger on so many pulses. Funk, soul, jazz, afro-grooves all pumped up with that racy Latin heartbeat from his one time home Colombia. It’s a blend that makes for a distinct Bongo Hop sound, rhythmically slick, smartly arranged songs for head, …
Album Review: Gonora Sounds – Hard Times Never Kill: Jump, jive, bounce and bite, direct from Harare.
Heard about ‘paying your dues’– well Gonora Sounds leader and inspiration Daniel Gonora’s back-story makes him a bone fide member of the dues-paying club. Twenty years ago the blind guitarist and song writer was a key player in Zimbabwe’s ground-breaking Jairos Jiri Band, a group that tragically imploded as successive members passed away. Forced to …
Track: Happening afro-soul fusionists Jembaa Groove present ‘Mokole’ ahead of debut album ‘Susuma’
A lot of bands get together from chance meetings in a bar, or a gig or knowing friends of friends but not usually after a chat in a Berlin kindergarten playground. Still that’s how Jembaa Groove got started, co-founding musicians Yannick Nolting and Eric Owusu on the school pick up run, bonding over the possibilities …
Album Review: Dowdelin – ‘Lanmou Lanmou’: Creole rhythms and a Soul-Jazz twist make for the sound of now.
It’s been over a couple of years since Lyon located fusionists Dowdelin were last seen bouncing across the WOMAD stage and pulling the horizontal sun soakers up onto their dancing feet. Now comes evidence of renewed activity with their latest album ‘Lanmou Lanmou’, available from 28th January from Underdog Records, and proof that the band …
Track: The Ano Nobo Quartet preview ‘The Strings of Sao Domingos’ album – guitar driven rhythms and sumptuous songs from Cabo Verde’s soul.
From the very noble Ostinato Records comes news of more discoveries as part of their enlightening exploration into the music of Cabo Verde. You may already have been knocked out by the label’s ground breaking trio of retrospective releases from the West African islands but now they are reaching out further to feature contemporary sounds …
Album Review: Vis-A-Vis – The Best Of Vis-A-Vis In Congo Style
Remember those stellar studio bands of the late sixties/early seventies – The Meters, The Section, The Wrecking Crew, Muscle Shoals – defining the sound of where a record was made and fuelling the hit factories. Switch over to West Africa and you find the same thing, the tightest groups of session players at the source …
Track: Zimbabwe’s Gonora Sounds preview their hot stepping ‘Mukoma Shadrek’ ahead of February debut album.
Ah, memories of the first time hearing early cuts from Staff Benda Bilili or Malawi Mouse Boys –eyes closed, the inner smile, that warmth of discovery….It all comes back with the chiming guitar of Gonora Sounds’ new release ‘Mukoma Shadrek’. Brought to you direct from the dusty avenues of Harare by New York label The …