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Solid reissue of this piece of highlife history from Ghana!

The original band consisted of five members, three from South Africa and two from Nigeria: drummer Louis Moholo, trumpeter/flautist Mongezi Feza, alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, tenor saxophonist Bizo Mngqikana, and guitarist/bassist Fred Coker — the latter, according to Rob Fitzpatrick in The Guardian, "helped guide Assagai into position as the only real West African competition to the super-star firepower of Ghana's Osibisa" before Coker left Assagai to replace Spartacus R in Osibisa. Canterbury scene keyboardist Alan Gowen and King Crimson percussionist Jamie Muir were also briefly members (1971-72). - Wiki

Assagai were one of the few (if any other) black bands signed to the Vertigo label. The band's sound was a mixture of psychedelic rock, Nigerian afro beat, and funk. Their self-titled debut is most widely known for  the track "Telephone Girl"  which is an infectious uptempo dance floor funk cut.  The beginning beat also served as an inspiration to hip hop producers like DJ Premiere.  Other tracks like the afro burners "Cocoa" and "Irin Ajolania" show they are no one trick pony, either.  – Soul Strut

One of the strengths of this offering is the variation of sensations and writing throughout. It is impossible to get bored listening from start to end. The second song ‘Alexandria’ brings out the fierce, rhythmically armed side of the band. This buoyant number is designed to get you up on the dance floor, with stimulating horn melodies and unabashed organ chords, set against funky drum patterns. Artifacts closes with ‘Lunar Eclipse’.

The reed-infused breathiness conjures images of wind blowing through uninhabited landscapes ready for exploration. As if leaving you on a cliff-hanger, this is where your musical exploration sadly ends. The discordant key stabs encourage visions of rugged lunar surfaces as you wonder what lies behind.  Maybe they’ll reveal more on their next album.

Black Flower are a band that on first listening may sound abstract and hard to digest, but upon further plays take you into a dreamlike exploration of illusory soundscapes.  Full of personality and character, this is an assemblage of innovative minds that master a brand new art piece which truly reflects our multifarious environment. – Rhythm Passport

A partner piece to their debut 5, released in May, it’s hard to think of them as anything other than a double album split by a few months and the lack of a spine. Not musically, you understand – these songs possess the backbone of a whale, shaking with carefree punk-funk attitude and deep soul rhythms.

Plundering the past with high-octane abandon, Sault have an incredible sense of which routes lead to the dance. There’s nothing circuitous here, nothing wasted, just an irrepressible desire to find the quickest short-cut to pleasure. Consequently, tracks like “No Bullshit” and “Feels So Good” sound like they were cut in the rush of excitement as soon as the hook had caught. This sense of abandon continues – though taking on a very different form – in “Smile and Go”, which fuses the DIY sound with elements of R&B and African funk. Meanwhile “Threats” is an incredible piece of UK soul – smooth in intent and raw in delivery. It’s about as affecting combination as I’ve ever heard.

Often when bands opt for a melting-pot approach, they run the risk of a clash of flavours that lack coherence and taste of nothing in particular. By stripping back and getting to the essential core of it all, 7 (and its predecessor) reveals something almost indistinguishable from its constituent parts and much, much more appetising. It seems that Sault adds flavour. –  The Art Desk

Now-Again Records presents a reissue from the black fire catalog – JuJu live at the legendary Brooklyn Venue in 1973. Essential spiritual Jazz here, comes with a 12 page booklet with extensive notes on the album, the black fire collective and the musical and cultural revolution they created. Sounds of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, early projects from Detriot’s Tribe label can be heard here with that strong fire of creativity and improvisation.

Ajate is a Japanese band who plays a unique blend of afro-groove dance music mixed with Japanese traditional festival music called "Ohayashi". Formed in 2011 by the band-leader John Imaeda, Ajate consists of 10 Japanese musicians.

Another unique feature of the band is the use of hand-made bamboo instruments as well as traditional Japanese percussion. The "Jahte" is a bamboo-made xylophone or balafon with a piezo pick-up mic attached to each key, connected to a pre-amplifier to obtain a loud sound and to add some touch of dirty distortion to its warm and natural acoustic sonority. The "Piechiku" is also a bamboo-made string instrument inspired by the west-African "Ngoni" or Moroccan "Guembri" instruments. The Piechiku uses strings of the Japanese traditional "Shamisen". This instrument is also played through a pre-amplifier and John sometimes adds some wah-wah effect to it. All these bamboo instruments are designed, made and named by John Imaeda himself.

On Alo you will also be amazed by the exceptional sound of the Japanese Shinofue flute, which was not on the previous Abrada LP.

Now, add to this unique sound some well-crafted Japanese female and male singing and you get a killer mix of Afro-Funk flavored grooves with traditional Japanese music! – Bandcamp

Mobo jazz award winners Sons of Kemet’s follow-up to their 2013 debut album, Burn, features a comparable chemistry of hooky horn themes – from reeds-player Shabaka Hutchings and new tubist Theon Cross – and rapturously hip double-drumming from Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford. Their sound balances ritualistic sparseness, conversational clamour and unpredictable jazz looseness. 

The languid tenor-sax vamp of In Memory of Samir Awad turns to smeary upper-tone asides over pounding drums; the initially free-jazzy Tiger gets slinkier in dialogue with the tuba; Afrofuturism mixes marching-band music, abstract sax shimmers and distant vocal chants. But there’s also a gentleness in the lyrical sway of Play Mass and the hypnotic, north African-inflected Mo’ Wiser. 

Two years ago, Sons of Kemet were already blowing live audiences away and fascinating listeners on record – they do it even better now. – The Guardian 

Instead is the debut LP from Tamar Osborn's superlative Collocutor ensemble. Instead draws on trajectories of sound that have been refracted over time & space and expressed at this vanishing point. Tamar Osborn plays with a studied talent and writes her passion into the arrangements that make Collocutor the songs of herself. Tumultuous journeys over eras and epochs to swirling carpet rides in places and spaces, night through day. - Bandcamp

Kung Fu Afrobeat!

With a globetrotting 20-year career renowned for being a voice for the people across four decades of political and societal upheaval from the late ‘90s to today, Antibalas celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a stark return to their Williamsburg roots on its latest Daptone Records studio album, Fu Chronicles. Pre-gentrified Williamsburg serves as the backdrop for Fu Chronicles–voyaging back to the early days of when Antibalas and Daptone Records spawned out of lead singer Duke Amayo’s kung fu dojo. A senior master of the Jow Ga Kung FuSchool of martial arts, Duke Amayo along with Antibalas founder/baritone saxophonist Martín Perna guide listeners through an epic journey of where kung fu ingeniously intersects with Afrobeat on Fu Chronicles. - Antibalas on Bandcamp

 Super-funky business from Nigerian-born multi-instrumentalist, Peter King; fuses funk, jazz and highlife vibrations. ‘Omo Lewa’ follows his ‘Miliki Sound’ album, also available on Mr Bongo. Recorded in London, originally released in 1976 by Orbitone, this is one of his finest records. 

Released November 8, 2019 Licensed from Clinton Roberts.

Official Mr Bongo reissue. – Mr Bongo

First official reissue of hidden-gem album by Lagos-based bandleader Shina Williams. Shina Williams ‘Agboju Logun’ was a ground-breaking fusion of afrobeat, electronics, boogie and disco. First released on Phonodisk in 1979 as part of the ‘African Dances’ album, then in 1984 as an alternative version on Rough Trade’s Earthwork off-shoot, it has gone on to attain cult-like status. 

So it remains a bit of a mystery how so little has been documented about the follow-up. Shina’s self-titled album was originally released on Help Records in 1980. It differs from the upfront afro-disco-funk of ‘African Dances’ as it diverts into deeper, hypnotic, afro-beat territory. Though listed as a six-track album, each side (composing of 3 tracks) is built-upon one continuous groove with call and response female & male vocals and instrumental solos coming and going as each side progresses. The results are raw, hypnotic, locked-in grooves, which sit perfectly on forward-thinking contemporary dancefloors. – Light In The Attic

Formed in 2002 in Ottawa, Canada, the Souljazz Orchestra have been releasing a series of genre-defying albums and touring throughout the world ever since. The band may mention soul and jazz in its name, but on their new album, Chaos Theories, the Souljazz Orchestra reveal themselves to be well-versed in the sounds of reggae, ska, disco, and punk, along with a little bit of both jazz and soul. The band also continue their tradition of outspoken political commentary throughout the album. 

Led by keyboardist/percussion/singer Pierre Chrétien, the Souljazz Orchestra includes Philippe Lafrenière (drums, percussion, vocals); Marielle Rivard (percussion, vocals); Ray Murray (baritone saxophone, percussion, vocals); Steve Patterson (tenor saxophone, percussion, vocals); and Zakari Frantz (alto saxophone, percussion, vocals). – Pop Matters

 Ghanaian highlife music has never been a single statement of artistic intent. Birthed from the indigenous rhythms of Akan music and incorporating western instrumentation such as electric guitars and horns before being played in the 1920s at exclusive gatherings of the upper colonial class – hence the music’s name – to now fusing American rap motifs in the sub-genre hiplife, Ghana’s most popular musical export is ever-changing. Yet, one of its greatest living exponents, vocalist Pat Thomas, has also been one of its most consistent representatives.

There is a palpable feeling of joyous inclusivity on Obiaa!, one that is harnessed in that necessary exclamation point, as this is active, kinetic music. While Thomas’s lyrics aphoristically tackle the perils of “showing off on social media” on Onfa Nkosi Hwee and the merits of “being patient in life” on Ntobuase, he delivers each line with an unshakeable optimism, his “golden voice” still radiant and full of light.

Amid our penchant for curated archive compilations of far-flung genres, here is the living, breathing testament to a music that is very much still alive and being championed by those who have spent their lives perfecting its craft. Long may it continue in all its world-spanning complexity. – The Guardian

'Extremely hard-to-find Ghanaian LP from legendary musician Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, originally released in 1980. Tough Highlife, funk and boogie moods with added synthesizer! Ambolley is still actively touring today, keeping these vibes alive – he will be touring Europe throughout 2019.' This is the third Gyedu Blay Ambolley LP that we have reissued on Mr Bongo, following on from his seminal ‘Ambolley’ and ‘Simigwa’ recordings.' - Mr Bongo

Tough, mid-tempo Ghanaian funk & Highlife grooves from Ebo Taylor Junior, son of the mighty Ebo Taylor. Originally released in 1978; now extremely difficult and expensive to find in its original form. Today Ebo Taylor Jnr plays keys in his fathers band that continues to tour when he is able to. – Light In The Attic

Official Mr Bongo Reissue | Highlife & straight up funky Musiq

Extremely hard-to-obtain LP from the Ghanaian master composer, producer and musician. Originally released in 1982 by the WEA International label and then again in Germany in 1985 by Ambolley himself; this is one of his finest albums in our opinion.

’Ambolley’ fuses Highlife, disco and boogie sonics perfectly and features the anthemic club cut, ‘Highlife’, that we have spinning for a while – always does the job! - Mr Bongo

‘Synchro Sound System & Power’ features the music of Nigeria Fuji Machine, which includes some of Nigeria's finest ‘Fuji’ master drummers and singers, and is newly recorded by Soul Jazz Records in Lagos.

Fuji is the heavily percussive and improvisational style of Nigerian popular music, at once modern and yet deeply rooted in the traditional Islamic Yoruba culture of Nigeria.

Here on this album Nigeria Fuji Machine’s striking and powerful lead vocalist Taofik Yemi Fagbenro soars above a wild and energetic backdrop of polyrhythms played on traditional talking drums, trap drums, electronic and street percussion to create a powerful wall of intense sound.' - Soul Jazz Records