Vinyl - African Roots / Afrobeat

"Many miss the mark with this kind of thing, but Naoito succeeds by running afro beat, spiritual jazz, and soul-funk through the lens of modern beat production - all executed with the lightest of touches. So sick!" - Light In The Attic

Former member of the Kingdom Afrocks band and one of the most talented artists of today’s Japanese music scene, drummer and multi-instrumentalist Naoito creates with “dotA” an explosive and unique mix of spiritual jazz and afro flavors. Sung in Japanese and English and bringing the very best musicians of Tokyo’s underground scene, “dotA” is released in Japan on the legendary Jazzy Sport imprint. 180g is proud to bring to the international audience this essential album of contemporary grooves straight from the far-east!

Manufactured and distributed by 180g under exclusive license from Jazzy Sport, Tokyo, Japan. – Bandcamp

The band’s debut album is intent on dismantling the ideas western listeners have about popularized Tuareg music. This new wave of Tuareg musicians sound very different to the desert distortion that accompanies groups like Mdou Moctar or Group Inerane. Instead, it finds a calm and passionate soul, provides sumptuous slow burners, and a complexity of composition that hasn’t been demonstrated by previous music exported from the Saharan people’s musical repertoire.

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Even if the band has a direct DNA link to trail blazers Tinariwen - (Eyadou Ag Leche of Tinawiren is a cousin of frontman Sadam, and guided their evolution and produced and co-wrote several songs on this album), their poetry and flow has a more integrally urban base than the ancestral tamashek poetry and traditional rhythms of their elders, Tinawiren. Instead they offer something much more fresh and intricate; there is a lot of sensitivity and space in these jams, a lot of room for your mind to ponder and drift.

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This intimacy of Imarhan’s sound is no coincidence. In the language of the Kel Tamashek people ‘Imarhan’ means ‘the ones I care about’ - Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane aka Sadam, Tahar Khaldi, Hicham Bouhasse, Haiballah Akhamouk and Abdelkader Ourzig all grew up near each other in Tamanrasset, Southern Algeria, in a Tuareg community of Northern Malian descent. The giant divide between their spiritual home and physical home is heard in their tracks: the funkier groove of Western Africa, the emptier, subtle tones of Saharan Traditional folk music and the fire and romance of Algerian Rai music. No other Tuareg release to date has had such a variance of rhythms, tempo and feeling. – City Slang

Jake Sollo (Born in Nigeria as Nkem Okonkwo) started his career in the 1960s as a member of The Hykkers, a popular band that drew large audiences across the country (even during the turmoil of the Biafra civil war). After The Hykkers disbanded, Jake joined the Aba-based super-group The Funkees…a musical outfit turned into instant superstars due to the State Broadcasting Service’s heavy rotation of their demo tracks. The Funkees became a phenomenon that spread across the country fast (and eventually to England where they were championed by the legendary John Peel). By 1976, due to creative and personal tensions, The Funkees slowly started disintegrating. Jake Sollo was soon offered the golden opportunity to join the ‘crème de la crème’ of Afro-rock groups: Osibisa. Jake’s distinctive rhythm guitar graced their hits, but his tenure with them was short-lived…in 1977, Sollo and two other members left the band because of financial disagreements.

Jake Sollo quickly moved on and did just fine after his experiences with said bands…he got steady work as a session musician and became a hot producer in the London scene. Eventually, that chapter came to a close as well (with budgets and visas to record in the UK becoming increasingly scarce at this point). Jake returned to Nigeria where he started recording and producing albums, during this period he became the MOST in-demand producer in Nigeria. – Light In The Attic

 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

If you’ve ever caught Antibalas live over the course of their nearly two-decade existence, you already know what an overwhelming and exhilarating experience their music is in-person, and somehow they’re able to bottle it up and make their studio work groove and climax just as dramatically, like you’re right there in the room with them. It’s been five years since the Brooklyn collective released a record, and now they’re about to return with their sixth, Where The Gods Are In Peace. True to classic Afrobeat’s potential to tackle dire social and political issues via cathartic party music, Antibalas emphasized positivity and hope in their statement about the album:

"We are still very much a political band, but as we mature we present and pay homage to the deep courage of our ancestors, we express a message of peace, harmony, and dance, and we take a hard look into the past while forging a future of solutions." – Stereogum

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

 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

Solid reissue of this piece of highlife history from Ghana!

Afro-Rock + Funk + Disco + Psychedelia = Sweet Spot

Ofege was formed in the early 1970s by a bunch of teenagers at the St. Gregory’s College in Lagos Nigeria. They were largely influenced by the guitar solos of Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page while closer to home, they were influenced by the music of ‘BLO’ (Berkley Jones, Laolu Akins and Mike Odumosu), ‘Monomono’ (led by Joni Haastrup), The Funkees, and Ofo The Black Company. Due to their vibrant combo of sweet harmonies, hooks & fuzz, Ofege would become one of the most legendary Nigerian groups of all time, with expressive sales and national stardom. At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various psychedelic music compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and the ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band! 

Their debut album (Try And Love, EMI 1973 – also reissued by Tidal Waves Music) was recorded while the band members were still in high school (average age of 16) … their follow up ‘The Last Of The Origins’ (Recorded in 1975 and released on EMI in 1976) took some years to come out because some band members had to finish school first. ‘The Last Of The Origins’ is an exceptional record with a deep psychedelic approach. Complex rhythm sections, African inspirations, huge breaks, wah wah guitars and cosmic synths …it’s all there! Easily one of the best Afro-funk albums recorded in Nigeria in the 70s. – Tidal Waves Music

Hard-to-obtain, vintage highlife from three true giants of the sound; Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas & Uhuru Yenzu. Originally released in 1982. In 'Hitsville Re-Visited', the mighty trio add a dose of uptempo funk into traditional highlife grooves. The legendary Ebo Taylor was involved in many funk and highlife records to emerge from Ghana in the 70's and 80's. He worked with bands such as Apagya Show Band, C.K. Mann as well as Pat Thomas, on this, and several other records. – Mr Bongo | Bandcamp

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

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