Category Archives: African Roots
CULT CLASSIC: EZE-NRI ROYAL DRUMMERS VOL. 1
Cult Classic: Eze-Nri Royal Drummers Vol. 1. One of the most important labels in the history of African music is Tabansi Records, which was founded in Onitsha, a trading centre in the Igbo southeast of Nigeria, in 1952. Chief (Dr) G.A.D. Tabansi had watched as Decca, and then Philips, closed the doors on their Nigerian …
THE BRIEF RECORDING CAREER OF AMARA TOURE: 1973-1980.
The Brief Recording Career Of Amara Touré: 1973-1980. Amara Touré’s recording career spanned just seven years and saw him record just ten tracks. His recording career began in 1973 and was over by 1980. By then, he had recorded three singles and the four tracks that featured his 1980 album Accompagné Par L’Orchestre Massako. These ten tracks comprise Amara Touré’s discography. …
CULT CLASSIC: THE BLACK HIPPIES-THE BLACK HIPPIES.
Cult Classic: The Black Hippies-The Black Hippies. One of Nigerian music’s best kept secrets, are The Black Hippies who only ever released two albums. Their finest moment was their 1977 eponymous which was released in 1977, on EMI. Sadly, by then, disco and funk were flavour of the month and The Black Hippies were a year too late releasing their …
ANDREAS ROYSUM ENSEMBLE-ANDREAS ROYSUM ENSEMBLE.
Andreas Røysum Ensemble-Andreas Røysum Ensemble. Label: Motvind Records. Over the last decade, the Norwegian jazz scene has been thriving, and today is one of the most vibrant in Europe as a new generation of up-and-coming musicians follow their dreams to make a living playing jazz. They hope to follow in the footsteps of Jan Garbarek, …
BODDHI SATVA-18.
Boddhi Satva-18. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ‘20th’ March 2020. Boddhi Satva was born and spent much of the the early part of his life in Bria in the Eastern part Central African Republic. Soon, he was immersed in music, and spent his time writing, rapping and producing with the hip hop crew the Gbekpa …
EZE-NRI ROYAL DRUMMERS VOL. 1
Eze-Nri Royal Drummers Vol. 1. Label: BBE Africa. One of the most important labels in the history of African music is Tabansi Records, which was founded in Onitsha, a trading centre in the Igbo southeast of Nigeria, in 1952. Chief (Dr) G.A.D. Tabansi had watched as Decca, and then Philips, closed the doors on their …
CULT CLASSIC: RIM KWAKU OBENG-RIM ARRIVES.
Cult Classic: Rim Kwaku Obeng-Rim Arrives. For collectors of Afro-funk and disco, many albums remain tantalisingly out of reach. This includes Ghanian drummer Rim Kwaku Obeng’s legionary lost debut album Rim Arrives. It was released in 1977, four years after a perilous time for Rim Kwaku Obeng. He found himself stranded in London, without money, …
CULT CLASSIC: JODI-POPS DE VANGUARDIA.
Cult Classic: Jodi-Pops de Vanguardia. Innovator, pioneer and visionary are just three of the words that were used to describe German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. His career spanned six decades and nowadays, he’s regarded as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th Century. Karlheinz Stockhausen was also one of the pioneers of …
ZEAL ONYIA-TRUMPET KING ZEAL ONYIA RETURNS.
Zeal Onyia-Trumpet King Zeal Onyia Returns. Label: BBE Music. It was none other than Louis Armstrong who upon hearing Zeal Onyia for the first time described him as: “the highlife hep cat of Nigerian jazz trumpet’. Like so many others before him, Louis Armstrong was captivated by the combination of Zeal Onyia’s unique tone, rhythm …
OJO BALINGO-AFROTUNES-BEST OF JUJU VOL. II-OBA MIMO OLORUN AYO.
Ojo Balingo–Afrotunes –Best of Juju Vol. II–Oba Mimo Olorun Ayo. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ‘28th’ June 2019 Each week, record companies in America, Britain and Europe tempt and tantalise collectors with reissue of rarities that have never been released before. This includes everything from Acid House to zydeco and everything in between, including a …
EMANATIVE-EARTH-VINYL.
Emanative-Earth-Vinyl. Label: Jazzman Records. Three years after the release of their third album The Light Years Of The Darkness in 2015, British jazz collective Emanative return with Earth, a new album of ambitious genre-melting music. It finds Emanative channelling the spirit of Sun Ra, but also drawing inspiration from Floating Point’s unique brand if cinematic …
EMANATIVE-EARTH.
Emanative-Earth. Label: Jazzman Records. Three years after the release of their third album The Light Years Of The Darkness in 2015, British jazz collective Emanative return with Earth, a new album of ambitious genre-melting music. It finds Emanative channelling the spirit of Sun Ra, but also drawing inspiration from Floating Point’s unique brand if cinematic …
DIALI CISSOKHO AND KAIRA BA-ROUTES.
Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba-Routes. Label: Twelve Eight Records. Release Date: ‘29th’ June 2018. Just over six years ago, North Carolina-based Senegalese kora master Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba released their debut album Resonance in April 2012. Resonance featured songs about mythology, migration and justice, while Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba combined elements of African …
FRODE HALTLI-AVANT FOLK.
Frode Haltli-Avant Folk. Label: Hubro Music. Release Date: ‘15th’ June 2018. Album Of The Week. Frode Haltli was born in Levanger, in the municipality of Trøndelag, on the ’15th’ of May 1975, and by the time he was seven, had already started to play the accordion. The young Frode Haltli proved to be a prodigious …
GORAN KAJFES SUBTROPIC ARKESTRA-THE REASON WHY VOLUME 3.
Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Arkestra-The Reason Why Volume 3. Label: Headspin Recordings. Just over four-and-a-half years ago, Swedish trumpeter Goran Kajfeš released the first volume in The Reason Why trilogy, on Headspin Recordings the label he had founded with producer David Osterberg in 2004. The Reason Why Volume 1 was hailed by critics as an ambitious …
SONIA AIMY-NIGERIAN SPIRIT.
Sonia Aimy-Nigerian Spirit. Label: Self-Released. Forty years ago, the only way most artists could release an album was if they were fortunate enough to be signed to a record label. As a result, a lot of talented artists and bands slipped under the musical radar, and their music never found the audience it deserved. However, …
RANKY TANKY-RANKY TANKY.
Ranky Tanky-Ranky Tanky. Label: Self-Released. When South Carolina natives Quentin Baxter, Kevin Hamilton, Charlton Singleton and Clay Ross first met in 1998, they had just left university, and were wondering what the future held for them? The meeting proved to be a game-changer for the four musicians, and soon, they had formed what’s still remembered …
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