-
Out of stock
A massive honor to be releasing the first in a four volume retrospective of one of Africa’s most influential musicians of the last 30 years - kuduro and tarraxinha pioneer and originator DJ Znobia A genius of street music and the pivotal visionary of Angola’s digital musical modernism, Znobia is the inventor Nyege Nyege... -
Out of stock
"Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott of the country) labels instead hired producers and session artists to re-record them for the local market Early house music in SA was no...
-
Bombino is back with a brand new studio album - 'Sahel' The new record is Bombino’s first full album in over five years, and follows 2018’s ‘Deran’, which garnered praise like "the Sultan of Shred" from The New York Times, and "the World's Best Guitarist" from Vice This praise also turned the guitar luminary + Tuareg folk...
-
Wewantsounds team up with Disco Arabesquo for the reissue of Nagat El Seghira's cult 1980 album Eyoun El Alb Originally released only on cassette on the Egyptian label Soutelphan, the album has since become a sought-after classic on the Arabic groove scene and this is the first time it is released on vinyl Consisting of four...
-
Out of stock
Bisola Olungbenga was just nine years old when she started writing music Encouraged by her piano playing mom, she would come home from school and compete with her sister, dreaming up verses and choruses for rewards of candy Since then, Olungbenga has evolved into Aunty Razyor, one of Nigeria's most vibrant emerging artists - a...
-
Out of stock
Titi Bakorta almost didn't make it Born in and raised in Kinshasa, the Congolese multi-instrumentalist was on his way to Uganda when he fell of the boat as it traversed the mighty Congo River Unable to swim, Bakorta was saved by a friend who dragged him to the closest city Kisangani, where he was unexpectedly acquainted with local...
-
African … Organic-electronic songs recorded in Togo by a feminist quintet Voodoo tradition and soul, aimed for the dance floor There are five of them, five, like the fingers of one hand, a hand ready to form a fist, to slam down hard on a table but also to gently caress the planet AGO by Nana Benz du...
-
Repress with new master 1974's 'Moving World' is a holy grail of Ghanaian groove alchemy The title track and 'Brotherhood Of Man' are hard, grinding funk outings, while 'Jungle Music' has a more soulful groove There's also a bit of reggae in 'Dracula Dance' and old-skool highlife in 'Wale Tobite' The Kelenkye Band never recorded...
-
As the first item in its catalog and on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the release of the album 'Hagda' by Raïna Raï, the legendary band from Sidi Bel Abbès (Algeria), Elmir Records is happy to present the vinyl reissue of this multi-faceted pop-raï masterpiece This mythical album, recorded and self-produced in...
-
When a passionate DJ and crate digger intuitively selects music for a DJ compilation, without artistic compromise and without the burden of trends, AfroMagic vol1 emerges from the depths of his soul Herewith we present the new favorite phonomancer’s tool for all the DJs who experience the dance floor as a sanctuary and...
-
A household name in Nigeria, Dr Orlando Owoh enjoyed a durable popularity that has cut across generational lines in his home country and beyond Leading groups such as the Omimah Band and the Young Kenneries, Owoh remained popular even as Nigerian tastes shifted to the newer Juju and Fuji styles! Before this transition,...
-
Out of stock
Bamanya is responsible for building Africa's first DIY modular synthesizer, a huge wall of home-made modules and FX units that he dubbed, fittingly, The Afrorack His reason for embarking on this difficult project was simple: as he began to investigate the world of modular synthesizers, he realized it would be difficult to acquire...
-
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...
-
Hailu Mergia is a one-man band In 1985, master accordionist and veteran bandleader, arranger and keyboardist released the Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument cassette In a nostalgic effort to bring back the vintage accordion sound of his youth, Hailu gave Ethiopian music a sonic makeover He was already celebrated for...
-
Soundway Records presents Ayo Manuel - 1983-1990, a collection of selected works by one of Nigeria’s DIY pioneers Prince Ayo’s musical roots were planted deep from a young age A prolonged stint in the choir at his church in the small town of Atijere, gave him a first taste of harmony and hard-wired music to his heart Later,...
-
Odissey is a group formed by the Adams brothers (Pascal and Richie), born in Paris to a mother from Guadeloupe and a father from Martinique At the time, Pascal was a DJ and radio presenter and Richard was a guitarist, both being trained singers They had been making demo's for some time when one day they met Jolème Narayadou who...
-
Over the past few years Acid Jazz has been reissuing rare and exciting records from the legendary Benin label ‘Albarika Store’ Next in the series is ‘Les Sympathics de Porto Novo Benin (Vol 2)’, the second album from another of Porto Novo’s premier groups of the 1970s, founded by Herman Laleye – former leader of other...
-
Ebo Taylor “Twer Nyame” is being reissued on vinyl by Comet Records, pressed on high quality vinyl, with label designs and artwork as per the original release Originally released in 1978 on Philips-West African-Records Classic highlife sounds; uptempo grooves, vocals, tons of percussion, guitar, horns and organ lines...
-
Habibi Funk is excited to share “Marzipan” — our first full length contemporary release courtesy of Beirut’s multi-instrumental producer phenomenon Charif Megarbane The LP is a journey into Charif’s styling, one he terms “Lebrary”: a vision of Lebanon and the Mediterranean expressed via the prismatic sonics of...
-
Sali Sidibé (1959-2019) was a Malian singer and songwriter Born in a village in the Wassoulou region of southern Mali, Sali Sidibe sang in Bambara With her gutsy, neo-traditional vocals set to a unique blend of didai, sigui, and sogonikun dance rhythms, Sali Sidibe is one of Mali's greatest vocalists Recording her first singles...
-
Out of stock
Next up on Africa Seven is the second edition of our "African Funk Experimentals" LPs With these we took some of our favourite African artists, choose the most funky we can find and then put together a compilation of their choicest and funkiest tracks Of course that may not be their most popular or best selling tracksbut that's...
-
After "Afro Exotique - Adventures In The Leftfield, Africa 1972-88" was enthusiastically embraced by heads, collectors and core Africa Seven enthusiasts alike, we dived back down into the vaults, and hope we've come up with another volume of listenable esoterica from roughly the same period "The Quest", courtesy of fleeting...
-
Out of stock
Eight years on from his debut release on Wah Wah 45s, the label revisits and celebrates Afrobeat Ambassador Dele Sosimi Having grown up in Nigeria under the tutelage of Fela Kuti, playing music with his son Femi, and going on to become musical director of Fela’s Egypt 80 band, Dele’s signing to Wah Wah 45s in 2015 was always...
-
Out of stock
With each subsequent release, Jazz Is Dead continues to exalt the legacies of iconic musicians who have shaped the fabric of Jazz across generations, genres, and continents For their latest installment, the label connected with the late great Tony Allen, best known for his foundational work as the drummer for Fela Kuti's Africa...
-
Out of stock
A lost classic of the Ethiopian Golden Age, reissued in full for the first time! On this 1976 gem of a record, Aselefech Ashine and Getenesh Kebret’s voices intertwine in close harmony, the two “beauties” singing in duet across 10 gorgeous tracks The Army Band, which backed greats like Tlahoun Gesesse and Mahmoud Ahmed,...
-
This is the 1973 solo album by Ghanaian percussionist Anthony Kwaku Bah, who was given the nickname „Reebop“ by American jazz legend Dizzie Gillespie He passed away early at the age of 39 in Stockholm in 1983, but before made himself a name for his works with UK 70s rock heroes TRAFFIC and German Krautrockers CAN, amongst...
-
The title track of this album has often been hailed as Fela’s masterpiece Musically innovative, melodically addictive, Fela got it all right in this politically scathing song in which he opposes Westernization and those who imitate Western ways “I no be gentleman at all,” Fela sings, and then goes on to detail the ways in... -
By 1978, Addis Ababa’s nightlife was facing challenges The ruling Derg regime imposed curfews, banning citizens from the streets after midnight until 6am But that didn’t stop some people from dancing and partying thorough the night Bands would play from evening until daybreak and people would stay at the clubs until curfew was...
-
Out of stock
Near the border of Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, a disputed area called Fashaga is home to one of the most raucous, hypnotic, addictive, and celestial dance musics being made anywhere in Africa, perhaps the least known to the wider world of them all Far from the townships of South Africa or the cities of Nigeria, this sound...
-
Out of stock
Hive Mind Records are proud to present Colours of the Night, the final studio recordings of deep, hypnotic Gnawa songs from the late, great Maalem Mahmoud Gania The recordings see their first release outside of Morocco on 8 September 2017, and are available as a double vinyl LP and digital download The release has been licensed...
-
A central iconic figure in the ever-thickening Cairo underground electronic scene, Zuli has crossed borders years ago with a relentless international touring schedule and releases on Lee Gamble's UIQ as well as Haunter Records, now considered as flagship works His meticulously crafted sound, located at the crossroads of IDM,...
-
First issue since 1969 of the Malombo Jazz Maker’s unknown third album, fully licensed from Julian Bahula, with liner notes featuring interviews with Julian Bahula and Lucky Ranku 'Malombo music is an indigenous kind of music If you listen to it, you can feel that it can heal you, if you’ve got something wrong It’s...
-
Out of stock
A series of pivotal music projects during the early 1980s led to an explosion of authentic South African sounds sweeping the Western world Among those projects were collaborative albums such as Malcolm McLaren’s “Duck Rock” (1983), Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s “Zulu Rock” (1984) and Paul Simon’s “Graceland” (1986);...
-
Out of stock
“Roger Bekono made a deep mark in the contemporary history of Cameroonian music through the four-on-the-floor, ribald intensity of bikutsi The Ewondo-language dance-pop style that forms an undulating tapestry of interlocking triplet rhythmic interplay came to international prominence in the European “world music” scene as...
-
One of the most eccentric characters to emerge from Lisbon's musical underground, Teteu has operated under a variety of shadowy monikers including Qraqmaxter, CiclOFF, and Erre Mente A gifted visual artist as well as a composer, he's known for developing a philosophical mythology with his drawings, mostly using a ballpoint pen to...
-
Ethiopia’s music company Muzikawi reissue the self-titled solo instrumental album of Ethio-jazz composer Dawit Yifru, which offers an exceptional occasion to rediscover one of the most important eras in Ethiopia’s music history This 11-track album features a compilation of songs that were restored and remastered from...
-
Emerging to serve the entertainment needs of Zambia's United National Independence Party (UNIP) in the early 1960s, The Broadway Quintet gathered seasoned talent from Lusaka's best hotel bands to fashion its esteemed lineup Starting as a quartet and later evolving into a quintet, the group's career spanned over twenty years as...
-
Lost recordings that defined the modern sound of the Sahara This album contains the first recordings of modern music from the Sahara and mark the birth of the genre that is known in the West as ‘Desert Blues’ or ‘Desert Rock’ Ahl Nana changed the folk music of the Sahara to modern, cosmopolitan music by using Western...
-
Emotional Rescue continues its quest to bring obscure, left of centre dance to a wider audience with a reissue of Adu’s reggae-pop song Burkina Faso, starting the next series of releases where the label teams up with DJ / producer for a series of reissues featuring their edit / mixes that add to and update the original for...
-
WITCH was the first band in Zambia to release a commercial album — 1973’s Introduction Blending the rock and roll sounds of UK rock bands like The Rolling Stones, Cream, and The Beatles together with more traditional African rhythms, WITCH pioneered a new genre dubbed Zamrock, and during their brief yet prolific existence,...
-
Out of stock
‘Ansiedade’ is another one of those perfect deployments from Príncipe, full of Afro-diasporic, rhythmic psychedelic energies spliced with electronic echoes of Portuguese fado’s melancholic blooz Active since 2014 in Tia Maria Produçuões’s rotating assembly, Danifox really came into his own with 2020’s ‘Dia Não Mata...
-
Les Disques Bongo Joe return to the scorching Kabyle rock of Abranis, the pioneering Algerian band that blended traditional Berber music with western rock, folk, disco, and funk, all the while proudly celebrating their Kabyle heritage and taking the Maghrebi music scene by storm, from Algeria to France, the latter becoming a new...
-
Some people have commented that Tinariwen have always been a country band, albeit a North African take on that most North American of genres That idea is magnified on new album Amatssou, which finds the Tuareg band’s trademark snaking guitar lines and hypnotic rhythms blending seamlessly with pedal steel, piano and strings from...
-
Another side of modern Malian praise songs: an intimate, stripped down, acoustic session from Namian Sidibé From a rising generation of young Malian divas leveraging social media, Namian has built a following, publishing videos and dedications in song, accompanied by her cousin Jules Diabaté on acoustic guitar Recorded at...
-
In Nakibembe, a small village in Uganda's Busoga kingdom (one of the country's four remaining constitutional monarchies), locals have long reserved a communal area for musical performances and social events In the middle of this space lies a deep pit that serves a single purpose: to amplify the embaire, an immense xylophone made...
-
Out of stock
New from Strut, a fresh reissue of the classic debut album Try And Love from one of Nigeria’s most celebrated Afro-rock bands, Ofege Formed by guitarist Melvin Ukachi and bassist Paul Alade while young students at St Gregory’s school in Lagos, Ofege first found their feet borrowing instruments and supporting school band The...
-
Out of stock
From beloved composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, a revelatory new album of piano pieces, unreleased or virtually inaccessible until now! Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru is a true original – an Ethiopian nun whose recordings have funded orphanages back home since the early ’60s Her compositions and unique playing style live...
-
Delving into the deepest recesses of raï, this compilation serves as a tribute to its roaring years, but also as a rejuvenation of the genre in its sulphureous, subterranean version It seemed like a good idea to dig into nearly untraceable cassettes, thus confirming it's in the oldest of Oranese pots that the very best of raï is...
2016 Commercial Drive, Vancouver B.C. V5N 4A9 | Everyday 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
