Japan's Minyo Crusaders are a 10-piece big band of sorts, quite unlike anything we've heard. On a mission to rework Japanese 'min'yō' folk songs into more danceable and let's say accessible arrangements, blending Japanese traditions with Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian flavours, the group has been on a tear, ever since the release of their debut album "Echoes of Japan" on Mais Um back in May. 

With several European live dates ahead in November/December, [...]

A few weeks ago we were caught off guard by an Instagram ad from Far Out Recordings, teasing two upcoming and now released re-issues of Brazilian artist Ana Mazzotti. The ad was accompanied by an incredibly catchy track that instantly struck a chord and led us to mark the release day in our calendars. As we now know, the track in question was "Agora Ou Nunca Mais", the opener of her 1974 debut album "Niguem Vai Me Segurar". We had never heard of Mazzotti before [...]

Ghanaian highlife music is as alive as ever and so is the irresistibly charismatic and no doubt iconic "golden voice of Africa" , Pat Thomas. At 72 years and after approximately 50 years in music with the likes of Ebo Taylor, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, he just delivered his second album alongside Accra's Kwashibu Area Band on Strut Records, proving yet again that age is but a number. And just like its self-entitled, 2015-released predecessor, "Obiaa!" (which [...]

Istanbul's Grup Ses is back at it. This time the avid digger, DJ and producer resurfaced an obscure 1975 one-take album by the should be and maybe soon to be legendary Grup Doğuş, aka the brothers Tufan and Muhittin Aydoğan, guest workers, who emigrated from Turkey to Germany and in 1974 formed their group.

Tufan Aydoğan, playfully dubbed "Hammond Tufan, the Conqueror of all organs" by none other than Barış Manço, was, as you may have guessed, the [...]

We've been a fan of Fortuna Records label boss Kalbata and his production wizardry ever since his "Congo Beat the Drum" release alongside fellow producer Mixmonster. That being said, we were all the more intrigued when he dropped his latest six-tracker on Fortuna about a month ago, which we share with you today.

On "Vanrock" Kalbata joins forces with Israeli psychedelic afro-pop five-piece Tigris on a deeply mystical affair. The album draws inspiration from [...]

Earlier this year back in March, Tel Aviv's Jewish Monkeys returned to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic for a string of live shows, where they also performed the lead single "All the Great Things" from their forthcoming third full-length "Catastrophic Life".

It just so happened that they decided to record their kickoff concert at the state theatre of Mainz and turn their performance of "All the Great Things" into an official live video. Recently released [...]

Back in May, the young Berlin/Potsdam-based nine-piece Wanubalé (Swahili for "Brothers") dropped a sizzling two-track EP on Agogo Records, which was right down our alley. The same two tracks now  feature on their brand new eight-track debut album "Phosphenes", recorded in the Jazzanova Studios alongside Axel Reinemer. And so the musical circle comes full turn. 

Wanubalé met in school and, drawing inspiration from the Berlin's jazz and club scene, set out to [...]

We were there to cover the imprint's first release in 2018, alias Fédia Laguerre's "Divizion", and we continue to be impressed by the body of work DJ/producer Déni-Shain and his friend/label parter Thomas Vicente have been putting out on Atangana Records since.

In June, they released the first volume of"a tribute to the great Guadeloupean producer Henri Debs" in collaboration with the latter's legendary label Henri Debs & Fils, one of the most prolific French [...]

If you thought life couldn't possibly get much worse, then brace yourself, for "Catastrophic Life" is upon us! After "Mania Regressia" and "High Words", Tel Aviv’s grandfathers of punk are back to present their third album, to be released via yours truly on November 8th. Wait a minute. Grandfather's of punk?! We beg to disagree. In fact, several talented young bloods joined the ranks of the Jewish Monkeys over the past years, flashing polyphonic brass and [...]

Paris-based label Akuphone, created by Fabrice Géry (aka Cheb Gero) in 2015, has made a name for itself with an abundance of rare and striking releases of global pop and folk, including Praed's "Doomsday Survival Kit", Mushapata's "Saba-Saba Fighting", Balinese funerary music on "Gamelan Beleganjur" or Kink Gong's "Tibetan Buddhism Trip". 

Back in June, the label released a fascinating compilation of contemporary "Japanese female artists from various [...]

Strut Records continues its essential compilation series of Indian Ocean sounds with "Alefa Madagascar", the first compilation to document the unique culture of salegy, soukous and soul on the island during the ‘70s and ‘80s. The selection, made by Réunionese DJs La Basse Tropicale and Percy Yip Tong (Mauritius) reveals the enormous diversity of sounds produced on the East African island from 1974-1984, many of them by the influential Charles Maurin [...]

Apparently there is a story to every song. Not just a story that reveals how the song came to be, but also a story that explains, how or when the song was first heard. For us it was about two months ago, on a bike, listening to the Worldwide FM playlist, when we first heard of Portuguese producer/DJ Bruno Deodato's Internal N.Y. Rhythms project. 

It turned out, that the mesmerising, shaker-ridden firecracker of a tune we had just listened to was "Poli-ritmo II" [...]