Nubia Nova

Hold on tight, as Mexico City's 'loco' nine-piece instrumental combo Sonido Gallo Negro (Black Rooster Sound) is about drop its third album via the trusted Glitterbeat Records on April 6th. And, as the title suggests, it promises to be one heck of a trip.

Following up on their enticing 2011 debut "Cumbia Salvaje" (Savage Cumbia) and its equally mind-bending 2014 successor "Sendero Místico" (Mystical Path), the group's "exhilarating third album continues their [...]

Always good for a rare dig are Paris-based Hot Casa Records, an imprint specialising in dusty afro soul and tropical funk and run by DJ Julien Lebrun alongside Djamel Hammadi (aka Afrobrazilero).

Their latest find is an obscure artist from the Ivory Coast by the name of Deke Tom Dollard, who went on to record a total of four albums between 1979 and the early 1980ies. Two of these records, recorded in Abidjan and released on two different labels (War Records [...]

Hailing from the Ghanaian capital of Accra is the one and only DJ Katapila, aka Ishmael Abbey, who was first brought to our attention by the always reliable Awesome Tapes From Africa, when the label reissued his now internationally acclaimed debut album "Trotro" in 2016. The record went on to feature in renowned publications the likes of The New York Times, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor and FACT magazine among others, which ultimately launched Katapila's touring [...]

The multi-talented drummer and producer Nicola Mauskovic is at it again. After he most recently resurfaced on our radar as part of the Amsterdam-based Turkish psych-folk outfit Altın Gün, who are set to release their debut album at the end of this month, he now presents the four-track debut EP of The Mauskovic Dance Band, released last Friday on London's Soundway Records.

"Down in the Basement" presents "a potent, modern blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and [...]

We just can't get enough of these stories and most importantly this extraordinary music. Hailing from a secluded, hardly accessible village in central Niger, located at the edge of the Sahara, with little infrastructure, no electricity or running water, Les Filles de Illighadad released their very first studio album at the tail end of last year on Christopher Kirkley's Sahel Sounds imprint. Led by Fatou Seidi Ghali, the all-female "avant rock group bring their [...]

Hot damn! You might remember last year's post on this Amsterdam-based Turkish psych-folk formation's limited 7" release via Bongo Joe Records, which really set the tone and got us here all in a frenzy.

Now, the group, fronted by the magnificent Merve Dasdemir, released a KEXP live recording of them performing at the Halle de la Courrouze in Rennes, France, during last year's Trans Musicales Festival 2017.

Watch below as Altın Gün unleash the undeniable charm [...]

There is something truly mesmerising about the sound of the oud, even more so, when it's the sound of two ouds. Firmly rooted in North African and Middle Eastern culture, the lute-like, pear-shaped instrument is assumed to be of Central Asian origin. Now propelling the instrument into the 21st century are the virtuosic duo of Tunisian-born Jean-Pierre Smadja, alias Smadj, and Mehdi Haddab from Algeria.

Based in Paris, the two master oud players joined forces as [...]

London-based global online music broadcasting platform Boiler Room just released a short feature on longstanding experimental Turkish formation BaBa ZuLa. Founded in 1996, BaBa ZuLa continues to entice crowds the world around with their psychedelic improvisations and explorations and, to this day, still includes the band's lead vocalist and electric saz player Osman Murat Ertel as well as percussionist Levent Akman.

The short portrait accompanies the band [...]

In case you were wondering who's got next, you may want to keep an ear out for Soweto-based afro-psychedelic seven-piece BCUC, aka Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness. “We see ourselves as modern freedom fighters who have to tell the story of Soweto’s past, present and future to the world,” says singer Jovi Nkosi. As such, the band makes music for the people, moving audiences with their rebellious energy and uniquely explosive mix.

"Like its elders, [...]

Now-Again Records and Vinyl Me, Please have teamed up to release "one of the last treasure troves of Ethiopian Funk" by Ethiopian legend Ayalew Mesfin, over 40 years after its initial appearance. Recorded in the 1970's with his Black Lion Band, Mesfin's music "is among the funkiest to arise from Addis Ababa".

With a near two dozen 7" singles and several reel-to-reel tapes to his name, "Hasabe (My Worries)" is the first anthology of his music. Only four of his [...]

Crowned "Best Rapper" (in addition to winning "HipHop Song of the Year" for "God MC") at the 2017 Ghana Music Awards, M.anifest picked the day after Valentine's Day to drop the gorgeous companion video to "Simple Love", off his 2016-released album "Nowhere Cool".

Directed by Makere Thekiso with Motheo Moeng in charge of photography, the short film follows a ballet dancer's supple movements in slow-motion, as she winds her way through a bustling street market [...]

Little seems known about the London-based imprint and monthly NTS Radio show host Death Is Not The End, specializing in "dusty gospel, blues, folk and excavations from the field". If you are into obscure digs however, you may find extreme pleasure from rummaging through the label's Bandcamp page and the numerous releases up for grabs, ranging from mid-20th century Louisiana State Penitentiary spirituals to Mexican mushroom ceremonies and Circassian [...]