So La Ma La

It comes as no surprise that the title "Riders on the Storm", a track made world-famous by The Doors, would come to be the opener of Stiff Pap's recently released album project "TUFF TIME$", seeing as they are literally out there riding the current storm. Strained economies, a worldwide pandemic and local South African strife add to the Johannesburg-based duo's riveting mix of progressive electronic styles, blending an alternative hiphop spirit with African [...]

Turn your dials to the latest six-track release by "Anatolian psych-pop sensations" Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, who are back with a new batch of musical lightning. Last Friday, the Hamburg-based group unveiled its second album, "the first of a two-part series to be released in 2021" via Bongo Joe/Catapulte Records. Having gained well-deserved and steadily increasing worldwide acclaim for their "contemporary takes on traditional Anatolian folk ballads, [...]

Tehran, the Iranian capital and cultural melting pot, is not just home to a population of approximately 15 million, but also accommodates a vibrant music scene with many a hidden gem yet to be discovered by Western audiences. Sure, we've covered a few uncharted releases in the past, such as Hamburg-born and Tehran-based sound visionary Ata 'Sote' Ebtekar's "Parallel Persia" (2019) and "Sacred Horror in Design" (2017) or Iranian composer Morteza Hannaneh's [...]

It's been three years since we picked up on the wicked charms of ebullient French-Togolese afro-funk collective Vaudou Game by ways of their third album "OTODI". Led by equally effervescent and formerly masked bandleader Peter Solo and shrouded in a spiritual mist, Vaudou Game was quick to win us over with a whole lot of funk and pizzazz. The group continues to be a force to be reckoned with and just dropped its fourth longplayer on Hot Casa Records. Enter "[...]

At this time, we'd like to direct your attention to the always stellar Brighton-based imprint Hive Mind Records, who just recently put out a beautiful record by Berber artist Hassan Wargui. Originally recorded alongside a group of friends in 2015 and subsequently self-released on YouTube, due to a lack of viable alternatives and "a music infrastructure in Morocco", it is now seeing its first official release. Simply entitled "Tiddukla" ('Friendship'), it [...]

Last Friday marked release day for the much anticipated sophomore / debut album "Mamari" by afrobeat-inspired multi-instrumentalist and "punk provocateur" Niklas Mündemann's one-man show turned thrilling power ensemble Muito Kaballa from Cologne, Germany. We may have lost you there, so let's rewind, shall we? 

A few years back, answering to a surge of inspiration and a knack for improvisation, Niklas Mündemann went out and bought himself a loop station, [...]

Roughly one month after we premiered the official companion video to their cinematic fourth album outtake "Žali Zare", a scintillating reinterpretation of a popular song from Southern Serbia, the Bucharest-based duo Balkan Taksim is set to unveil its long-awaited debut effort on Buda Musique. Today marks release day for "Disko Telegraf", as multi-instrumentalist Sașa-­Liviu Stoianovici and producer Alin Zăbrăuțeanu present 13 heady tracks, situated [...]

Some three years after releasing his pivotal afro-centric and poly-phonic tapestry of future bass, jazz and field recordings, entitled "Black Noise 2084", the multi-talented Italian producer, writer and artistic director Raffaele Constantino, aka Khalab, has readied a new project that is somewhat difficult to put into words and best listened to in its entirety. Let us nonetheless provide you with some context as a backdrop for what you are about to [...]

Every now and then we chance upon an album that commands our full attention and speaks to us with a voice that is entirely its own. Such is the case with Arab Palestinian singer, musician and vocal/music therapist Samah Mustafa, who late last year released her nine-track album "Balloor" to the world. "Balloor" (or 'Crystals') sees Samah exploring new levels and layers in her own voice, using it both as an instrument and a means to express different [...]

Look up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane? Balkan Taksim are prepared for liftoff. The Romanian duo just released single number four off its forthcoming, long-awaited debut album and is now set to premiere the accompanying official music video via yours truly. Blending electronic psychedelia with regional traditions, multi-instrumentalist Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici and producer Alin Zăbrăuțeanu are currently pushing the boundaries of contemporary Balkan [...]

Beckoning us to join him on his latest tropicalia-tinged, club-ready single "Vem" is Berlin-based producer, DJ, radio host, journalist and Man Recordings label founder Daniel Haaksman. Haaksman has long been a purveyor of global bass and tropical styles, ranging from his 2004-released "Rio Baile Funk Favela Booty Beats" compilation to his 2016-realeased "African Fabrics" LP and his 2020-released "Black Atlantica Edits". So it may not come as a surprise that his [...]

Easter is here and with that we present you Teno Afrika's "Amapiano Selections" released late last year on the always stellar Awesome Tapes from Africa imprint. In case you were wondering, let us provide some more context: Like kwaito and diBacardi, the amapiano style of electronic music arose from the townships of South Africa, marked by a "DIY ethos" and "evolving from an underground sound to a nationwide mainstream staple," Setumo-Thebe Mohlomi's liner notes [...]