The Wizard

Back in June of last year we first introduced Benin's 'Almighty Polyrhythmic Orchestra of Cotonou' to our readers, on the occasion of their 2016-released "Madjafalao" LP (Because Music). That same month the largest and officially the longest active African formation performed live in Berlin for the first time ever, adding to their steadily rising acclaim and rocking the crowds at YAAM Berlin with lively and equally virtuosic aplomb.

Today, we are excited to [...]

This one takes us back in time or forward, you decide. Hailing from the Northern Argentine Andes, renowned composer Gaby Kerpel is somewhat of a musical visionary. His digitalised, imaginary alter ego King Coya has made a name for himself, by blending traditional elements from Colombian and Peruvian cumbias as well as Argentine folklore with electronic music.

His 2009 release on ZZK Records entitled "Cumbias de Villa Donde" features "an accessible yet timeless [...]

Berlin meet Bolgatanga on this recent release via Max Weissenfeldt's Philophon imprint, featuring Guy One. Simply entitled "#1" this is indeed a first for Guy One, "who grew up in remote northern Ghana with no schooling, spending a life herding goats, building his own instruments and teaching himself to sing". At home and in the surrounding local villages the award-winning Guy One and his Frafra music are well-adored by a "fervent following", his voice a [...]

Hailing from the busy streets of São Paulo and "blending West African themes with Ethiopian jazz and North American styles" are Brazilian ethno-fusion collective Nomade Orquestra. In a review for The Guardian, Robin Denselow writes: "This inventive, 10-piece instrumental band match a powerful brass section against guitars, drum and bass, creating tuneful big-band music driven by insistent riffs and constantly changing direction."

What he was referring to, was [...]

Released late last week via Pete Buckenham's London-based, forward-thinking Jazz imprint On The Corner Records (which was just awarded 'Label of the Year' at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards) and whom you may already be familiar with through the Mugwisa International Xylophone Group release in 2017, is the amazingly energetic new "Super Liminal" LP by Afro-Colombian electronic four-piece Penya, aka the band led by multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer and [...]

If you haven't yet heard of Gnawa music, it is part of a North African tradition of spiritual religious songs and rhythms that remains one of the major musical currents in Morocco to this day. Often dubbed 'Moroccan Blues', "Gnawa music is the ritual trance music of Morocco’s black communities, originally descended from slaves and soldiers once brought to Morocco from Northern Mali and Mauritania [that has] a raw, hypnotic power".

Based in New York City [...]

Another week has come to an end and thus, with some off-time in sight, we would like to tip our hat to Dave Jenkins and the friendly folks over at Bandcamp for their recent feature on the Israeli groove scene. With the help of Tel Aviv DJ and producer Sabbo, the article spans 12 essential acts on the local scene, along with links to their respective pages.

“Maybe it’s a cliché, but Israel is all about fusion in its food, its architecture, and art,” [...]

In line with the recent protests in Iran, French daily La Libération published an article earlier this month detailing the continued censorship of music recorded before the revolution of 1979, during the reign of the Shah. Such is the music by the likes of Gougoush, Ramesh, Zia, Shahram, Shabpareh or Mohammad Nouri that to this day, along with the usual pop music suspects from the Western hemisphere, remains forbidden.

Ever since the revolution, all [...]

We are officially back from a short holiday hiatus and are slowly but surely ready for a new year rich in musical discoveries from around the globe. To start things off in a more mellow 'back to work' kind of way we decided to point you to the young, London-based Kokoroko Afrobeat Collective, an 8-piece combo of young jazz musicians led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey. In their compositions, the band (composed of Maurice-Grey, Cassie Kinoshi (saxophone), [...]

Only a few more days to go and 2017 is history as we eagerly await the joy and the pain and most importantly the music that 2018 has in store for us. But before we make the jump, we would like to highlight one more essential release by ways of Genevan-based imprint WRWTFWW (We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want) Records and NYC's Palto Flats.

Earlier this year, the two collaborated on a highly sought-after reissue of Midori Takada's ambient holy grail LP "[...]

Another weekend in sight and the holiday season is officially upon us... So here's us wishing you all happy and peaceful holidays!

That being said, we would like to show our appreciation by presenting you with this the one-hour clip of Gili Yalo's blazing live performance from this year's Trans Musicales festival, which took place earlier this month in Rennes, France. And what a show it was!

If you didn't know, Gili Yalo just released his self-entitled debut [...]

As the days grow shorter and this year draws to a close, we find ourselves thoroughly enjoying the distinctly introspective listening experience that acclaimed Malian-born chanteuse Fatoumata Diawara's astonishing 2011 debut album "Fatou" (World Circuit Records) has to offer, her only solo full-length to date. Success was quick to follow, as Diawara toured with Damon Albarn's Africa Express supergroup, performed alongside Paul McCartney in London, collaborated [...]