RDV Discoteca
Bamao Yendé
Aptly named RDV Discoteca, this eight-track EP is an invitation to dance. On jerky kuduro-inspired rhythm and smooth synth melodic lines, the track’s of Parisian DJ Bamao Yendé, leader of Boukan Records, follow one another to procure an indescribable sensation of ease and the urge to let go. Garage house and breakbeat enthusiast, Bamao Yendé and his crew are well known in the Parisian electronic scene for their eclectic productions and restless energy. His closeness with the Nyege Nyege collective is not surprising given his love for marginalised scenes.
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Raw Space
Authentically Plastic
Almost a year after the release of the atypical Doxa, the Anti-Mass’s first EP done with her colleagues Turkana et Nsasi, the artist signed a first experimental album strongly imprinted with the Nyege Nyege touch. Both abrasive and sensual, Authentically Plastic mutates the rhythms and structures of their tracks, drawing inspiration from East African polyrhythms to deliver a record that borrows as much from surrealism as from avant-gardism. Between industrial techno, acid textures and rough experimentations, Authentically Plastic plunges Afro-futurism into a broth of rave culture that does not leave indifferent. Raw Space is a reflection of the artist’s militant character: a free, wild and convoluted music that uses chaos as its main pillar. Raw Space is a reflection of the artist’s militant character: free, wild and convoluted music that uses chaos as its main pillar.
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Lulanga Tales
Nyati Mayi & The Astral Synth Transmitters
Nyati Mayi & The Astral Synth Transmitters is a belgian duo formed by Nyati Mayi, a Congolese musician, sings and plays the lulanga (a stringed instrument, belonging to the zither family, with a rectangular, shallow-troughed body, that originates from the Democratic Republic of Congo) and DJ soFa, aka the Astral Synth Transmitters and soFa elsewhere, a producer and dedicated digger. For the purpose of this debut album, they produced six tracks featuring Nyati Mayi’s vocals (singing in no particular language) and his expert lulanga’s playing, woven together with electronic sound and percussive rhythms, to deliver a jazztronic, afro-futuristic record. Appealing to their eclectic taste, Lulanga Tales showcases the richness and versatility of Brussel’s underground scene that easily embrace the lulanga’s recognisable sound and the trance-like virtue of Nyati Mayi’s singing inspired by gnawa music.
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Denim
Odunsi (The Engine)
Such a small EP, yet so densely packed. A sense of brevity dear to the Lagos-based Afrofusion poster boy who showcases his creative self in the four-track project which follows the release of his last album Half a Tab which came out in November 2021. Oduni, nicknamed The Engine truly has “nothing to prove” as the title “N2P” implies and which resonates with what he had told PAM back in 2018: “You don’t owe anyone anything, to be honest, just do what you feel like doing.” The EP is a cohesive record with sensual vibes and interesting sound effects.The EP features 2aab on the track “WTF!”
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The Same Tree
Bibi Tanga & The Selenites
The quintet led by Central African singer and bassist Bibi Tanga returns with a fourth album entitled The Same Tree: their latest exploration. Through hypnotic and danceable grooves, the moon convey “messages of brotherhood and respect that remind us of our universal common roots” sung in English and Sango. This album is the result of two years of work and long night improvisation sessions. It compiles 14 tracks of “hybrid funk” at the same time festive and dark which draw from the band’s multiple influences.
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