In this week’s selection: the festive new album of DaVido, the reissue of the first disco funk album by Don Lata, the compilation from Blanc Manioc label and many others…
A Good Day
DaVido
To celebrate his 27th birthday, Davido’s 17-track album tagged A Good Time has dropped today. The project which features a bunch of great artistes including Naira Marley, Peruzzi, Zlatan, Popcaan, Summer Walker, Dremo, Chris Brown, A Boogie with Da Hoodie and others. Production across the album comes from the likes of Kiddominant, Shizzi, London On Da Track, Speroach Beatz, P2J and more.
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Nyamakala Beats Vol.1
Blanc Manioc
Featuring 6 tracks, you may have missed and 7 previously unreleased, Blanc Manioc, the young record label born out of Bamako and Lyon, presents: Nyamakala beats #1. Through this compilation, they use their talent as a weapon to free themselves from traditional music codes and invent their own language; affirming their identity through musical expression in the emerging African electronic scene.
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Antoinette Konan
Antoinette Konan
Awesome Tapes From Africa reissues visionary Antoinette Konan’s eponymous album. Known as the “Queen of the Ahoko” among Ivorians, Konan single-handedly put the central-Ivorian instrument on the map when she gave it a 20th-century re-introduction. Released in 1986, her eponymous album is a true opus of instrumental force and contemporary pop sensibility landing in a melting pot of diverse, creative characters inhabiting Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
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11th Street, Sekondi
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Ghanaian highlife star and renowned saxophonist, singer and guitarist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley returns with 11th Street, Sekondi, his 32nd album since his debut in 1973. Named after the area of West Ghana in which he grew up, Ambolley’s 11th Street album is a look back at the area and musical styles that shaped the musician’s life. It’s the second of his album to be released on German label Agogo Records, after acclaimed 2017 hit, Ketan.
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Saadia Jefferson
El Khat
Saadia Jefferson is a glorious act of vandalism on Yemeni traditions led by inventor, carpenter, musician and composer Eyal El Wahab. Dismantling lyrics, melodies and compositions from Yemeni folk songs, El Khat delves into uncharted sonic territory updating Yemen’s ancient culture. The album bears the fruit of a self-imposed mission of discovery for Eyal El Wahab’s Yemeni roots.
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Ism
Junius Paul
Junius Paul is an artist born and raised in Chicago and known to the international music community for his skilful and spiritual bass work. Ism is a debut album where the musician explores his various influences from classic rock to psychedelic Chicago soul to black jazz of the 1960s and ’70s. Junius is a bridge between generations of the Chicago vanguard, currently playing in Makaya McCraven’s combo and in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, in addition to fronting his own band.
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I Wanna Be Myself
Don Laka
A classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Don Laka began his career in the ‘70s and then joined the seminal jazz outfit Sakhile in the early ‘80s. Constantly striving for the latest sounds, Laka’s early explorations culminated in his debut solo album, I Wanna Be Myself: “This was the first commercial record made on a Fairlight in this country. The only thing I programmed was the drums. You can hear the snare sound, I think it was a mix of some cracked bottles and something that we just mixed.”
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