{"id":41793,"date":"2019-04-26T17:42:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T15:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/6-albums-you-need-to-hear-this-week\/"},"modified":"2020-04-27T03:35:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T02:35:38","slug":"6-albums-you-need-to-hear-this-week-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/6-albums-you-need-to-hear-this-week-3\/","title":{"rendered":"6 albums you need to hear this week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h4>\n

In this week’s selection: Ezra Collective’s London jazz, Japanese traditions revisited through cumbia by Minyo Crusaders, K.O.G highly energetic album, Ekiti Sound creates the soundtrack of the new diaspora, Kwesi Arthur raps about life in Ghana and Sahel Sound is back with some retrofuturistic\u00a0music from the Sahara.<\/h4>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ezra Collective<\/b><\/p>\n

You Can\u2019t Steal My Joy<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

London quintet Ezra Collective is one of the most exciting bands of the new English Jazz scene. Drawing from Afrobeat, Latin music, as well as from Hip-Hop and Grime \u2013 their unique blend and inclusive approach to music has seen them break out way beyond the thriving UK Jazz scene. Following their acclaimed debut EP, their first album, <\/span>You Can\u2019t Steal My Joy<\/span><\/i> matches its expectations. It features friends and fans, among which Loyle Carner, KOKOROKO and Jorja Smith (on the song \u201cReason In Disguise\u201d released last year), as well as a cover of Sun Ra\u2019s \u201cSpace Is The Place\u201d and a tribute to Fela Kuti.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stream the album\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/h5>\n
Minyo Crusaders<\/b><\/h5>\n
Echoes From Japan<\/i><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Echoes From Japan, <\/span><\/i>debut album from Tokyo based big-band Minyo Crusaders is much more than a proof of concept. They manage to blend japanese traditional min\u2019y\u014d music with cumbia, afrofunk and ethiojazz in an unexpected and refreshing way. The idea of this unforeseen mix comes from guitar player Katsumi Tanaka: \u201cTo Japanese People, min\u2019y\u014d is seen as a traditional music and thus, intellectuel. But it\u2019s actually popular music, work songs, songs for dancing and drinking. I wanted to give these song their literal meaning of songs for the people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stream the album\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/h5>\n
K.O.G<\/h5>\n
Wahala Wahala<\/em><\/h5>\n

Under the guidance of the outrageously talented Ghanaian force of nature Kweku Sackey, aka K.O.G, and the whirlwind of energy that is Jamaican rapper Franz Von Song, the Afro-fusion 8-piece band K.O.G & the Zongo Brigade deliver an infectious, high-energy West African grooves drawing on afrobeat, soul, funk, rock, hip hop and reggae which has fast gained recognition in London and all over the UK. K.O.G\u2019s signature mix of high-energy songs, raps and operatic vocal effect.
\nWith a backdrop of African rhythms that include electric brass, thunderous percussion and sharp-edge guitar, \u2018Wahala Wahala\u2019 takes possession of the body as the words excite the mind. Racism, rejection, inequality, exile – the subject matter is always serious but the delivery irresistibly upbeat and rhythmic, guaranteed to get the feet moving because in every pain, there is also joy. It’s music from our soul telling stories how we were told growing up and merging grooves and African rhythms to exhibit the spirit of AFRICA in relation to where we are in the diaspora\u201d, says K.O.G.<\/p>\n

Stream the album here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/h5>\n
Ekiti Sound<\/h5>\n
Abeg No Wex<\/em><\/h5>\n

Ekiti Sound\u2019s debut album Abeg No Vex<\/em> is a starkly original record, built up of layered musical histories, fragmented and unified all at once, cohesive in its celebration of difference. \u201cIt’s a way of paying tribute to where I come from,\u201d Leke says. \u201cIt will help circulate this name which represents the energy that my parents gave me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Leke\u2019s adopted name is a nod to the Nigerian state, where his father was born. His family repeatedly moved back and forth between the UK and Nigeria, most often between their two capitals, London and Lagos. He\u2019s continued to be based between the two, laying down roots in both cities as an adult, working as a sound editor both for Nollywood, the booming film industry in Nigeria, as well as for the UK\u2019s esteemed Pinewood Studios<\/span><\/p>\n

Abeg No Vex<\/em> clatters the bass frequencies of UK soundsystems \u2013 from drum & bass to dubstep and funky house \u2013 with the styles and traditions of Nigeria. Ekiti Sound spearheads a new musical dialogue between London and Lagos. <\/span><\/p>\n

Stream the album\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kwesi Arthur<\/h5>\n
Live From Nkrumah Krom Vol II: Home Run<\/em><\/h5>\n

Fast-rising Rap sensation and youngest Ghanaian artist to have a BET nomination Kwesi Arthur released his much anticipated debut album studio, Live From Nkrumah Krom Vol II: Home Run<\/em>. A 9 track album which features, Mr Eazi, Shatta Wale, Nasty C, Sarkodie, Stonebwoy and production made by MOG Beatz, KaySo and Uche.
\nKwesi was discovered through the Tema-based music platform Ground Up Chale,
\nwhich gives people access to studio time and support. “Ground Up is my foundation,” he says to Okayafrica.
\nKwesi raps in both English and Twi (a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana), his music is a reflection of his life and to ghana\u2019s history and Nkrumah heritage.<\/p>\n

Stream the album\u00a0here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla<\/strong><\/p>\n

Terrouzi<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Terrouzi<\/em> is a standout entry in synth music from the Sahara, a future vision of Mauritania WZN. Indulging the digital keyboard for all its plastic sounds, accompanied with the thump and clash of programmed electronic drums, Ahmedou\u2019s style is difficult to place. Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla plays instrumental electronic keyboard in a style known in Mauritania as WZN, or in Arabic simply \u201cmusic.\u201d Born into a musical family tradition (his father is a renowned tidnit player from Traza), today Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla is one of Mauritania\u2019s most premiere keyboard performers. With Terrouzi, Ahmedou leans heavily into outernational pop music, creating anachronistic pieces that veer from 90s slow jam R&B, to bass heavy boom bap and minimal trap.<\/p>\n

Stream the album\u00a0here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\n
Read Next:\u00a0Kassav\u2019s legendary debut album reissued for the first time<\/a><\/span><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this week’s selection: Ezra Collective’s London jazz, Japanese traditions revisited through cumbia by Minyo Crusaders, K.O.G highly energetic album, Ekiti Sound creates the soundtrack of the new diaspora, Kwesi Arthur raps about life in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":24410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3944],"tags":[5055,5142,5674],"location":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41793"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41793"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=41793"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=41793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}