{"id":88150,"date":"2021-09-24T14:50:58","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T12:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=88150"},"modified":"2021-09-24T17:11:44","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T15:11:44","slug":"albums-24-09-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/albums-24-09-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"11 albums you should listen to this week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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President Ya Straata<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focalistic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focalistic<\/a>\u2019s mission to export amapiano<\/a> to the rest of the world is on hold, with the Pitori (Pretoria)-born superstar now unveiling his latest project, entitled President Ya Straata<\/em>, which means \u201cPresident of the streets<\/em>\u201d in sePitori. The project recalls his come-up and a serves as a display of gratitude, with the rapper reminding us that when he\u2019s not touring abroad, in Africa and Europe, he remains one of the local leaders of South African new wave. On seven explosive tracks, the \u2018Pitori Maradonna\u2019 immerses himself in very localised sounds of Pretoria and its province, like bacardi house on \u201cBarcardi Ke Religion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Place: Nairobi<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KMRU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KMRU<\/a> is based between Berlin, where he studies sound and acoustic arts, and his home town Nairobi. Today, he releases Place: Nairobi<\/em>, a new compilation featuring the front runners of the young Kenyan electronic music scene. “The idea of making a compilation about the Nairobi scene has been on my mind for quite some time<\/em>,” the producer told us in a French interview<\/a>. “Nairobi is a little bit under the yoke of mainstream music, yet the city has an extremely dynamic alternative scene. Artist producers, musicians… <\/em>[…] For me, with these fourteen tracks, we’re barely scratching the surface of a scene in full bloom<\/em>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We Famous<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kondi Band<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Announced via three singles including the excellent \u201cIt’s God’s World (So Don’t Do Bad),\u201d the Kondi Band<\/a> trio finally release We Famous<\/em>. Sierra Leonean musician Sorie Kondi, his compatriot Chief Boima and English producer Will LV, recorded the album over a period of four years, while Sorie toured Belgium, Spain and the Canary Islands. The result is an irresistible set made of varied and colourful tracks, in which Boima and Will give the acoustic musician the keys to the dancefloor. Sorie and his thumb piano fit perfectly within dance music, thanks to his catchy lyrics and infectious melodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seekers International – Presents Ragga Preservation Society – Worldwide Sound<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seekers International<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The enigmatic Manila-via-British Columbia ensemble Seekers International returns to Tokyo-based label Diskotopia for the follow up to 2016’s RaggaPreservationSociety<\/em>. This time, the crew are back with collaborative goodness \u2014 namely alongside Roger Robinson as Papa Robbie on \u201cKill-A-Milli,\u201d Second Woman (Joshua Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv & Belong’s Turk Dietrich), wzrdyAV, and the late DJ Wundrkut, who heartbreakingly passed away a month before the release. Worldwide Sound\u2019s direction takes the original RaggaPreservationSociety<\/a> <\/em>records to jungle dubs, radio rips, and soundclash tape samples, tapping into the raga-jungle history of Canada’s large Jamaican community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Joy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally from a small town just outside of Durban in South Africa, the five members of The Joy<\/a> met at high school upon entering a singing competition together. Their music spread globally from the group\u2019s Instagram, soon catching the attention of high profile names within the worldwide artist community, impressed by their joyful sound, spontaneous arrangements and uplifting dance moves. Their first body of work, Amabutho<\/em>, is a combination of Zulu music with a modern a capella flourish, perfectly encapsulating the band\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Wayne Snow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigerian-born singer and songwriter Wayne Snow<\/a> releases the result of three years of work with Figurine<\/a><\/em>. The album is a personal and profound work that addresses humanity\u2019s obsession with representations, masks and fictional characters. Over the course of 10 tracks, the Berlin-based artist blends neo soul with soultronica and pop inflections in an exploration of our insecurities following the forced social isolation of the past year. \u201cWe always hide behind characters and let them dominate us. We are always running after an ideal because we are afraid to face reality<\/em>,” Snow says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maurice Louca<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSaet el Hazz<\/em>\u201d is a coded saying in Egypt that refers to having good time, usually implying a great deal of debauchery. Louca\u2019s desire to collaborate with Lebanese band \u201cA\u201d Trio was the spark for this free-jazz album, while the art organization Mophradat ignited the project. In commissioning a new composition to be performed using instruments that Louca would modify, Mophradat led him to Indonesian, German and Turkish music experiences, creating a sound that wasn\u2019t necessarily rooted in the Arabic tradition of maqam anymore. \u201cThe drive behind the music of this album and how it came to be, and the energy between us at the studio rehearsing and recording it, was in a lot of ways for me a saet hazz,<\/em>\u201d the Egyptian alternative musicians writes about the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Teenage Dreams<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native Soul<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native Soul<\/a> was formed in 2019 by Kgothatso Tshabalala (19 years old) and Zakhele Mhlanga (18 years old). Their debut album, Teenage Dreams<\/a><\/em>, released by Awesome Tapes From Africa<\/a>, demonstrates staggering levels of maturity. Each track develops incrementally with various elements introduced in turn, embodying the duo\u2019s South African music heritage by drawing on old school kwaito, trip-hop and even globalised house. The layers add to the emotion and take Teenage Dreams<\/em> beyond just a dance project, but one that shows what depth can be gained when ability meets creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Black Prayers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the age of 33, self-taught singer Obi, born in Nigeria, releases his first album Black Prayers<\/em>. The project is a musical journey nourished by experiences: that of a young migrant who has experienced the suffering on his road to clandestinity in Europe. The eight tracks on the album pass through light and shadow, pain and joy, suffering and hope. “I want my sound to be like me<\/em>,” the singer told us in a French interview<\/a> with PAM. “Even if I’m doing dancehall, or afrobeats, I want it to be Obi<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Late Night Tales Present Version Excursion Selected by Don Letts<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Letts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British compilation series Late Night Tales partners with British\/Jamaican rebel Don Letts<\/a> for Version Excursion<\/a><\/em>, a hypnotic set of remixed songs that have influenced his sound. Speaking about the eclectic tracklist, Letts explained: \u201cA disciple of sound system, raised on reggae n\u2019 bass culture, my go to sound was dub. But that\u2019s only half the story as the duality of my existence meant I was also checking what the Caucasian crew were up to, not to mention the explosion of black music coming in from the States. You\u2019d think it impossible to draw a line between \u2018em but not in my world<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Cheque<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter Cheque releases 13-track album Bravo<\/em>, a real testament to his sing-rap hybrid sound, taking listeners on a sonic ride reflective of his musical palette. The album comes following a run of singles including \u201cCall Me Baby\u201d and most recently \u201cLOML\u201d alongside YBNL linchpin Olamide<\/a>. Additional collaborations come from American rapper Jackboy, Nigerian musical prodigy Ayra Starr<\/a>, who channels new energies in lead single \u201cDangerous\u201d and childhood friend Fireboy DML<\/a> on the reflective \u201cHistory,\u201d which sees both artists reminisce on how far they\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Ya Straata Focalistic Focalistic\u2019s mission to export amapiano to the rest of the world is on hold, with the Pitori (Pretoria)-born superstar now unveiling his latest project, entitled President Ya Straata, which means \u201cPresident […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3944,87],"tags":[],"location":[],"yst_prominent_words":[11236,8403,8539,8407,8414,9391,8435,8508,13335,8543,8945,8438,8449],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88150"}],"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=88150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88150"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=88150"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=88150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}