In the early 21st century, a shadowy figure rose from the dust that settled atop forgotten record collections throughout Africa, leaving behind a trail of clues in what seemed like a wild good chase, but in October 2013, Luaka Bop will unmask a phantom: the great William Onyeabor. 13 tracks from Nigerian electro-funk originator, a mystery man of epic proportions, and an elusive master of synth & good vibes.
Eno Louis gained a solid background in traditional Edo music as a student at Edo College in Benin City. He lived at Fela’s Kalakuta Republic till the army raid in 1978, when he moved to the US for a couple of years. On his return, he recorded with Edo funk powerhouse The Talents Of Benin, and quickly became a mainstay of the flourishing disco and boogie scene, in-demand as guitarist and drummer, with credits including releases by Pogo Ltd, Amas Grill, Chris Okotie, Oby Onyioha, Chris Mba, Dizzy K Falola, Harry Mosco, Pat Finn and the Super Elcados… to name just a few. The two tracks here are from Louis’ debut LP, Living In The USA.
Stefan Schwander has been releasing his heavily processed and sequenced take on African music and American minimalism under his Harmonious Thelonious moniker since 2008. His new EP on meakusma is only the second one on a non-German label. On two tracks, Schwander takes his trademark rhythmically and melodically repetitive sound into straightforward Techno territory, although some heavy phasing gives the raw power and stoic repetition of these tracks an ambientish, post-club feel. Two other tracks further develop his typically eclectic and informed sound, playing live organ on one of them, displaying a jittery and jumpy rhythmic style that looks for a groove that until now did not exist. Jesse Hackett, a.k.a. Elmore Judd, delivers a remix that takes the original firmly into ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ territory, giving melody and rhythm a more open sense of space, and layering it with vocal samples to further add to a sense of Funk alienation.
The debut release by Glitterbeat Records is a limited edition 12 inch with two dubbed-up remixes by electronic music explorer, Mark Ernestus. The tracks are pulled from Glitterbeat artist, Ben Zabos self-titled and highly touted, 2012 debut album of frenetic, Malian Afro-rock.
This is the soundtrack to the top secret African Space Programme, cosmic sounds for a funky exploration of deep space. Or something like that….
3 edits on african/percussive and more straight funk cuts from Diskoking Burnhart McKoolski on the label Edits Des Amateurs.
Sofrito presents the much-awaited release of a unique slice of Malian disco from Niama Makalou, backed with a stellar part 2 edit from Daphni (aka Caribou).
The Hipodrome Of Music 