It’s been forty years since the great Congolese innovator Bony Bikaye released his collaborative cult masterpiece ‘Noir et Blanc’ on Crammed Discs, an album that merged his wildly unconventional vocals with the edgiest of electronic textures. Now, after decades outside of the industry, he has returned with the Parisian production trio TONN3RR3, once again in search of the musical spaces in between. His voice is stronger and more unhinged than ever, the post-club dynamism of TONN3RR3 a perfect foil for his singular sound. Read / Listen.
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A08 'Waiting For Zion' (Compost Records) - a review
Formerly known as Africaine 808, the German duo Dirk Leyers and DJ Nomad (AKA Hans Raabe) return under the name A08. Their name may have changed but their ability to weave the polyrhythms and melodic traits of many cultures into their club-ready productions hasn’t changed. With star guests from Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Trinidad and Germany along for the ride, ‘Waiting For Zion’ has Grime X West Africa collisions, jazzy bruk sounds, Caribbean electronica and a host of hard-to-define tracks that work just as well at home as on the dancefloor. Big recommendation. Read / Listen.
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Siema Ziemia 'Second' (Byrd Out) - a review
Polish outfit Siema Ziemia’s forthcoming album ‘Second’ for Byrd Out is a challenging collision of electronica, acoustic improvisational wildness with moments of free jazz energy. My thesaurus is ill equipped to invent a genre for this, just trust me that amongst the fireworks, there is an emotional vulnerability to their creation. Read / Listen.
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Bantu Spaceship 'Bantu Electro Sungura' (Nyami Nyami Records) - SINGLE PREMIERE!
The brilliantly named Bantu Spaceship have a brand new single out on 20th Jan and we are pleased to offer the PREMIERE of this unique creation that harnesses the guitars and vocal harmonies of the classic ‘Jit’ sound of 1980s Zim bands like the Bhundu Boys and throws it into the future with the addition of speaker-busting electro drum machine rhythms. Read / Listen.
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