Category: African Music

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Partisan Records to Release Idris Elba-Curated Sixth Box Set Reissue Compilation of Fela Kuti and Shares Funky “Stalemate”

Fela Kuti (1938-1997) was a pioneering Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer and an eccentric, political radical, outlaw and originator of Afrobeat, whose musical and sociopolitical legacy spans decades and genres — with his work drawing from jazz, pop, rock, funk, soul, traditional Yoruba and Igbo music and Nigerian highlife among others.

While Kuti is a beloved icon in his native Nigeria, he didn’t receive much international attention during his lifetime. However, over the past 10-15 years, there has been a broad resurgence in his popularity and a critical re-evaluation of his life, music and influence.

Back in 2008, the Jay-Z and Will Smith co-produced biographical musical Fela! was a surprise hit off-Broadway and then later on Broadway. Since then, Beyoncé performed Fela’s “Zombie” at Coachella, he has been referred to as influencer by a diverse array of artists from Paul McCartney to Questlove and his work has been sampled by Missy Elliot, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Nas and more. And Vice President Kamala Harris has even used Kuti’s music at her and President Joe Biden’s first joint public event together.

Partisan Records recently announced Box Set #6, the latest installment in an ongoing series of expansive box set reissues of Fela Kuti’s beloved, expansive and influential back catalog. Following on from previous editions curated by Chris Martin, Erykah Badu, Ginger Baker, Brian Eno and Questlove, the sixth edition is curated by actor, producer, DJ, rapper and vocalist Idris Elba, a.k.a. Big Driis, and features 1972’s Open & Close, 1980’s Music of Many Colours, 1977’s Stalemate, 1977’s I Go Shout Plenty!!, 1983’s Live in Amsterdam and 1977’s Opposite People.

Limited to 5,000 copies, the set features artwork for each album meticulously recreated from the original vinyl pressings, alongside vintage vinyl label artwork, a 24-page booklet featuring lyrics, commentaries on each record by noted Afrobeat historian Chris May, never-before-seen photos and an introduced from Elba. And all sets come accompanied by a special 16″ x 24″ poster designed by Remi Ghariokwu, the creative force behind many of Kuti’s seminal album covers.

To celebrate the announcement is the digital release of “Statement (Edit)” drawn from the A-side title track of the album also included in the collection. Built around a laconic yet irresistibly funky groove, the song features Kuti musing on the face-off Nigeria’s military regime and the social groups, who made up the bulk of his audience: students, intellectuals and sufferheads (as he called the urban working class). It’s perfect mid-late 70s Fela Kuti pairing deep groove with urgent sociopolitical messages.

Box Set # 6 is slated for a December 1, 2023 release. Be on the lookout y’all.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Shares Breezy and Uplifting “Mame Bamba”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’d probably recall that I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga. 

So far, Siga has released three singles, which I’ve written about on this site:

  • “Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 

  • “Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

  • The FissBassBeats-produced “Daaray Dunya,” a track that saw the Senegalese artist alternating between singing and spitting bars about the difficulties young people face in a mad, mad, mad, mad world while still continuing to hold on to the belief that they have bright future ahead of them. FissBassBeats contributes a tweeter and woofer rattling drill production featuring looped guitar, skittering beats and deep low end. While “Daaray Dunya” is a bit of a sonic departure from her previously released singles, it continues the Senegalese artist’s unique meshing of the ancient and the modern.

Siga’s fourth single, “Mame Bamba” was recorded in Montpelier, France and continues her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band. Built around a lush and soulful reggae-influenced riddim featuring a supple bass line, shuffling rhythm and twinkling keys paired with the Senegalese JOVM mainstay’s gorgeous vocal, “Mame Bamba” much like the previously released material pairs social messages with breezy and uplifting arrangements.

The Senegalese JOVM mainstay explains that the song pays tribute to Cheikh Amadou Bamba, a Senegalese poet and the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood, a Sufi Islamic sect best known for its focus on work and non-violent resistance to the French.

Directed by Mao Sidbé, the accompanying video reverentially honors Senegalese women, showcasing their industriousness, their beauty and kindness.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Vincent Bugozi Shares Earnest and Summery “Be Honest”

Vincent Bugozi is a Tanzanian-born, London-based artist, bandleader and JOVM mainstay. Along with his backing band, Bugozi specializes in a genre-defying and crowd-pleasing take on Afro Pop that meshes elements of of Afrobeat, reggae, Afro-Cuban music and pop among others.

The Tanzanian-born, London-based artist and his backing band aim to combine the sounds of different cultures to connect people through music and an energetic live show — and help bring positivity and unity in a world that desperately needs it. Bugozi and company will be releasing their latest album AFRICAN SEBA! later this year. Inspired by Tanzanian Tinga Tinga art, AFRICAN SEBA! sees the act drawing inspiration from an eclectic array of sources and collaborating with a collection of musicians from the United Kingdom and European Union, while still deeply rooted in the sounds and styles of Africa. Thematically, the album’s material touches upon the “big themes” — love, sorrow and joy. Interestingly enough, the album will be his first multilingual album. 

So far I’ve written about three of the album’s singles:

  • “Tinga Tinga,” a breezy, genre-smashing banger featuring skittering dancehall-meet-trap beats, 80s Quiet Storm soul-like saxophone and twinkling keys paired with Bugozi’s plaintive vocals and an infectious, razor sharp hook. Pulling from a variety of sounds and styles across the African Diaspora, the song manages to be a wildly accessible bop that will get a lounge or a club rocking and grooving. 

  • “Bossa Nova” is a slickly produced, seamlessly mesh of elements of Afro-pop, reggaeton and Bossa Nova that further cements Bugozi and company’s unerring knack for catchy hooks. 

  • “African Fever,” a track that continues a remarkable run of crowd-pleasing bops featuring a production that meshes elements of dancehall, Afropop, Afrobeats and contemporary electro pop paired with a sultry, dance floor rocking groove.

AFRICAN SEBA!‘s fourth and latest single “Be Honest” pairs Bugozi’s plaintive and yearning R&B delivery with paired with a sleek, glitchy club and lounge friendly production featuring skittering beats, wobbling low end and glistening synth arpeggios and the JOVM mainstay’s unerring knack for catching hooks. But underneath the slick, club friendly production is an earnest, lived-in plea to a lover — or love interest — for honesty, before their heart is unnecessarily broken.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Teams up with FissBassBeats on a Banger

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga.

So far this year, she has released two singles which I’ve written about:

  • “Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 

  • “Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

The JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Daaray Dunya,” was produced by FissBassBeats and sees the Senegalese artist singing and rhyming about the difficulties young people, who struggle to get by in a mad, mad, mad world, and yet continue to believe that they have a bright future. FissBassBeats contributes a tweeter and woofer rattling drill production featuring looped guitar, skittering beats and deep low end. While “Daaray Dunya” is a bit of a sonic departure from her previously released singles, it continues the Senegalese artist’s unique meshing of the ancient and the modern.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay Mariaa Siga Shares Breezy Ni Mama”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese-born and-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga. As you might remember, Siga started off 2023 with “Le murmure des anges,” a track that saw her collaborating with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and buoyant reggae riddim paired with a slow-burning and soulful guitar solo and the Senegalese-born and-based artist’s expressive delivery. “Le murmure des angels” is a song that does two things — give thanks to the enteral while reminding listeners that they should listen to the little voice inside of us, which arms us with much-needed confidence; that voice that frequently says “You know, you got this. You know you’re dope.” 

Siga’s latest single “Ni Mama,” which in her native Diola means “I’m Leaving” sees the JOVM mainstay continuing her ongoing collaboration with Artikal Band, who contribute a shuffling and breezily upbeat reggae riddim paired with wah wah pedalled guitar, shimmering keys serving as a supple bed for the Senegalese artist’s effortlessly soulful and earnest vocal. “Ni Mama” features lyrics in both her native Diola and in French that discuss a familiar sensation for many of us — the need to escape things when daily pressure and stress becomes overwhelming.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

Last night, I DJ’ed for the first time at Clem’s. I was a little nervous at first — it was my first public DJ set in which regulars, friends, loved ones and strangers would be hearing what I selected. But it turned out to be a lot of fun.

I’m now sharing the set with y’all. Four + hours of soul, funk, house music and more. Put on your dancing shoes and get on down!

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lohrasp Kansara Teams Up with Mavhungu on Club Banging “NDAU”

Lohrasp Kansara is a Swiss-born, New York-based electronic music producer, DJ and actor who has received attention globally for an eclectic musical style that includes forays into Afro house, tech house, melodic house and big room festival house: Kansara has released material through a number of electronic music labels, including Toolroom Records, Hurry Up Slowly, Black Hole Recordings, Altra Moda Music, Sousumi Records, HOTL Records, Ulu Records and more. He also has received DJ support from Black Coffee, Hardwell, Nicky Romero, Timmy Trumpet, Mark Night, Kryder, Bingo Players, Roger Sanchez, David Tort, and Moguai among others.

Released through Hurry Up Slowly Records, Kansara’s latest single “NDAU” featuring Mavhungu derives its title from the Ndau and Shona word for “lion.” Built around relentlessly propulsive and thumping polyrhythm, Mavhungu’s soaring vocal and glistening synth oscillations paired with twinkling keys and euphoria-inducing hooks, “NDAU” is club banging and accessible take on Afro House.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Ba Banga Nyeck Shares Breezy and Uplifting “Les champions du futur”

Ba Banga Nyeck is a Alsace, France-based, Cameroonian-Ivorian singer/songwriter, musician and producer, who invented a chromatic balafon, a gourd resonated xylophone, with which he traveled across the world, making stops here in the States, Japan, India and South Africa. Of course, during his travels, he saw the degradation of the planet’s environment.

His latest single, the breezy, hook-driven and polyrhythmic percussive bop “Les champions du futur” is rooted in a much-needed message — championing the preservation of our environment, before it’s too late. Adding to the overall message, the song features some instruments made from recycled and reclaimed materials paired with twinkling keys, glistening balafon, guitar and call and response vocals.

The accompanying and delightfully playful video for “Les champions de future” features Nyeck and his backing band performing the song with keyboards, guitar, horns and balafon, along with instruments made from recycled and reclaimed materials. We also see a chorus of young kids, also playing instruments made from recycled and reclaimed materials. Let’s remember that those babies in the video are the future we should be fighting for.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Orchestra Gold Performs “Keleya” at Bandcamp, Oakland

Oakland-based psych outfit Orchestra Gold is rooted in the decade plus-long collaboration between Malian-born vocalist Mariam Diakite and Oakland-based guitarist Erich Huffaker. The duo first met in Bamako, Mali in 2006. At the time, Huffaker was very busy: he was working for a nonprofit, studying djembe and dunun (drums) and immersing himself in the city’s burgeoning music scene when he had met and befriended Diakite. The duo recognized a deep and profound musical connection, which led to Diakite relocating to the States to start a band — Orchestra Gold. 

Since Diakite’s relocation to Oakland, the rising psych outfit has specialized in a kaleidoscopic sound that meshes Malian folk with psych rock and elements of Afrobeat and soul. Sonically they create a trippy and funky soundscape featuring swinging rhythms, funky bass and scorching guitar riffs while Diakite delivers heartfelt and thought-provoking lyrics in her native Bambara language. Their long-held goal is to transcend national and musical borders while being a much-needed healing force.

The band’s third album Medicine was released earlier this year. The album sees the band firmly continuing their pursuit of spreading healing and community through their music. In the lead-up to the album’s release, I managed to write about two album singles:

  • “Koniya (No Benefit to Envy),” a song which featured shuffling rhythms, scorching feedback and distortion-driven riffage serving as a lysergic and sinuous bed for Diakite’s expressive delivery. The end result was a song that arched upward towards the cosmos while rooted in earthly matters. 

  • “Gende,” an expansive and trippy song that beings with a lengthy, dreamy introduction featuring looping and swirling guitar textures. Around the 2:25 mark or so, the song rapidly morphs into a breakneck Fela Kuti-meets-Black Sabbath-meets-Tinariwen-like ripper, centered around a funky horn line, scorching riffage and looping guitar textures. Diakite’s expressive vocal and shuffling, propulsive polyrhythm glide and dance around the song’s disparate parts. The end result is a song that’s lysergic but defiantly — and boldly — African and danceable. 

Orchestra Gold is about to embark to Austin for this year’s SXSW where they’ll play sets at several showcases. In order to build up buzz for their SXSW appearance — and to get the word out about their crowdfunding campaign to cover the tremendous cost of overhead for the trip, the band shared live footage of them performing album single “Keleya.” “Keleya” is centered around looping guitar, shuffling percussion paired with boom bap-like drumming, a James Brown-meets-Fela Kuti-like funky horn line paired with Diakite’s plaintive wailing. The end result is a hypnotic yet danceable song that brings James Brown, Fela Kuti, and Black Sabbath to mind.

For more information, check out the band’s GoFundMe here. If you dig this band, and you have a few bucks, any support you can offer is helpful.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Baaba Maal Teams Up with The Very Best on Mesmerizing “Freak Out”

Acclaimed Senegalse singer/songwriter and guitarist Baaba Maal is a member of the semi-nomadic Fulani people. He first left his home in Podor, Senegal to perform music hundreds of miles away as a teenager — and he has been a wanderer ever since. “It’s part of my culture,” Maal says. “The songs travel from village to village, from country to country. It’s something natural to my tribe and this part of Africa.”

Since then, Maal has followed his music, as it traveled around the world, starting from his young travels around West Africa, performing with mentor Mansour Seck, to the Paris conservatory, where he studied music theory and then eventually across the rest of the globe, while collaborating with an eclectic array of acclaimed, contemporary artists including John Leckie, Brian Eno, Damon Albarn’s Africa Express, and Mumford & Sons. Maal has worked on the soundtracks for The Last Temptation of Christ and Black Hawk Down. He has also worked with soundtrack composer Ludwig Goransson to create the soundscapes for both Black Panther films, essentially making him the voice of Wakanda.

Throughout his career, the acclaimed Senegalese artist has spread the word of an idealistic, energetic Africa — to the entire world. “I could bring my Africa to this other, abstract Africa, and both places collided together beautifully,” he says of Black Panther, “I brought this mythical Africa back to Podor, extending my reality, my hometown, and my music. I didn’t know whether I would make another album after The Traveller, but I did know my thinking about music was still changing. And once more something stirred inside me at home in Podor. I found myself once again. It was time for a new album.”

Maal’s forthcoming album Being is slated for a March 31, 2023 release through Marathon Artists. The album reportedly is the latest stage in the development of a highly distinctive, ecstatically melodic sound that meshes traditional African instruments and rhythms with modern, electronic production, The album is a set of confrontational and contemplative stories in which Maal mixes evocative, personal local concerns with grand universal themes to produce a unique form of deep, immersive soul music, taking the listener to new places via his birthplace of Podor, Senegal, where his music always begins — and his travels always end. “However far I travel, whatever direction, I will always return home,” the acclaimed Senegalese artist says. “It is the nomadic nature. To wander, but to return home, eventually. Home is where you start from, where you begin to learn what really matters, and home is where you finish. Podor is the perfect place for me when I need some time to think, to see my music with a fresh eye, to surprise it, snare it, catch it unawares as if coming across it for the first time.”

The album is also deeply informed by experiences Maal had before, during and after the pandemic. The album is about being African, being a songwriter, being a romantic, being realistic, being wary, being online, being at the mercy of the elements, being caught between two worlds, being on your way somewhere — and ultimately about his being from Podor while being connected to a constantly turbulent and shifting world through his art. “Each song of this album has its own personality. A song is like a person. It has a life, name, a character, and it has a position in life,” Maal says in press notes. “I think that’s what makes this album so powerful – it is totally about now and where I am now, the dreams I have of the past and the future.”

The album’s material also reflects Maal’s need to continually move forward with his work. Much like the acclaimed Senegalese artist’s previously released work, there wasn’t a set deadline: Songs were finished when they ere finished, emerging out of a combination of both fast and slow work. There were intense improvisational studio sessions in Brooklyn, Podor, and London, where things moved quickly and songs took place over a few days. After energetic bursts of activity, both artist and producer took time to process their work, and songs would reveal themselves over many months. Some would be recorded by the ocean, in the ocean air, with the sound of crickets, dogs, donkeys, birds, traffic, rain and people being captured nearby. 

Last year, I wrote about album opening track “Yerimayo Celebration,” a joyous and percussive stomp centered around layers of thunderous percussion, African traditional instrumentation and enormous, ebullient hooks. The song which features contributions from Cheikh Ndoye (bass ngoni) and Momadou Sarr (percussion) is celeebration of music — and of music’s power to open the mind and heart in deeply troubled times, and of its power in fighting cynicism and chaos.

Beings latest single, “Freak Out” feat. The Very Best is a mesmerizing and woozy alchemy of traditional African folk instrumentation and modern production through the form of skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling beats and percussion that effortlessly bridges the ancient and the modern — while being boldly and defiantly African. Lyrically, the song explores the complex dynamic of social media and its effects on both African and the wider world.

“It became a song about being careful what you put on the internet,” says Baaba Maal, “It might seem funny or popular when you do it, but it might have consequences and you will have to live with those all your life.

“There are things you should keep to yourself. Mystery is important in life; you don’t need to shine a light on every little thing you do. You don’t have to give away your soul for the sake of a little bit of attention.

“The internet should be used to make humanity feel good about themselves. It is so powerful, it can be dangerous and sometimes it just seems the internet has just caused a constant freak out.”

The accompanying video is a gorgeous and sensitive slice of the complexity of African life that’s life-affirming and necessary as it captures a mix of ancient traditions and modernity. But along with that, there’s a reminder of the fact that people are generally the same.