Analog Africa Germany 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: This is a new record of unearthed delights by Leon Keita, a longtime singer and multi-instrumentalist from Mali. On the eponymous 'Leon Keita', we hear Malian music fused with sensibilities from Sudan-Guinea and Burkina Faso, with modern pop and electronic influences, impeccably played in a smattering of crisp guitars, love-sung lyrics and laboured rhythms. All laid to a fresh pressing, the A-side hears three rather relaxed beauties, while the B moves into more idealistic and hedonic directions, not least the conclusive 'Dakan Sate, Korotoumi'. Brought back to our attention by Analog Africa, 'Leon Keita' serves yet another top serving and reminder of Mandingue culture, the influence of which stretches across the world; 'Dalaka' was a recent hit, making it as far as the Colombian coast.

Review: Initially discovered by the label via cassette tapes picked up in Jo'burg's Kohinoor store back in 1995, The Movers feature on the 35th in Germany's Analog Africa's series of band spotlights. As its title suggests, this captures the band's work across the lion's share of the 70s, and tracks like 'Hot Coffee' and '2nd Avenue' are irresistibly, instantly groovy, but also a fascinating sonic crossroads where African jit music meets the funk and soul of the US and the funkier end of the guitar music coming out of the UK and Europe at the same time. All executed In the most natural, free flowing, as well, which makes this package even harder to resist.

Review: Even by the consistently high standards of Analog Africa, this release is something special. It consists entirely of previously unheard music by Orchestre Abass, an obscure outfit from Togo who released a handful of singles on Polydor Ghana in the early 1970s. Remarkably, all bar one of the tracks on "De Bassari Togo" were found on a long forgotten reel of tape that had sat on a shelf in a Ghanaian warehouse for the best part of 35 years. That was ten years ago; it's taken that long to track down the remaining members of the band and license the material. In truth, the tracks have aged exceptionally well, with the band's infectious, organ-led sound adding distinct Arabic influences (a result of the band members' time spent studying in Islamic schools) to their heavy funk rhythms and riotous Afro-funk vibes.

Review: Just when you think that the well of obscure music from around the world has run dry, Analog Africa returns to put the record straight. Pop-Makossa shines a light on a glorious but largely overlooked period in the story of Cameroonian makossa, when local musicians began to replace funk and highlife influences with the rubbery bass of classic disco and the sparkling synth flourishes and drum machines of electrofunk. The resultant compilation, which apparently took eight years to produce, is packed full of brilliant cuts, from the heavily-electronic jauntiness of Pasteur Lappe's "Sanaga Calypso" and horn-totin' Highlife-disco of Emmaniel Kahe and Jeanette Kemogne's "Ye Medjuie", to the dense, organ-laden wig out that is Clement Djimogne's "Africa".

Review: Analog Africa have put together their 31st compilation here, and it's another essential, well curated overview of a fantastic funk sound, focussing on the genre's greatest originators, namely Osayomore Joseph, Akaba Man and Sir Victor Uwaifo. All of these artists' primary skill was to strip down funk down to its core essence and use it as a foundation to rebuild their own unique interpretations. Each one is imbued with the spirit of the Edo culture and all 12 cuts here pulse with driving rhythm and raw musicianship, bright keys and tripped-out guitars that bring the funk in utterly fresh and thrilling ways.

Review: Analog Africa's latest must-have release focuses on the little-known musical culture of the Para state on Northern Brazil, and specifically the port city of Belem. Since the 1960s the city's musicians have been serving up unique and exciting new styles that draw as much on West African, Cuban and Caribbean music as they do the rhythms and instrumentation of the Amazonian tribes based nearby. It's these kinds of unique and exuberant fusions - think heavy bass, bouncy ska-style rhythms, punchy Afro-Cuban horns, densely layered drums, celebratory vocals and tropical guitars - that make "Jambu E Os Miticos Sons Da Amazonia" such an essential listen. Context is provided via the included 24-page booklet, whose extensive liner notes track the development of Para's unique musical culture.

Review: The result of three years of digging through tapes of "strange music" in the Radio Mogadishu archives and restless research to find the musicians involved, Analog Africa's latest compilation shines a light on Somalia's previously undocumented dance music scene. It features tracks recorded between 1972 and '91 by a variety of unknown artists, with the assembled music touching on disco, psych-funk, Moog-laden club-focused instrumentals and heavyweight, Bob Marley-inspired reggae rhythms. It's a hugely vibrant and entertaining set of off-kilter and unusual Somalian translations of American and Caribbean music styles, with the bumper accompanying booklet offering up a wealth of little-known information.

Review: Analog Africa's latest must-have release focuses on the little-known musical culture of the Para state on Northern Brazil, and specifically the port city of Belem. Since the 1960s the city's musicians have been serving up unique and exciting new styles that draw as much on West African, Cuban and Caribbean music as they do the rhythms and instrumentation of the Amazonian tribes based nearby. It's these kinds of unique and exuberant fusions - think heavy bass, bouncy ska-style rhythms, punchy Afro-Cuban horns, densely layered drums, celebratory vocals and tropical guitars - that make "Jambu E Os Miticos Sons Da Amazonia" such an essential listen. Context is provided via the included 44-page booklet, whose extensive liner notes track the development of Para's unique musical culture.

Review: Analog Africa has repressed the highly valued and long since sold-out Congo Funk! Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River: Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982. It is a compilation that superbly shows off the raw energy and funkiness of the Congolese rumba scene. This is the country that spawned such as legendary bands as African Jazz, OK Jazz and African Fiesta and it is said that the concert ahead of the legendary Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman is what really set young hopefully musicians on their paths, after they saw James Brown play live. The story of those artists and the labels they released on in the ensuing years is what is told so well here across four sides of vital wax.