The Soul Of Congo: Treasures Of The Ngoma Label
*2025 stock* Planet Ilunga, the Brussels-based publisher has, since 2013, produced a series of recordings dedicated to the history of Congolese popular music from artists like Franco & OK Jazz, Docteur Nico, Orchestre Rock-a-Mambo and Joseph Kabasele & African Jazz. For its tenth release and in celebration of its tenth anniversary, the label launches with "The Soul of Congo" its most ambitious project to date: a well-documented and extensive anthology about the illustrious and legendary Congoles…
Joseph Kabasele And The Creation of Surboum African Jazz 1960-1963
*2025 stock* Planet Ilunga continues its mission to uncover and highlight the overlooked yet epic achievements in the world of Congolese rumba. This time to tell the most spectacular story of all. This is the story of the creation of Surboum African Jazz, the first Congolese music label founded by a Congolese. Surboum African Jazz was owned and managed by the best singer of all time, Joseph Kabasele, alias Grand Kallé. The label's catalog during the period 1960–63 is largely dominated by Grand K…
Franco Luambo Makiadi Presents Les Editions Populaires
"Indépendance Cha Cha” was an historic song, not only because it immortalized Congo’s independence in its lyrics, but also because it was the first single published by a Congolese-owned record label. Joseph Kabasele’s label Surboum African Jazz indeed paved the way for several Congolese musicians to become record publishers. It resulted in the 1960s in a plethora of newly found Kinshasa-based record labels, run by the biggest musicians of the time. With this new series “Les éditeurs congolais”, …
La Rumba De Mi Vida
*2025 stock* Incredible collection of classic Congolese music from Planet Ilunga specializing in this particular niche. Glorious guitar melodies, beautiful vocal harmonies, and infectious rumba grooves. Excellent curation and very cool thematic presentation, plus lots of great details given in the liner notes.
African Jazz Invites O.K. Jazz
The evolution of Congolese popular music in the 1960s and 70s is generally classified into two major schools: African Jazz & OK Jazz. The main representatives of those schools are Joseph Kabasele alias Grand Kallé, founder of African Jazz, and Franco Luambo, co-founder of O.K. Jazz. Two temperaments and ambiances, one commonly referred to as ‘fiesta’, the other as ‘odemba’, both seeking their own sublimity or ideal.
For the very first time, a compilation brings together explicitly the main prota…
É Soul Edits
Kicking off a new edit series on É Soul Cultura, head honcho Luke Una hands over the keys to three secret weapon edits of transcendental dancefloor tackle. Having spent a lifetime getting his hands dirty digging in crates, Luke’s collection of off-the-beaten-track gems is second to none. For this three-track É Soul edit release, Luke delivers a one-way ticket to the outer reaches of the universe soaking up sounds from Barbados, the UK and Cameroon along the way. Strap in for a triple threat of s…
Trésor Magnétique
Tresor Magnetique, this compilation of unreleased tracks, archival recordings, and neglected gems from Bebey's vault, feels like a grand reveal in an ongoing narrative - a story that spans continents and generations. The compilation's name (translated as "Magnetic Treasure") sets the stage perfectly. Not only does it reference the fragile tapes discovered in the home of Bebey's son, Patrick, but it also hints at the almost gravitational pull of Bebey's art. Meticulously digitized at Abbey Road S…
Simigwa
Strut Records is proud to announce a new official reissue of Simigwa by Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, launching a series of releases on Strut celebrating the legendary Ghanaian label Essiebons. Essiebons, founded by Ghanaian music producer Dick Essilfie-Bondzie in 1959, is one of Ghana's most important independent labels featuring prominent artists such as Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, C.K. Mann, and Ebo Taylor. Ambolley’s Simigwa is a groundbreaking album, recognised as a Ghanaian classic and boasting one of the…
Wagadu Grooves Vol.2: The Hypnotic Sound of Camara 1991-2014
In Paris, a creative force of artists molded the cultural identity of the Malian diaspora, infusing the city’s eclectic mix of sounds with their own rich heritage. At the heart of it all was Gaye Mody Camara, a towering figure in Malian music and culture since the late 1970s. Born in Abidjan and raised in Kayes, he grew up fascinated by the rhythms of Wassoulou, steeped in the rhythms of a land shaped by diverse ethnicities and traditions, including the Peul, Bambara, and Dogon. His migration to…
Friday Night
Livy Ekemezie’s Friday Night is widely recognised by DJs and afro-funk aficionados as a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) grail record. It is one of those rare dance music albums that sounds like a record of its’ time but also has a timeless quality that makes each listen an immensely rewarding experience. Fueled by teen spirit, every track slaps leaving little or no opportunity to skip. The song concepts circle around sweaty, afropolitan nightly excursions into the nightclubs of Aba, Port Harcou…
La Danza della Giungla / Quella è una Bambola
Maledetta Discoteca proudly announces the birth of their first daughter La Sirenetta (*The mermaid) and the release of her first record! An hommage to the Italian Afro scene of the late 80s, La Sirenetta is a sub-label born to take World Music to the next level for the contemporary Dancing Club Scene. We aim at digging, selecting and editing obscure bangers from our analogue record collections, travelling from Martinique to Ivory Coast, from Nigeria to Haiti, and giving them back to deejays and …
Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits
This work is a masterpiece compilation released from Ethiopia’s in 1972 on the eve of the release of Mulatu Astatke’s masterpiece “Ethio Jazz”, and is a companion to “Ethio Jazz”, which is touted as a masterpiece. It is also known as the most difficult to obtain super rare board in the history of Afro Rare Groove.
Wagadu Grooves: The Hypnotic Sound of Camara 1987-2016
The Soninke collective consciousness finds its origins in a founding myth, a blood pact: the legend of Biida and the decadence of the empire of Ghana or Wagadu (evoked by Léopold Sédar Senghor as a land of plenty in his poem Le Kaya Magan). From the 3rd century AD, gathered in the region of Sahel, on the edge of the Sahara desert, the Soninko ruled over their kingdom and its capital Kumbi Saleh. According to folklore, they were blessed with abundant rain and nuggets of gold could be picked direc…
If You Want to Make a Lover: Palm Wine, Akan Blues & Early Guitar Highlife, Pt. II
The second part in a collection encompassing Akan blues, palm wine and early guitar-based highlife music, with recordings dating from the late 1920s through to the end of the 1950s.
If You Want to Make a Lover: Palm Wine, Akan Blues & Early Guitar Highlife, Pt. I
The first part in a collection encompassing Akan blues, palm wine and early guitar-based highlife music, with recordings dating from the late 1920s through to the end of the 1950s.
Stridulum (The Visitor)
Quartet Records, in collaboration with the Riz Ortolani estate, presents the premiere CD edition of one of the titles most requested by maestro Ortolani’s fans: the bizarre 1978 mondo movie Brutes And Savages (aka Savana Selvaggia). Written by Jenny Craven and directed by Arthur Davis, this belongs to the select group of mondos that became notorious not for their shocking content, but for their lack of understanding of the genre. Surviving in two different cuts (92 mins vs. 107 mins), Brutes An…
Brutes And Savages (Original Soundtrack Music)
Quartet Records, in collaboration with the Riz Ortolani estate, presents the premiere CD edition of one of the titles most requested by maestro Ortolani’s fans: the bizarre 1978 mondo movie Brutes And Savages (aka Savana Selvaggia). Written by Jenny Craven and directed by Arthur Davis, this belongs to the select group of mondos that became notorious not for their shocking content, but for their lack of understanding of the genre. Surviving in two different cuts (92 mins vs. 107 mins), Brutes An…
Exotic Dreams – Martin Denny Presents The Enticing Voice Of Ethel Azama
Exotica masterpiece finally re-issued ! Which record is produced by Martin Denny, arranged by pianist Paul Conrad and features vintage Exotica's second lady who is only outclassed by the Peruvian chantress Yma Sumac? It's Exotic Dreams, released in 1958 that puts – so tells the cover artwork – "the enticing voice of Ethel Azama" (1934–1984), a Hawaiian Jazz singer, into the spotlight. Martin Denny discovered her a few years later and was able to negotiate with his house label Liberty Records, wh…
Mganga
Japan goes to Africa ! It's more than a bit ironic that Tak Shindo's most "exotic" album, the superb Mganga!, boasts no connection to his own Japanese heritage, instead focusing on the primal rhythms and tribal chants of Africa. Rooted largely in the arranger's experience on the Latin jazz circuit, its Afro-Cuban rhythms, sampled animal sounds, and chants capture an African musical culture based far more in fantasy than reality, much as rival exotica maestros like Martin Denny and Les Baxter con…
Music From Saharan WhatsApp
In 2020, Sahel Sounds hosted a project called Music from Saharan WhatsApp. This series consisted of ephemeral digital EPs, documenting live performances by some of the most exciting acts in the Sahel playing music, including Nigerién techno, wedding rock, Woodabe guitar, WZN, traditional music, Mandingue music, and more. Responding to an open call from our network of artists, musicians recorded a handful of tracks on their cellphone and sent them over the popular mobile app WhatsApp. Each sessi…