Afro

The Legendary Ethio-Jazz Series 180gAmazing Ethio-Jazz Instrumentals Mostly composed by the godfather of ethiopian groove Mulatu Astatke

The Legendary Ethio-Jazz Series 180g Seminal Ethio-Jazz Album by the master Mulatu ! One of the best African albums of all time !

It is late 1972. Six emigres from Congo, Benin and Cameroon find themselves in Pavia, near Milan in Italy. Sharing a passion for music and dance rooted in African culture they form a band called M'Bamina ("Lightning") they and stage their dance and music show in Le Rotonde di Garlasco. Two years of hard work and gigging follow before they make their first album "African Roll", released in 1975.Following a European tour in 1976 then find themselves performing in Cameroon for a landmark concert at the Stade de Yaounde with Claude Francois (French Pop star and the writer of the original version of Sinatras My Way) and African music legend Manu Dibango. As it often happened in the 70s when talented ambitious bands met Manu Dibango, a move to France and a record deal with Fiesta Records (Decca) soon followed.In Paris 1977 the band find themselves opening for a James Brown's concert Au Pavillon de Paris. By now the band is a well-oiled machine they have honed their live shows and sound by distilling a pure and fresh blend of R.& B, Rumba, Afro-Cuban, Funk and traditional African. M'Bamina then hook up with French producer Philippe Brejean to record their second album "Experimental" in Sysmo studios (a hot bed of album activity and French production music at the time). The results capture the band at the peak of their powers.The core of M'Bamina was made up of Samba Ngo (guitar and vocals), Antoine Nkouka Batenda (guitar and vocals), Bernard Bifuanibo (bass), Jean-Marie Bolangassa (percussion), Anselme Tambakassa (congas) et Ligali Ali Amidou (percussion and vocals). The band would go on to make 2 further albums before disbanding in 1985.

Ghanaian Afro funk and Boogie from Sidiku Buari is the focus of the next Soundway 12".On the A side a classic Ghana style afro funk cut recorded at Ghana Film Studios has a characteristic Lo-Fi sound led by George Amissah's (Ebo Taylor, K. Frimpong, Uhuru Dance Band) trademark sax over a squelchy synth and drum groove.This is backed on the flip by a boogie funk cut (Music) recoded in NYC in the early 80s with Fanti chants and soulful vocals from the big man himself. 'Alhaji' Sidiku Buari gained fame in the 70s in Ghana and the USA after moving to New York and recording an album (which featured the soul-jazz legend Bernard Purdie) for RCA that was one of the first mainstream afro-funk LPs ever to hit the market in the USA.After two subsequent albums that produced some afro disco classics including the seminal "I'm Ready" he eventually returned to Ghana where he became the chairman of the Ghanaian Copyright Society (COSGA).The two tracks are taken from an obscure 12" release from 1983 that unfortunately had a pressing defect on "Anokwar", so with some twiddling and editing Hide & Smile have restored it ready for some overdue dance-floor use once again.

Jake Sollo was one of the most prolific innovative musicians from Nigeria in the 70s and 80s. His talents as a rhythm guitar player saw him through much of his career where he played with several Nigerian bands of varying styles. After a stint in the beat group the Hykkers (which he formed whilst studying at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka) then went on to wider recognition as a member of the Funkees. Sollo then went on to play with famed Afro-rock group Osibisa. His stint working alongside group leader Teddy Osei. The Funkees had become very popular, not just in Nigeria where a rough demo of the track "Akula Owu Onyeara" was on constant rotation at the East-Central State Broadcasting Service, but the track was went on to be picked up by the BBC DJ John Peel.After successes in bands, Sollo went solo and found a steady stream of work in London as a session musician and a producer. He returned to Nigeria in 1981 where he produced "bouncy, high gloss boogie" which was incredibly in demand. He had a distinctive playing and producing style and was incredibly popular. He utilized synthesizers which were uncommon in Nigeria at the time.The 1979 "Jake Sollo" self titled album was produced for Pye / Disques Esperance in London. Touches of pop, plenty of African groove, moments of psychedelica... all bound together with Jakes distinctive guitar playing and sleek production. These are sounds that are reminiscent of African music lovers contemporary of Sollo such as David Byrne and Talking Heads, and Paul Simon in Graceland, but with a glittering grooviness that is all Jake Sollo.Sadly Jakes career was cut short when he tragically died in a car accident in 1985. Depriving the world of no doubt what would have been decades of more innovative and creative music.

ts early 2015. Welcome to Africa Seven. We are a new record label. We may be based in Paris and London but our hearts firmly rooted in the universal motherland. We love African music, we want everyone to hear it and we want to spread the love. We are a collective of crate diggers, afro music-heads, label spotters and vinyl buying obsessives. We don't have any particular musical release agenda apart from, "is it of African origin, does it have a beat?, do we like it?". For the first few releases on Africa Seven we are exploring a rich seam of creativity and groove from the 70's. Stand by for re-issues from Manu Dibango, Jake Sollo, Jo Tongo, Pasteur Lappe and Tala AM to name but a few.Trying to decide our first release was a long drawn out affair. Everyone had their favorites...,. Would it Manu, Tala, Ray, Jake or Jo? In the end we just couldn't decide. To keep the peace we settled on a taster compilation called "African Airways Vol 01". Think of it as a statement of intent. A sample of aural treats in store. As for the cheesy name, well...,.. we like African Music, who doesn't like air hostesses? and we are aeroplane geeks. It was a no-brainer really.Volume 1 of Africa Airways focuses on the funkier side of 70s African music. We can't think of any better way to start an African compilation than some pounding, powerful, masterful African drumming. Thank you Ekambi Brilliant, you sure know how to set up an opening track. Next up we jump to the Cameronian king of the Tchamassi dance, Tala Andre Marie (Tala AM is his snazzier moniker). "Black Gold" is a track that really says it all. Cant-sit-still grooves, masterfully jangly guitars and a really cool nascent use of synthesizers. Is it possible to play a song over and over again 300 times? - we think so. Elvis Kemayo is next up with the funky assault. Big brass, big basslines and happy times. Cameroonian native Jo Tongo, now lives in New York but back in the 70s he was part of the Fiesta label massive who were cranking out great records in Paris. "Jangolo" is quite possibly his finest moment. Keeping things Cameroon to finish up side one is the Saxophone master Manu Dibango. "Mimbo" is jazzy, darty gem. Manu recently turned 80 and celebrated with a series of gigs. A true afro legend with over 30 albums to his name. Quite a few have never been re-issued since the 70s and they are now patiently queued up on our release schedule.Opening side two of our vinyl is Jo Bisso. Give It Up is a funky, brass however from 1977 on the Disques Esperance label. Next up is "Mbongui". Did you think a flute in African music could sound this funky? Nigerian Jake Sollo met with an untimely death but his music lives on. Jake was a leader of one of the first wave of funky afro bands to come out of Nigeria in the early 70s, "The Funkees". "Father Time and Mother Nature" retains all those key elements of what made his band so successful. Sookie are next up with their US style funk..., but with an African twist. To finish up the LP Paris based "African Soul Band" bring out the dark strings, chanted Senegalese vocals and mirroring marimbas for their epic closer "Nande" from 1978.Stay tuned for more Africa Seven releases on CD, Vinyl and Digital. Our next release is from the Cameroonian Saxophone master Manu Dibango with a rare 1977 Film Soundtrack "Ceddo". Think thoughtful, brooding afrobeat meets Shaft.

We are more than ten releases in here at Africa Seven. It has been a wild ride... It was eight months ago that we launched our label and released our debut release the Compilation "Africa Airways 01: Funk Connection". It did better than we ever imagined and we had to repress the darned thing twice... So predictably for a follow up we humbly present you with "Africa Airways 02: Funk Departures 1973-1982". We have unashamedly stuck to the formula of our debut, keeping the funk deep and the groove pan-African. Heading straight for the afrobeat, dance-funk jugular.We open up Volume Two with an absolute corker... "Na Real Sekele Fo Ya" from Cameroonian-in-Paris Pasteur Lappe. Produced by Jacob Desvarieux of Kassav fame, this track is an instant grabber, Think of the Blockheads "Rhythm Stick" goes Afro chant with deep, soulful moog grooves and on-point brass stabs. Next up is M'Bamina an Italian / Ivory Coast band who swing things heavy with "Kilowi Kilowi". Sweeting strings, funky bass lines wrapped around a late 70s style disco groove.Ekambi Briallant is next up with his floor tappingly catchy afro soul "Aboki (Mon Copain)", produced by one of our favorite producers Slim Pezin. To round off the A-side of the vinyl we present the first outing from the Makeba family. Here the (sadly prematurely departed) Bongi Makeba, daughter of "Mama Africa" Myriam Makeba, shows the world just what an amazing artist she would have developed into. Bongi wrote a fair number of her mother's tracks in her later years and "Don't Do It" shows us what true talent for the song she was blessed with. The track her powers along with wah-wah guitar and masterful alto sax. A real treat.Friend of Africa Seven and Cameroonian native Jo Tongo opens thing up on Side B. Jo now lives in New York but back in the 70s he was part of the Fiesta label collective who were cranking out great records in Paris. "Piani" is his purest dancefloor moment, here again in full glory.Next up we bend our African remit ever-so slightly and head off to Holland for a James Brown style fuelled funk stomper "Relax.. Before Doing Sex" from Oscar Harris and his crew. Its big, its bold, its brassy...,.. It's fun.The power trio of Bozambo are next up. Between them they have released over 12 solo LPs and here together with "Get it On The Music" they power through with a keyboard/synyh driven afro-funk groove years ahead of its time..., made in 1978 but sounding like 1984. Misse Ngoh is one great guitarist and a masterful adaptor of the Makossa rhythms of his native Cameroun. The title track from his Esperance 1979 LP "Tata Ngoh" mixes in his trademark rhythms and grooves with slap bass and striking brass lines. One heck of a catchy song too.We round off the compilation with the Queen of Queens, Myriam Makeba. Possibly / probably the most influential female musician to come out of Africa..., ever. "Mama Africa's" biography is awe-inspiring and vast, but very hard to summarize in a few sentences... so please check it out for yourself. From breaking the African sound in the West, to the obsessively catchy "Pata Pata" to the influential, focal role she played in helping bring an end to Apartheid in her native South Africa. There are many tracks to feature from Myriam but we aren't about hits here at Africa Seven. Being the crate diggers we are, we thought the best way we could honour the lady was to dig the crate even deeper and go with the most obscure Myriam track we could find. "Toyota Fantasy" was recorded during her exile years spent in Guinea with the Esperance team as a one off promotional 7" single giveaway release. Be aspirational, as the lady says.We hope you enjoy your flight with African Airways 02. We hope to be fuelling up an aircraft with some psychedelic propellant for volume 3 sometime in 2016... at a vinyl store near you.