soundway presents ghana special volume 2: electronic highlife & afro sounds in the diaspora, 1980-93.

limited edition red, blue & black swirl vinyl.

9-piece powerhouse nubiyan twist embark on a fresh musical odyssey with their vibrant fourth album “find your flame”. pressing on white vinyl.

rich in ancestral flows, between ghana and europe, powered by deep, conga led rhythms and seductive warm horn riffs come jembaa groove, whose new album and newly rendered sound, reminds us that jazz, in its contemporary, soulful form is not just a london ting.

guyana folk music reinterpreted and infused with afro-roots and culture, reissued on vinyl for the first time.

2022 repress

collaborative album from south african singer/songwriter khusi seremane and american producer/musician gabriel cyr.

an anthology of rare 7 inch releases from ayalew mesfin, a legend of 70s ethiopian music.

originally released in 1985

interweaving south african folklore and digitised present - the debut album from dumama and kechu.

nyege nyege tapes proudly announces the first international release of electro acholi pioneer otim alpha s incredible body of work recorded over a period of 11 years. otim alpha together with his early producer leo palayeng began in 2001 taking traditional acholi larakaraka wedding songs and reinterpreting them with music software on computers. the results are a fast paced poly-rhythmic music ready for dance floor madness.

in 1973, emi records nigeria released the 45 rpm disc fuel for love b/w soundway, credited to a mysterious band called wrinkar experience. the record was a finely-crafted gem of pop-rock and funky soul as had never before been heard coming out of the countryÆs nascent rock scene, and it ended up being the biggest selling nigerian single up until that point. the success of wrinkar experience effectively demonstrated that was a market for homegrown pop and rock, and sent record labels scrambling to sign similar bands, kicking off the nigerian rock revolution that is still being celebrated and discovered by new generations today. but while wrinkar experience launched the movement, the group itself would be short-lived: after another hit single in 1973, the bands frontman danie ian split for a solo career. the remaining principal players in the group cameroonian musicians ginger forcha and edjoo jacques racine tried to keep the wrinkar name going before giving it up and rebranding themselves as rock town express. rock town expresss debut lp funky makossa was recorded in 1974 for arc records, the cutting-edge studio and label established in lagos by english drum legend ginger baker. the album showcased in long format the qualities that had only been hinted at on the wrinkar experience singles: bright, confident pop melodies, articulate lyrics, and darkly potent funk-rock. comb & razor sound is proud to present a new, fully-authorized reissue of funky makossa, featuring the seven tracks from the original release, plus i am a natural man and i dont want to know, from wrinkar experiences seldom-heard third and final single.

congo funk! sound madness from the shores of the mighty congo river (kinshasa/brazzaville 1969-1982)

repress - the first vinyl best of from the now classic ethiopiques series. francis falcetto, the founder of the series (already 28 cds available) and the specialist of ethiopian music selects, in his view, the best tracks of the series.

the last album from the late, great afrobeat drummer tony allen. comes on double vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

repress available! soundway records present a new compilation of twenty rare and mostly unavailable tracks from the slick and sassy world of nigerian pop music and club culture of the early 1980s. comes on triple 12 inch + bonus 7 inch vinyl, download code and 8-page booklet in gatefold sleeve.

remastered reissue of the 1974 debut album “ojinga’s own” by guyanese afro-folk band the yoruba singers.

late 80s highlife from ghana on 12 inch vinyl.

7 inch with two tracks taken from the legendary moyo wangu album, tipp top

a collection of rare 7 inches from the 1970s by ethiopian singer alemeyehu eshete. pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

a selection of the finest cuts from the first ever pan-ethiopian star singer tlahoun gèssèssè, pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

ursprünglich erschienen 1976, ist das album während einer besonders fruchtbaren zeit entstanden, der purple period. in den jahren 1975-77 veröffentlichte fela allein in nigeria 24 alben. das titelstück gehört zu felas unbestrittenen meisterstücken. bisher war yellow fever nur als teil eines box sets erhältlich. nun zum ersten mal einzeln mit dem original artwork.

afro sounds by americo brito and djarama

mar & sol first release is aleluia lp from the cabo verde singer pedrinho. at the time, late 70 s, this lp was one of the biggest successes from cabo verde music. singer pedrinho moved to lisbon when he was 18 years old, and recorded this album, the first one of his career. aleluia was produced in the same street where mar & sol is based nowadays, in rua de s.bento, lisbon, portugal. this street was also where pedrinho come to live when he arrived in portugal, like the majority of the musicians and emigrants from the old african portuguese colonies move at that time, to try a new luck. a big community grew here and these artists got the opportunity to record their own traditional music by the hands of local labels. now is the time for mar & sol to give a new life to all this music, this is the first of many reissues that are coming to start the series of the label.

you take a trio of the finest traditional griot musicians from mali and put them in the studio with a revolutionary western string quartet - and the outcome is one of the most unusual and rewarding musical collaborations you are ever likely to encounter.

last volume of this compilation series, again a great one.., holding amazing tunes from across the globe that you probably already have been looking for.... tip!! . over the last five years and as many volumes of their beach diggin’ compilations, guts and mambo have explored the reefs of five continents, dredged the sea beds of countless seas and oceans, examined every single seashell with the aim of making sure that no vinyl pearl should escape their notice.

teranga beat proudly presents dexter johnson & le super star de dakar in their last performance before their departure to abidjan in 1969. mastered from the original tape this recording captures the energy and quality of these most spectacular performers. the group was led by the inimitable dexter johnson, a saxophonist whose unique timbre influenced generations of horn players in senegal and who can stand with pride next to the great jazz musicians.
the 2x12 inch lp comes out in a deluxe 60s style cover with a bonus track & mp3 download code and a booklet including photos & liner notes outlining dexters musical career.

frontier’s edge is the new ep by the fiery, energetic, genre-defying group the budos band. classic black vinyl edition.

official mr bonge re-issue of the 1976 album from togolese singer akofa akoussah.

schwarzes 180 gramm vinyl, downloadcode inklusive.

red splatter on transparent vinyl

reissue

reissue

hot casa records present togo soul 70 (selected rare togolese recordings from 1971 to 1981). a treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings mostly recorded in lomé during the 70’s, a fusion of traditional voodoo chants, raw soul and afro jazz. hot casa records selected 13 tracks, a snapshot of some hundreds of rare and often forgotten tapes from the most prolific, professional and exciting phase of the country’s recording history, including international stars like bella bellow (who even performed to maracana stadium in brazil), or roger damawuzan, compared as the james brown from lomé, and forgotten tapes and brilliant songs in mina, kabyié and fon languages. many of the tracks featured here are peppered with innovation and experimentation highlighting how diverse the music scene in togo was at the time, even if the political context influenced their creation.

originally released in 1978

african music that will move your mind to this special combination of highlife, funk and jazz.

reissue

the first release from afrobeat ensemble ausecuma beats.

segun bucknor fell in love with american soul music as a student at new york’s columbia university. otis redding, wilson pickett, sam cooke and ray charles hadn’t made much of a splash in africa at the time and when bucknor returned to nigeria in 1968, he was determined to bring the sound to a wider audience.
the result was brand of afro-soul that in turn became a proto-type of afrobeat. with his bands, the assembly and the revolution, he released a few politically charged tracks, but even with his energetic dance trio, the sweet things, turning up the heat, bucknor couldn’t compete with fela kuti.

reissue

release # 6 in mr bongos africa 45 series.

legendary ethiopian album back on 180 gram vinyl.

the 1980 collaboration by fela kuti and roy ayers back on vinyl

pop makossa - the invasive dance beat of cameroon 1976–1984 the pop makossa adventure started in 2009, when analog africa founder samy ben redjeb first travelled to cameroon to make an initial assessment of the countrys musical situation. he returned with enough tracks for an explosive compilation highlighting the period when funk and disco sounds began to infiltrate the makossa style popular throughout cameroon.
double vinyl in gatefold sleeve, includes download code, 20 pages lp size booklet and 30x30cm poster.

classic afro-compilation on triple vinyl back in stock!

repress 2023 - issued in 1975, this is the articulation of zambia’s zamrock ethos. while other albums - rikki ililonga’s zambia, witch’s lazy bones!! - are competitors, it’s hard to best this album as it covers each major quadrant of the zamrock whole: it came from the mines, its musicians were anti-colonial freedom fighters, it envelops zambian folk music traditions, and it rocks - hard

remastered reissue on transparent blue coloured vinyl.

‘pat thomas introduces marijata’ is a seminal ghanian album that fuses highlife, reggae, folk, funk and soul, from legendary vocalist pat thomas. originally released in 1976 on gapophone records. ‘marijata’ was a group made up of three members – kofi ‘electric’ addison on drums, bob fischlan on organ and nat osmanu on guitar, hailing from ghana. pat thomas career began in 1969 with the ‘broadway dance band’, leaving a year later to join the ‘uhuru dance band’. he then played with ebo taylor’s ‘blue monks’ and finally formed the ‘sweet beans’ in 1973 where he really made his name. the group released ‘false lover’ in 1974, split and then reformed as marijata, releasing ‘marijata’ (also available on mr bongo) and this album, ‘pat thomas introduces marijata’. thomas career spans more than 50 years and he still tours regularly across the world. replica original artwork, official mr bongo reissue. licensed from gapophone records courtesy of george prah.

official mr bongo reissue. licensed from george prah, founder of gapophone records.
marijata was a group made up of three members – kofi electric addison on drums, bob fischlan on organ and nat osmanu on guitar, hailing from ghana. ‘this is marijata’ is the groups first lp, released originally on the gapophone label – it is pure, rootsy, raw, driving african funk music of the highest order, now highly sought-after in both its original and previously reissued forms.

mark ernestus presents jeri-jeris swingingly masterful style of mbalax b/w hypnotic, stripped dub

release #17 in mr bongo’s africa 45 series.

die vielgepriesenen multiinstrumentalisten der menahan street band veröffentlichen ihr zweites album the crossing auf dem daptone records-ableger dunham records. der titeltrack des albums hatte seine premiere am 1. august auf rollingstone.com.
neben ihrer rolle als offizielle hausband des brooklyner labels dunham records hat die menahan street band bereits 2008 ein erstes album veröffentlicht, dass nicht nur von den kritikern bejubelt wurde sondern auch deshalb von sich reden macht, weil es so oft gesampelt wurde, wie kaum eine andere zeitgenössische funk- oder soul-platte. samples von made the road by walking finden sich unter anderem in songs von weltbekannten kollegen wie jay-z, 50 cent, kid cudi und vielen anderen. 2011 spielte die band no time for dreaming, das debüt-album der soul-sensation charles bradley ein den sie auf seiner welt-tournee auch als backingband begleiteten. das album wurde co-komponiert und produziert von mbs-gründungsmitglied thomas brenneck.

new material by sandy b! south african kwaito inspired music on this one check out qhum qhaks which is a favorite here!

first official reissue of the extremely rare full-length album by lagos-based bandleader shina williams. clean copies of the original currently sell for up to £500. the record was born in 1979 when shina put biddy wright, fred fisher, saliu alabi, prince bola, tutu shoronmu, tunde willimas and several other decorated nigerian musicians – who played with the likes of fela kuti, sjob movement, sonny okoson, king bucknor amongst others – together to record. the result is ‘african dances’, a timeless fusion of afrobeat, electronics, boogie and disco. includes his most well-known song, ‘agboju logun’ that williams knew was ground breaking – “i want to show the whole wide world that africa is alive with modern musicians to reckon with anywhere,”. this album version is a different mix to the two-track 12” that came out under on earthworks, rough trade in 1984. official mr bongo reissue. replica original artwork. licensed direct from shina williams.

70s afrobeat

offizielle afrodelic-wiederveröffentlichung des extrem seltenen debütalbums von tunde mabadu. ursprünglich 1978 auf dem blackspot-label (deccas westafrika-abteilung) veröffentlicht, unterscheidet sich bisu, das das supergroovige red jeans enthält, vom späteren viva disco-album von 1980 durch einen viel reineren afrikanischen stil.

the electrifying final album from cameroons legendary los camaroes, available on lp for the first time since 1979. recorded live to two track at the mango bar in yaounde, resurrection los was the last collaboration between bandleader jean gabari and groundbreaking guitarist messi martin. deluxe lp reissue features notes on the history of the band by original keyboardist mbambo johnny cosmos simon, plus all new interviews with producer nicolas mongue and engineer emmanuel guyssot.

rob was an enigmatic recording artist from ghana who cut two albums for the legendary essiebons label in 1977. neither of these were big domestic hits at the time and have since become prized amongst collectors in recent years. the title track from this lp was always one of the most popular on the first soundway release ghana soundz and over the years soundway has been asked many times to re-issue the lp in its entirety.

selected works by ayo manuel 1983 - 1990

limited edition of 250 copies.

robo arigo is an extraordinary multi-instrumentalist from nigeria’s ogun state. a founding member of pogo ltd, he played bass, guitar and organ on both their albums and plays all kinds of instruments, including cowbell, on sexy thing too. one listen to the record, however, (and a quick look at the back of the cover), and it’s pretty clear that playing bass is where robo’s heart lay. especially when he gets to slap it.

ghanaian highlife meets 70s soul music - the debut album from multicultural band jembaa groove.

soul jazz records’ new nigeria soul fever is their first release to explore the vast wealth of nigerian music recorded in the 1970s. the new album comes with introductory sleevenotes by bill brewster (author of last night a dj saved my life).
packed-full with afro-funk, disco and boogie all from nigeria, this triple album set brings together a stunning collection of diverse west african sounds. whilst a small handful of the artists featured (joni haastrup, tee mac, christy essien) have seen the light of day outside africa, this is essentially a collection of killer tracks by an array of artists completely unknown outside of nigeria.

reissue des debütalbums (1981) der legendären psychedelic-dub-formation african head charge um den jamaikanischen produzenten & percussionisten bonjo iyaginhi noah, dessen damals undefinierbarer sound maßgeblichen einfluss auf experimentelle bass-labels wie hyperdub oder tectonic hatte. mit dem clubfavoriten *stebenis theme* und dem track *far away chant* aus david lynchs *wild at heart* soundtrack. re-cut by dubplates & mastering, berlin, for maximum bass pressure! lp auf schwarzem vinyl mit downloadcard und bedruckten innentaschen mit sleevenotes von steve barker (on the wire).

deluxe double lp release of tracks available on wax for the very first time. pressed on heavy-weight 180g vinyl and packaged in a gatefold sleeve.

2022 reissue

super dope compilation of vol 1, vol 2 and unreleased tracks by the somalian dur-dur band. the funk is strong on this.. heavy productions, lo-fi, tape hiss all over the recordings but still so much definition and dynamics. big tip!

ltd. col. lp: (blue vinyl)

sprouting from a rich humus of latin and african polyrhythms, ghost horse creates a fusion of free jazz, hip hop, blues & loop music. the result is fascinating but quietly menacing, pulsing & breathing with the visceral force of nature reclaiming abandoned structures. full color poster insert!

vintage african musics treated in breakbeat mode though chants focused & in barranquilla and cartagena style

nigerian funk / soft rock from 1977 back on vinyl.

we’re excited to announce the first in a series of rare nigerian releases we’re putting out with the help of uchenna ikonne. sjob movement’s friendship train was the second lp by the group and one which saw the group rise to new heights. it’s a masterpiece of african music with it’s fluid afro beat grooves and spaced out moog synthesizer sounds.

official reissue of one of the hardest to find albums by the afro soul maestro, a pure afro funk spiritual grail from 1978!

the self-proclaimed funkiest band on the west coast of africa, the heads funk band, could arguably make that claim for the whole continent. featuring the slick guitar of felix ‘feladey’ odey, the slinky drumming of eddie offeyi and the swirling keyboard chops of kevin ‘fortune’ coburn, nobody was funkier. and that’s not even taking into account the dance floor monsters they were releasing at the same time as akwassa.