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

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

tapan are back with their first release since their debut album europa. after that 2xlp emotional and epic journey they are now showing us again their dancier side with two cuts the beast (featuring serbian musician jan nemecek) and ghana. both tracks are not easy to categorize. perhaps industrial-inspired tribal-trance is the closest description, and yet somehow after listening to the tracks it feels like trying to put it in a box just dont do justice with the complexity of the music and its components. both tracks are remixed by 2 current favorites of the malka tuti crew - russian duo odopt who deliver an out-worldly idm monster of a remix to the beast, and italian-belgian duo front de cadeaux who pitches the track ghana even slower, adding more percussive grooves, a fat bassline and a whole lot of of sexiness to the brew.

a selection of four clubby reinterpretations of red on‘s ambient hardware jam „ghana“. by marrying the eerie soundscapes and delicate melodies of the original recording with their particular style of drum work, a. elm, alex ketzer, the marx trukker and philipp roth push the original tracks into krauty techno and rough, dancefloor focused house music.

after a successful launch with tracks from citizen and ejeca, loft records returns with its second single this march, entitled ghana by dorsia, and backed with reworks from hnny, jay shepheard and roberto rodriguez.

manmadesciecnce member aka stuttgart man michel baumann brings us a fresh new 12inch on sonar kollektiv. as well as having had releases on sonar kollektiv and his own label philpot, soulphiction has also put stuff out through perlon, playhouse, poker flat, freude am tanzen, moon harbour, liebe/detail, diy, mule, resopal and has remixed international pony, dapayk & padberg, egoexpress, move d, solomun and eva be amongst others

special limited edition 10 years of 22a repress of tenderlonious’ modern classic mini lp “on flute”, featuring the dancefloor anthem “song for my father”. one-off pressing of 300 numbered copies on blue curacao transparent vinyl, signed by tenderlonious.

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.

four essential cuts from ghana & cape verde, compiled by arp frique

slamming prime time techno

before last years’s comeback with for the fkn love they came back with dont’t fight your demons. ruffnation entertainment is proud to present the grammy-winning hip hop legends arrested development 2022 album, don’t fight your demons reissued on coloured double vinyl (1x red / 1x black)!

drum chums vol. 5

kitto records presents new 3-piece band nyamakye junction, composed of musicians from burundi, ghana and germany.

orlando voorn remixes of afrotronic. huge tip!

recorded in brooklyn & ghana

the first solo album from ghanaian singer k.o.g. (kweku of ghana) on double vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

new album by eddy de clercq

bbe music celebrates the centenary of recorded ghana highlife music with a double album reissue of two rare 80s lps recorded by the late atakora manu, afro highlife and omintiminim.

fresh afro-soul music - ghana’s highlife going by the heartbeat of 70s soul music.

moire already worked with record labels such as r&s, werk discs and rush hour.

a blue note tone poet reissue - remastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on audiophile 180 gram vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve.

1983 gem from ghana back on 7 inch vinyl, backed up with an edit from renegades of jazz.

more raw, deep and spiritual jazz on the 4th installment of tramp records’ “peace chant” compilation series. the vinyl release includes a download code.

excited and happy as a banana can be

afro-disco gem from 1979 back on double vinyl, remastered and housed in a gatefold sleeve.

the young allstar band from ghana present their debut album. the vinyl lp includes a download code.

number 1 of secretsundazes reedits!

cultural sounds of the natives of ghana

philophon sublabel lokalophon starts with 2 highlife cuts from ghana.

frafra gospel from ghana.

official mr bongo reissue of a much sought after 1982 higlife classic from ghana. licensed directly from gyedu-blay ambolley.

heavy heavy lp from ghana!

roots-reggae sensation coming out of ghana

late 80s highlife from ghana on 12 inch vinyl.

reissue of this rare nigerian/ghana funk record. incl. the jam african soul power which you might have heard getting spins in the clubs. incl. a poster+extensive liner notes. fela kuti believed the identical twins of basa basa to possess magical powers, bringing luck and prosperity. fela co-produced their first lp, and played on their second. but the wondrous powers of the nyaku twins from ghana reached their summit on their third album, which basa basa recorded with producer and multi-instrumentalist themba t-fire matebese in nigeria. this collaboration resulted in the bewitching homowo album, which combines the earthy mood of the twins and the futuristic vision of themba matebese as well as the hot and sweaty afro disco sound of lagos, where the album was recorded. from the blue title track homowo to the afro disco floor burner african soul power, the album makes a consistent listen. amsterdam based dj collective and vinyl shop vintage voudou makes the highly sought-after lp available again after almost four decades, working in close collaboration with the artists.

recorded in denmark in 1986 by the then up and coming afro pop singer kojo antwi from ghana, the tunes were issued in limited numbers as he was leaving denmark, sparking his international solo career after he left the classique vibes. though a popular favourite on cassette in ghana his debut album was only released in small numbers in europe and never achieved the same attention. the tracks selected here showcases kojos transition from the highlife sound of the classique vibes to the more drum machine driven highlife disco on ‘hini mi as well as the deep, computerized reggae

the 4th edition in the acclaimed sterns edits series sees curator ben gomori open up the sterns music catalogue to other keen re-editors with brownswood / worldwide genius smbd (aka simbad) the first to step up to the plate. nigeria s segun adewale is sometimes referred to as the crown prince of jùjú music, but in the 1980s he developed a sound all of his own, which he called yo-pop. a mixture of jùjú, funk, reggae, afrobeat and jazz, its vibrant melange can be heard on his 1986 record ojo je , where both these originals are taken from. smbd delivers too superb flips of the title track a gritty funk-fuelled disco version with live bass, and a deliciously deep dub-house version. gomori, meanwhile, takes the haunting atewo-lara ka tepa mo se for an extended hypnotic, tribal trip. the stunning artwork comes from kofi ankobra, the son of radical white south africans who grew up in ghana and studied art at oshogbo, nigeria the place adewale himself was born. sterns edits is an official collaboration between african music stalwarts sterns music and londons ben gomori.

in ghana to see a vulture means bad luck. and thats what happened to y-bayani. the long sought after remix by henrik schwarz will drop on vinyl, alongside a beatless version, exclusive to the 12inch

&#8203,,,re-issue of hard-to-find 1971 jazz album, originally recorded and released in finland. fascinating fusion of modern jazz and elements of caribbean music, african roots and pan. quintet featuring rudy smith from trinidad & tobago, plus musicians from barbados, surinam, and ghana. tip! lars samuelson, a jazz trumpet player and producer in sweden who heard this quite unique quintet, was captivated by their concept and sound, and asked them to record an album. otinku, the resulting album, was recorded in stockholm in 1971, produced by samuelson, and originally released on the odeon label, a subsidiary of emi finland. with an afro-jazz/caribbean orientation, the selections are a rich mixture of jazz standards and original compositions, including recently re-discovered killer funk tunes otinku and sugar daddy, and a fine steel jazz version of bags groove. the album was their only release and is now a sought after item for steel pan/caribbean music fans and vinyl diggers.

im basement des legendären westlondoner flamingo clubs gab es den weniger bekannten americana club, wo jimi hendrix 1966 erstmals in england live auftrat, paul mccartney seine spätere ehefrau linda eastman kennenlernte und mitte der 1950er jahre ein mod-allnighter mit r&b, blues, jazz, calypso und ska stattfand, dem dieser gleichnamige lp-sampler mit 16 erfrischenden tracks gewidmet ist.

the chisa years: 1965–1975 (rare and unreleased) is a compilation album by south african jazz trumpeter hugh masekela. the album consists of 14 rare or forgotten tracks recorded by stewart levine and hugh masekela from 1965 to 1975 when they ran their own chisa records label. thom jurek of allmusic wrote “in sum, there isn’t a weak moment on this entire collection. it’s appeal is wide and deep and one can only hope this is the first of many volumes of this material to appear. bbe records has done a stellar job in making this slab available.” dan nishimoto of the prefix magazine stated “the compilation focuses on masekela’s original idea of “african american music.” from the early experiments of the zulus (a group featuring m’bulu) in mixing doo-wop, rhythm & blues and south african gospel and the mbaqanga/”grazing in the grass”-style work of the generically named johannesburg street band to the clearly fela-influenced ojah (masekela’s band in the mid-’70s, consisting of players from ghana and nigeria) and the readyfor-primetime belting of m’bulu, each track reveals a multi-pronged effort to find and challenge the notion(s) of how african and american cultural forms could interact.”

ayuune sule brings the soul into kologo power. in kumasi, the second city of ghana and capitol of the ashanti region, ayuune sule is the main kologo star. the most famous kologo player these days in the whole of ghana and abroad is king ayisoba. together with king ayisoba, guy one, atongo zimba and sambo, he represents the generation that broke kologo music outside of the north east region of ghana. in europe we know ayuune sule as a member of king ayisoba’s band and as a solo artist who often opens up for his shows.

‘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.

ghana s dj katapila is back with more minimalist dance music productions, this time inspired in part by his travels overseas. following the success of the re-release of his trotro recording a couple years ago, katapila has been playing in europe and the uk, bringing his style of breakneck-paced, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink west african club music into a very different conte, giving katapila (real name ishmael abbey) inspiration in the kind of music he has heard in places like london. so he made some new music, here we go!

after a year’s hiatus optimo music disco plates returns with the first of several planned releases.
first up is long time friend phil kieran with an ep made specifically with optimo in mind. it has been tried and tested over recent months and more than ticks all our boxes. we feel confident it will tick yours too.
phil says “the ep was recorded in my house and made up of mostly live percussion performed live by thomas tettey annang. originally from ghana, he moved to belfast some years ago. it just so happens his wife is a close friend of my sisters and that was the first introduction. thomas now runs -releasing rhythms” here in belfast teaching drum classes.
we used a wide selection of traditional african drums that all have their own name, each one has a style and a sound. the rhythms used in this record would stem back to south american rhythms but using african drums. this was a sound and rhythm that influenced early post punk records in new york and still has an influence on dance music today.”

this time y-bayani has support from the great voice of baby naa. baby naa was just hanging out at the studio in accra/ghana when the recordings of rehwe mie enyim took place. the crew was waiting desperately for a singer to back up y-bayani. after an hour of waiting the producer, knowing that she sings at church every sunday, asked baby naa to do the missing part. then something occurred that nobody was expecting and finally everybody was happy that the original singer hadn t made it. rehwe mie enyim is a unique example of how roots-reggae can sound today. maybe it will be the very last recorded real roots-reggae song in human history? on mi sumolo the band of enlightment, reason and love gives us a light and cheerful instrumental every dj must have for his late night wedding set or any other high-class party.

releasing an album into the world is a special moment for any artist but when you re an artist who grew up in remote northern ghana with no schooling, spending a life herding cows and goats, building your own instruments and teaching yourself to sing, then there s a particular sense of occasion and celebration in finding recognition and an audience for that music. this is the case for guy one, an utterly unique artist who is writing and performing frafra music, a style that originates from a small area in the north of ghana. whilst guy one is already loved and adored locally by now - building up a fervent following in local villages in which no funeral or wedding would take place without his soaring voice and deeply rhythmic playing, before then transforming into an award-winning, tv appearing artist in ghana - his music is now to find a much wider audience through max weissenfeldt s philophon label (jimi tenor, hailu mergia, alemayehu eshete) on this berlin meets bolgatanga release.

cervo is no stranger to producing high quality dancefloor ready house cuts. released on 13th october, ‘deyo / kasoa’ is no exception to this rule. after a tough period mentally and a formative trip to ghana, cervo combines his love for field recordings with his well known take on the classic house structure. the end result is slighter harder than his previous work but signifies his growth and development as an artist. the lead track, ‘deyo’, starts as it means to go on. straight away the punchy and energetic percussions draws you in and remains captivating for the entire track but it’s the melody that stands out. the sense of urgency is soothed by looping bass and piano riffs, complimenting each other perfectly throughout. ‘kasoa’ is approached differently than the flip ‘deyo’, more care and consideration is taken. it slowly builds up with field recordings as the backdrop providing context before allowing a clear and definitive vibe to be established.

for this album, ebo joined forces with 12-piece band ‘the pelikans’ — from the cape coast region of ghana — led by bessa simmona, with rhythm guitarist fifi orleans lindsay. a genuine ‘holy-grail’ of ghanaian music and one of ebo’s most saught-after.
the album was released on the small abookyi label. named after a nightclub they played in called pelikans, and sung in english and fante, this was the first album where ebo sang on tracks, such as the classic ‘come along’, on which he also plays keyboard. this song clearly defined a new direction in highlife and has become a ghanaian funk anthem. ‘come along’ formed the basis of sadat x’s ‘remember that’ hip hop jam from 2011.
this official mr bongo re-issue is packaged in our new & improved heavyweight ‘tip-on’ sleeves, printed in japan, pressed on high quality vinyl, audio restored to the best of our ability, with label designs and artwork as per the original release.