seventh release of weaponry

samurai hannya ii: snake on purple vinyl.

a righteous squad of precision technicians re-construct tracks from presha’s debut ep - rats. first of 2 releases, delivered on purple marbled vinyl.

blood red vinyl

for the past 15 years the tanzanian megalopolis of dar es salaam has had one of the most exciting underground electronic music scenes in east africa. a constellation of micro-scenes from mchiriku, sebene and segere all the way to its latest mutation of singeli that finally after years of lurking in the underground has exploded into the mainstream and taken over bongo flava as the music of choice amongst tanzania s youth. born in the sprawling working class neighborhoods of tandale and manzese, singeli s signature sound consists of fast paced frantic loops interlocking with each other, with influences from zanzibars tarab music all the way to south african afro-house coupled with mc s who often spit satirical lyrics about the challenges facing tanzania s youth, from police corruption to the complications of dating girls when you are broke. if there is one studio that stands out amongst the hundreds that dot dar es salaam s musical landscape it is sisso records. centered around producers, bwax, sisso, bampa pana and yung keyz morento and mc s dogo niga and makavelli, they were early pioneers of the singeli sound. whilst some singeli artists have begun fusing their music with more traditional tanzanian hip hop, sisso have remained uncompromising in their sound, always raw, fast with a punk diy aesthetic that can at times verge on noise and gabber, to produce a spell binding music that is like no other sound system culture in the region.

there are few labels who will get the opportunity to work extensively with the most dynamic remixers, dj s and producers of this decade. bbe seems to keep coming up trumps. grammy award winner louie vega has been on top of the dj game for over 2 decades. he gained further notoriety as part of the collective known as ‘masters at work’ with kenny gonzalez form a formidable partnership reminiscent of the greatest producers of yesteryear. quincy did it with chaka khan, james ingram, al jarreau and the brothers johnson, while gamble and huff did it with archie bell and the drells, harold melvin and the bluenotes, teddy pendergrass and mfsb.