#afrofunk

[sonicandvisualsurprises]

70's

Gandigui - Orchestre Super Borgou de Parakou

A pulsating groove from northern Benin, “Gandigui” is a remarkable track combining the rhythmic vitality of Bariba music with hints of soul, funk, and Afrobeat, crafting a style uniquely their own.

[burlveneer-music]

La BOA (Bogotá Orquesta Afrobeat) Meets Tony Allen (through the magic of Comet Records' archive of Tony Allen drum tracks)

Few sounds transcend time and space quite like the driving pulse of Afrobeat, and few artists, for that matter, have defined their own domains quite as profoundly as Tony Allen—the very beat of Afrobeat itself. In 2011, Allen recorded one of his inimitable rhythmic dialogues as part of the Afrobeat Makers Series for the Parisian imprint Comet Records. Charged with the same fervour for uninhibited expression that defined his trailblazing career, Tony Allen’s drumming, free from convention and charting its own course, emanates a cadenced stream of consciousness that speaks its own truth. If Allen’s language was his beat, then on this record, La BOA—La Bogotá Orquesta Afrobeat—becomes his latest and most fitting interlocutor. What began as a tribute—a song named after Allen—now feels like the prelude to a deeper dialogue in a meeting that seems more like fate than mere happenstance. Led by producer Daniel Michel, the ever-evolving band has spent over ten years embodying the fluid, transformative spirit of Afrobeat, imprinting it with their distinctly Colombian sensibilities. From Casa Mambo in Bogotá, Michel’s Mambo Negro Records has become a cornerstone of Colombia’s underground scene championing Afro-Colombian and independent music throughout that time. Across this LP, Allen’s recordings lay down the canvas upon which La BOA paints its own vision of Afrobeat—raw and expansive, locking step with his drum tracks while building around the unmistakable blueprint of their Colombian rhythms: exuding Caribbean beat, rolling with Pacific groove, and, above all, shaped by the rarefied air of the Andean melting pot that is Bogotá. What ensues is an enduring conversation that crosses eras, borders, even life and death—a celebration of the passing of the baton and the boundless nature of Afrobeat as a genre that refuses to settle. Where the beat of Lagos meets the brass of Bogotá, so too La BOA meets Tony Allen.

[cinnamoncee]

1975

[dustedmagazine]

Amayo — Lion Awakes (Self-Release)

Amayo was the only actual Nigerian in the Brooklyn afrobeat juggernaut Antibalas, reigning from 1999 to 2021 in colored face paint and elaborate headdress over pulsing Fela-obsessed grooves. A devotee of martial arts, he is a practitioner of Kung Fu’s Chinese Lion Dance, as well as Nigerian Edo traditional arts. Lion Awakes celebrates all these elements of the Amayo creative package, unfurling frantic blasts of brassy syncopation around intricate narratives of supernatural kicking, punching might. This is not a long album, but it has epic scope that’s well beyond the limitations of the usual five-song EP.

It begins with Amayo’s tribute to his grandmother, a black magic shaman woman in touch with supernatural energies. The song, “Black Magic Sister” stutters on skittering, bunching syncopation, threading wheedling keyboards and off-beat cowbells through a sinuous call and response. Amayo holds court, letting the spirit move him as he sings, swaying with the back-slanted rhythms of reggae-adjacent afrobeat as he rides the current.

“Lion Awakes” runs steamier and funkier, guitars insinuated into a smolder of percussion, the beat rambling on, purposeful but not too fast. It’s too hot to run. The lion is the main character in three out of five of these tracks, strutting militantly in the snare-shot “Happy Lion,” triumphing over all comers in the final “Ascending Lion.” The Lion, I should mention, is Amayo, and of course he’s the hero of his own story.

Amayo brings the kung-fu-fighting samurai motif out into the foreground in “Shadowless,” a track whose bristling horns and burbling organ smoke but never erupt in flames. The menace is implied, never thrust forward, as Amayo whispers “Shadowless” against a slithery cadence of funk.

Amayo surrounds himself with an able collection of afro funk musicians from Africa and Los Angeles and Brooklyn. The backing is tight, in the sense of everything landing where it should, but also loose, with a give in the joints that makes you want to move. You probably didn’t know you needed an Afro funk concept album about a mighty kung fu warrior, but you did. You can thank me later.

Jennifer Kelly

[funksoul]

Lijadu Sisters - Life’s Gone Down Low - funky joint coming to you outta Nigeria

[c-40]

A-T-5 067 Tony Allen Road Close (Dance Dub)

Another great track from Fela Kuti's Africa '70 musical director and drummer. From the album N.E.P.A. (Never Expect Power Always) - a dig at the Nigerian Electric Power Authority. Recorded after he'd moved to France

I shared tracks from N.E.P.A. last year, there's a bit on confusion over when it was released 84/85

[supersupersounds]

Seun Kuti & Sampa The Great - Emi Aluta (Zamrock Remix)

Sampa just took everything to the next level. Visionary. Flawless. -Kris

[musikblog]

https://www.musikblog.de/2024/11/disclosure-and-pa-salieu-king-steps-neue-single/ Disclosure und Pa Salieu haben gestern ihre gemeinsame Single „King Steps“ veröffentlicht. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Disclosure (@disclosure) Disclosure mischen musikalische Genres so durch, dass selbst ein Kartograph mit dem Kartieren der Soundlandschaften überfordert wäre. Die Lawrence-Brüder haben mit ihrer neuen Single „King Steps“ mal eben die Musikwelt wieder ein […]

[heritage-harmony-records]

NEW ALBUM STREAMING NOW!!!

IY​(​Mixtape​.​) is the new album from Johannesburg, South Africa based afrofunk/hip-hop/neo-soul/afrobeat artist INKINGA YOMHLABA, released on August 2nd, 2024.

Listen to the full album:

[sonicandvisualsurprises]

1972

A striking example of the innovative afro-rock and psychedelic funk coming out of Nigeria in the 1970s, The Hygrades’ ‘Somebody's Gonna Lose or Win’ fuses fuzzy guitars, soulful vocals, and raw rhythmic power.

[magrit-alessa]

My weekly chart (22 Jul 2024 - 28 Jul 2024)

That's what I like. That's what surrounds me. That's what creates my mood.

*Created by my preferences only*

Аll chart positions in 4 minutes here -> https://youtu.be/-E67ucrBye4

10. Limi - If I

9. TENDER - cutting grass

8. Shwayze x Ripe - I Pray

7. VaReVa - Блекаут

6. Swimming Paul - Double Trouble

5. Alex Yarmak - INSIDE OUT

4. Jorja Smith - High

3. TSHA, Ingrid Witt - Drive

2. Empire Of The Sun - Television

1. Joe Goddard ft Ibibio Sound Machine - Progress

If you want to support channel:

If someone wants to help or support Ukraine:

[cinnamoncee]

[burlveneer-music]

Bosq & Kaleta - No Be Today - 12 blasts of Afro-Latin disco from Colombia

After 10 years of globally celebrated but only occasional collaborations, Bosq & Kaleta have their first full length album together. On No Be Today the duo is finally able to stretch out and explore their wide range of influences and musical histories. The album seamlessly melds styles from West Africa & it’s diaspora, Caribbean & South American sounds most prominently, with Disco, Funk, Soul, Hip Hop & House. Live Horn sections mix with a blend of acoustic and electronic drums, Kaleta’s effortlessly funky guitar, Bosq’s layers of keyboards, bass & synthesizers, and heavily layered percussion sections that tug at your waistline. Kaleta’s virtuosic melody writing ties the pieces together with infectious chants and socially conscious lyrics that span Yoruba, French, Goun, Fon & English. Kaleta, having played in the bands of both Juju music great King Sunny Ade & Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, brings the first hand experience and authenticity seldom found in todays West African influenced fusions. Bosq, now on his 6th full length album, brings a 20 year run experimenting with updating vintage sounds in the most tasteful way possible, melding Disco & Funk with styles from around the globe. In that time he’s worked on adding his touch to records by Ray Barretto, Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou, Toure Kunda, Poolside, Rawayana & more. The record is an ode to these musical histories, with the title No Be Today coming from a Nigerian saying, which explains that this did not just start and this did not happen by chance, there’s lifetimes of work behind this. It’s also a flag planted for a different way of doing things as technology makes the “perfect” & “clean” sound easier and easier to obtain, with AI art slapped on the front. This record is handmade, full of love and feeling, from the music to the incredible art by Brazilian muralist Amanda Lobos that graces the gatefold vinyl. The statement made by this record is that we should still take our time and delve deeply into projects with our whole soul.  Marco Fajardo - Sax (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) Jose Miguel Vega - Trombone (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) Leon Pardo - Trumpet (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) Andres “Bongie” Giraldo - Timbales (4) FLORENTIN KOUDJOU - Trombone (1, 4) TCHANVOEDOU PARFAIT TADAGBÉ - Trumpet (1, 4) ANICET HOUNDONOUGBO - BARI SAX(1, 4) Erlyn Correa - Bass (1, 2, 3, 10) Yuki Kanesaka - Keys, Synths, Organ (2, 4) Wilton Bravo Tascon “El Towii” - Congas (1, 2, 3, 7) Luis Miguel “Papinm” Guerrero - Marimba (3, 11) Hemmy Shout - Trumpet (10) NOAH DREIBLATT - Tenor & Bari Sax (10) Thank you Josephine Ikudehinbu & Salomon Fassinou OROBIYI MOTUNRAYO ABIODUN - Backing Vocals (2, 10) Daniel Biodun - Backing Vocals (10) HORNS RECORDED AT OZANA TRINITE IN COTONOU, BENIN (1, 4) HORNS RECORD AT MAMBO NEGRO RECORDS, BOGOTA (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) All songs mixed & mastered by Caserta

[soundgrammar]

Listen/purchase: Ziglibithiens by Analog Africa

[musikblog]

https://www.musikblog.de/2024/09/ezra-collective-dance-no-ones-watching/ Tanzen. Das ist ja gerade hierzulande so eine Aktivität, die sich die meisten nur bei gestiegenem Alkoholpegel und im Halbdunkeln trauen. Die anderen Menschen könnten ja komisch gucken. Wenn man da beispielsweise nach Lateinamerika schaut, wo zu jeder Tages- und Nachtzeit alle rhythmisch ihre Hüften zum Salsa schwingen und dabei keiner an Scham oder Körperklausigkeiten […]