We are really proud to introduce a new release on Mawimbi Records: "Mawimbi, Vol. 2”. Its title is a nod to “Mawimbi, Vol. 1”, which was the inaugural release of our record label back in 2015. A new compilation, at last, after a decade of music activism and a handful of EPs and albums which have helped unearth some of today’s talents from the new global music scene (Onipa, Loya, Afriquoi, Raz & Afla). It stays true to the driving principles of our artistic direction: support upcoming artists, e ncourage the breaking down of musical frontiers, help make happen new encounters between electronic music and so-called “afro” music. While these encounters can now be witnessed anywhere in pop music’s current zeitgeist, from Beyoncé to South African’s vibrant amapiano scene, we think there’s still plenty to explore.

“Mawimbi, Vol. 2” truly feels like the culmination of a long path for our record label. Because it includes artists who have been actively contributing to the Mawimbi adventure over the years, and also because it’s another convincing testimony of the fruitfulness of this musical intuition we have so heartily been defending for the last decade. Indeed, the 8 tracks of “Mawimbi, Vol. 2” resist all the usual labels. They sound like they stem more from human encounters and artistic dialogues launched in the moment than attempts to be associated with any music scene in particular. Each of the 8 pieces of this compilation presents in a unique way the search for this cross-pollinating sound.

The compilation opens with a really engaging rework of James Stewart’s classic track “Cotonou” by Lyon-based tropical music enthusiasts Voilaaa, who took Peter Solo’s voodoo soul lines on a trip across the Black Atlantic beginning with a horn-heavy cuban cha-cha-cha before falling into a savory triple time dance. As tireless sonic adventurers, Amsterdam-based duo Umoja have brought back a handful of hits from their numerous trips to Kenya meeting with local benga musicians. “Avana Va” is one of their compelling tunes, featuring Kenyan musician and producer Sidney Simila. This urge to collaborate with musicians from across the African continent is also to be found in Village Cuts’ ever expanding discography. On “Sentima”, they showcase their trademark London funky sound, introducing us to the talents of Congolese guitarist and singer Kissangwa.

Afriquoi’s 2020 hit “Ndeko Solo” is presented in a brand new shape, sprinkled with some French Touch flavours. “Djansa”, by Toulouse-based producers Mr. Boom, rides a distinct South African-inspired groove, while inviting us to a nighttime dance by the Balearic sea. On “Silent Runner”, French producer and musician Ozferti moulds his own musical galaxy where East African scales meet cutting edge global club beats. With “Nabi Kumi”, Anglo-Ghanaian duo Raz & Afla delivers their deepest piece, once again inducing a state of trance with a triple-time beat and an hypnotic kora loop. Closing the compilation, “It's Holy” is a unique collaboration between Tom Excell (Onipa, Nubiyan Twist, David Walters) and Dizraeli, one of the most interesting voices in British rap, which by making connections between broken beat, jazz and african music, illustrates the precious mixture of musical aesthetics that make up the current UK musical landscape.

A1 - James Stewart - Cotonou (Voilaaa Remix)
A2 - Umoja- Avana Va (Feat. Sidney Simela)
A3 - Afriquoi - Ndeko Solo (Sunshine Refix)
A4 - Ozferti - Silent Runner
B1 - Mr. Boom - Djansa (Feat. Chanana)
B2 - Raz & Afla- Nabi Kumi
B3 - Village Cuts - Sentima (Feat. Kissangwa)
B4 - Tom Excell - It's holy (Feat. Dizraeli) More

Originally from Tel Aviv, Raz has been based in London for most of his adult life. An awardwinning, multi-platinum producer, his repertoire includes a broad range of solo electronic music productions while also lending his refined ear to composing and producing for other artists including Basement Jaxx, Sam Lee’s Mercury-nominated album and Lamar, among many more. Afla’s Ghanaian heritage permeates into everything he does, invoking the deep ancestral roots of his homeland. His background as a session musician for artists such as Ginger Baker, Sun Ra, Oren Marshall, Osibisa, Ibibio Sound Machine and later, as a dancer, embodies his lineage.

It was inevitable, then, that their connection would lead to a full-length collection of their music. From funk-fueled open ‘Survive’, to its politically astute title track The Cycle condenses Raz & Afla’s magical chemistry into a collection of music that is authentic, compelling and contagious in its enthusiastic energy. You’ll hear ancestral funk on ‘This Cycle’, contemporary highlife with ‘Check Yourself’, cosmic Afro-electronica on ‘Mofanya’ and jaunty grooves on ‘Shall Prevail’, simply pure good vibrations across the eight-track LP, which marks the start of the next phase of Raz & Afla.

This is the twosome expressing themselves to the world; vulnerable, truthful and exposed, it’s a personal statement that will resonate with listeners all over the world. Through the universal language of music they communicate sincerely, with music that has pure intention. Dance wildly, pay close attention to the lyrics and let the spirit of Raz & Afla transport you away from everyday life into another dimension of rhythm and sound…

TRACKLIST:
A1 Survive
A2 Walk The Walk
A3 This Cycle
A4 Mofanya
B1 Kye Kye Kule
B2 Check Yourself
B3 Shall Prevail
B4 Stringer Bells More

After his acclaimed debut EP « Cotonou » on Alma Negra’s record label, James Stewart comes back with his new EP Atlantic River Drive for Mawimbi Records, featuring two collaborations with Ghanaian kologo musician Ayuune Sule as well as two remixes from Simbad aka SMBD.
More

Repress!

Originally only released on CD, now remastered for vinyl and pressed on 12" maxi format. Featuring 2 original tracks - "Mabsouta" and "Al Eih" including a bonus beat edit of "Rekka" by Castro. "Mabsouta" is a game changing Arabic cover version of a track that stayed in a generation's childhood memories - Tom's Dinner by Suzanne Vega. Simone's beautiful voice in Arabic brings an entirely new meaning to what might have been a track you couldn't hear anymore, highly refreshing! More

A milestone in electronic music, is finally receiving its well-deserved re-release: Liaisons Dangereuses’ legendary self-titled debut album still fascinates today, through its innovative sound and the mystery encompassing it. Since its release in 1981, it has become a classic in electronic music. The 10 electrifying songs produced by Chrislo Haas (DAF) and Beate Bartel (Mania D. / Matador) – reinforced by Krishna Goineau’s French and Spanish Speech-Attack-Lyrics – created a unique style. The album – anything other than a Berlin or Düsseldorf ‘thing’ – was propelled to an international favourite. Songs such as “Peut Être... Pas” and “Los Niños Del Parque” played a decisive role in the development of Detroit and Chicago’s house sound, as well as various forms of European techno. More

Tasty Recordings return with another set of straight up, party starting firepower. Five delectable edits cooked up in the kitchen of a handpicked selection of producers, that know a thing or two about splicing the spice into your life. More

After a sell-out EP by Rahaan in the spring, Dublin label Fatty Fatty Phonographics returns to the home of house with two murky 21st Century excursions aimed straight at dark'n'sweaty dancefloors. Rahaan flips the script here with 'Secondo Coro Della Lavendie', a propulsive update of Roberto Di Simone's 1976 modern opera piece of the same name. Over the years it's become a cult club hit in Chicago, Detroit and Montreal and found it's way into the record bags of the likes of Brennan Green. The title translates as 'The Song Of The Working Girls' and it sounds like it, a hipshakin', Afro-delic chant married to a relentless b-line and wired Chi-Town electronics. On the flip-side comes DJ Darryn Jones, yet another Chicago native with a bottomless record collection and the production chops to know what to do with it. 'Mouth Passion' weaves elements of The Flirt's 'Passion' in and out of another ruff track of rumbling percussion,raw bass and spooky sound effects and comes out right on top, transporting you down into a darkened basement with your eyes closed and your disco fist in the air! More

New Born is a group of four Italian immigrants who all lived in the area around Ulm/Bavaria.

Primarily they sang more Italian songs and were more on the traditional side of Italian music.

This record is a perfect example of what can happen when the drummer says “Let´s jam” to the musicians. The outstanding track “Galaxy” came out, the vibe of it is like an early piano house track and a hybrid of cosmic and disco.

The original copy of the record is nowadays a highly requested collector´s item, that skyrocketed in terms of prices. Originally released as a 45 single in 1981 the record was pressed in a very small run. Try to find a unicorn it’s easier.

We decided not to do only a simple reissue of it, we asked the creme de la creme of cosmic disco to make us a new born version of the track “Galaxy”. Camp Cosmic aficionados “Albion” & “Spacelexx” are responsible for two mesmerizing versions of this song. On top, we pressed the whole record as a 12? from the original master tapes. More

With Pharoah Sanders’ blessing, we present the definitive, remastered version of PHAROAH, his seminal record from 1977, in an embossed 2 LP box set. Alongside the original record, we’re including two previously unreleased live performances of his masterpiece, “Harvest Time," and a 24-page booklet with rarely seen photographs and ephemera, which tell the story of this album and this moment in Pharoah’s life in a way that has never been done before—including through interviews with many of the participants and a conversation with Pharoah himself.

For those of you who already know this record, then you know that its origin story is as elusive as Pharoah was about everything Pharoah. It was born out of a misunderstanding between him and the India Navigation producer Bob Cummins, and was recorded when he was at a crossroads in his career with an unlikely crew. Among them was a guitarist who was also a spiritual guru, an organist who would go on to co-write and produce “The Message,” and a classically trained pianist—his wife at the time, Bedria Sanders—who played the harmonium despite never having seen one. At times ambient and serene, at others funky and modal, PHAROAH radically departed from his earlier work. And it became beloved.



Tracklist:

Pharoah

A1. Harvest Time
B1. Love Will Find a Way
B2. Memories of Edith Johnson

Harvest Time Live 1977

C1. Harvest Time Live – Version 1
D1. Harvest Time Live – Version 2 More

The enigmatic CEM3340 returns with his third LP. it's also the third outing on his very own Curtis Electronix, following a strong release from DJ Overdose himself. On the A side things kick off and go straight to the point with four highly sharped hard hitting jams, cut with the usual deadly precision. Firing snares and rusty 808 kick drums with a persistent old school feel; On the B side things morph and get more evocative with three classic-influenced electro bangers. No more words needed. Just drop the needle. This is Suburbs Disorder. More

As part of their 20th Anniversary celebrations, Strut present the first new volume in their pioneering ‘Nigeria 70’ series for over 8 years, bringing together rare highlife, Afro-funk and juju from the ‘70s and early ‘80s. Compiled by collector and DJ Duncan Brooker, this new selection of tracks is receiving its first international release outside of Nigeria. The compilation returns to a fertile heyday in Nigerian music when established styles like highlife and juju became infused with elements of Western jazz, soul and funk and musicians brought a proud new message post-independence. Brooker places the spotlight particularly on some of the incredible Ukwuani musicians from the Delta State region as guitarist Rogana Ottah and Steady Arobby’s International Brothers Band forged their own fluid brand of highlife and soulman Don Bruce drew on the US R&B greats for a series of great albums and explosive stage shows at his residency at Hilton Hotel in Abuja. Elsewhere, the album explores the close connection between Nigeria and Benin’s music, most famously through Sir Victor Uwaifo, appearing here with a killer mid-‘80s ekassa jam, as well as highlife hitmaker Osayamore Joseph on ‘Obonogbozu’ (Joseph made headlines in Nigeria for very different reasons in 2017, surviving a one month kidnapping ordeal). Other tracks include ‘Sickness’ a 1979 lament on how all countries share troubles by Prince Nico Mbarga, the Nigerian / Camerounian star behind the smash hit ‘Sweet Mother’; reggae singer Felixson Ngasia switches to funk and disco for a heavy workout with potent lyrics around black identity; another major highlife great Etubom Rex Williams unleashes a punchy psych funk gem with ‘Psychedelic Shoes’ and Africa 70 member Pax Nicholas vocals a simmering Afrobeat groove from Jacob Lee’s Saxon Lee & The Shadows International Band. ‘Nigeria 70: No Wahala’ iis released on 29th March 2019 on CD, 2LP and digital. All tracks have been restored by See Why Audio and mastered by The Carvery. The package features comprehensive sleeve notes including exclusive interviews with some of the original artists.
Tracklisting:
A1 Odeyemi – Oni Suru 5.27
A2 Prince Nico Mbarga & Rocafil Jazz – Sickness 7.40
A3 Osayomore Joseph & The Creative 7 – Obonogbozu 6.50
B1 Felixson Ngasia & The Survivals – Black Precious Colour 7.11
B2 Sina Bakare – Africa 5.31
B3 Saxon Lee & The Shadows International – Special Secret Of Baby
8.45
C1 International Brothers Band – Onuma Dimnobi 8.10
C2 Don Bruce & The Angels – Kinuye 5.50
C3 Etubom Rex Williams & His Nigerian Artistes – Psychedelic Shoes
6.17
D1 Rogana Ottah & His Black Heroes Int. - Let Them Say 8.48
D2 Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis – Iziegbe (Ekassa No. 70) 7.17
D3 M.A. Jaiyesimi & His Crescent Bros Band – Mundiya Loju 3.03 More

Repress!

Jersey Shore's finest funk. Minority Band hails from the beaches of Monmouth County New Jersey. The septet performed locally from New York to Neptune City in the late 70s and recorded only one LP on JSR records entitled "Journey To The Shore". Widely unknown and hyper-collectible, these recordings fetch those 4 figures... Unattainable until now. We've taken two of the best cuts from the album and pressed them proper on 12inch. More