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.
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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

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

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

Artificial Dance is very happy to announce the full archival compilation of work by Richard Zeilstra A.K.A. Genetic Factor. Recorded in different parts of the world, at different times - we hope this will give the world a glimmer of the mind of Genetic Factor. A mind that has been behind a variety of very influential operations during the years; including a string of radio programmes (Radionome & Spleen a.o.), working at Boudisque and running Barcelona’s first compact disc store!

A double disc affair housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve that is only bleak in comparison with the musics featured on the discs. With songs taken from a wealth of recordings (and we’re only touching the surface!) that were safely locked in the Lab’s vaults.

The songs featured are not an attempt of making a coherent ‘album’ but much more trials of interpretation of his world into ‘music’. His strong believe in non-musicianship makes it more thrilling than conventional musics, yet these recordings are not result of amateurism - they form a consistent reality of what excites him. Take a dive in the realm of the Genetic Factor… More

Volume 3 of the TRUST XY recombination series again sees four unique artists channel sonic echoes from the label's past. Stenny is up first, the Italian producer whose name is synonymous with Ilian Tape's much acclaimed crossover of techno and bass music. He complements the deep pads of Versalife's 'Nova Prospekt' with a scorching bass line and rolling breaks programmed in his unmistakable style. Canadian producer and Planet Euphorique label owner D.Tiffany is a champion of complex percussions and an obvious choice to rework Alex Cortex's percussive electro anthem 'We Run Your Life'. Her take chops and warps Cortex's vocals around a twitching techno beat that's both experimental and effective. Side B has UK electro and breakbeat pioneer Clatterbox return to TRUST, reshaping one of the very first Microthol tracks into modern form. At his hands 'Intertronic' turns into a bleeping and hissing, snarling and growling electro bass monster. Lastly Delsin's dub master and TRUST alumni VC-118A takes on 'Tides' by /DL/MS/, replacing the original's sparse funk with a low slung dub techno groove that serves as the foundation for perpetually cascading ebbs and flows of lush and dreamy soundwaves. More

The string of Cómeme releases in its 14th year of existence does not stop! We are back with an artist whose tracks you’ve been hearing in the sets of the most free spirited and forward thinking DJs: None other than Bufiman has joined the catalog of Cómeme with a fantastic release: original,modern, and irresistibly danceable. 5 tracks featuring B- Boy Rhythms, outer space fantasy and dance floor utopia – in a way you’ve never heard this exceptional artist before. Since 15 years he’s a resident at Düsseldorf’s legendary “Salon des Amateurs” and has released on other wonderful labels such as Versatile,Safe Trip Records, Dekmantel Records and Fasaan Recordings – and under his other alias “Wolf Müller” on Themes for Great Cities, Growing Bin Records and International Feel. Due to living in a small flat with too many neighbors, childhood Jan could not pursue his dream of playing the drums, so he started to work with drum breaks on a program on Windows 95. Since around 25 years he’s now collecting drum samples, however you won’t hear any of these on this record. During the pandemic, Bufiman had to change his approach. Unable to work, due to the ban of all dance events he found a job opportunity as a night shift caregiver in a small town near Düsseldorf. This meant that he had to sit in a bus for at least three hours a day. To kill time somehow, he took out his Nintendo Switch portable game console and stumbled across Korg Gadget: a modern music program that he never particularly liked.The many hours on the back seats of the bus changed his relationship with the app as it was his only way of shortening the hours of commuting. The “Switch Beats” EP is the result of this particular time in his life, and once again we see that marvelous things can happen, when your ways of creating are challenged in an unprecedented manner. Let’s ride... 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