In late 2013 I was trying to take a disconap before djing a New Years party in Glasgow. All I could think about was finally getting in touch with Ata Kak. I decided to book a oneway flight to Toronto and I was not going to leave until I found some family contacts. It turned out Yaw's son Jeffrey still lives there and we had this incredible meeting in a townhouse complex on the edge of town.

I couldn't believe it when I finally spoke with Yaw and explained to him how well-loved his music had become. ATFA the label had been operating for several years by then but the tape that really started the whole thing couldn't get reissued. Once we got in touch all the complexities of how to actually do that came into focus.?It always irked me that our reissue of Obaa Sima didn't sound excellent. Nevertheless, it has a sonic charm that endures. Obaa Sima was a kind of manifesto for the whole Awesome Tapes From Arica blog project when it started. That sound and approach embodied something I wanted to further explore.

After years of enjoying his music, it was thrilling to finally meet Yaw and hear his story. I wanted to let everyone hear the music in the highest resolution possible but we couldn't make it happen.?In early 2024, by some cosmic coincidence, I made a new friend in my Berlin neighborhood who causally introduced himself by saying, "I have a clean copy of Obaa Sima, you can have it if you want." Not just wildly kind but also serendipitous as we reach the 10th year since the cassette's reissue.?

This new remaster, lovingly rendered from an almost impeccable source, is a revelation for anyone who wished to hear more of how this music was meant to sound. Our longtime collaborator Jessica Thompson carefully restored it with updated tools in her state-of-the-art studio.?

Over the past 15 years or so, as I DJ these Ata Kak songs at almost every show, I still feel a sense of wonder upon listening. You can go deep into the crevices of the very audible audio artefacts and hear a lot. Maybe it's a little sad to part ways with the wows and flutters whose contours I'd grown to know like the back of my hand.?When I visited Yaw in Kumasi a few years ago for a documentary shoot, it was shocking to learn that his brother had actually sold quite a few copies of the tape. As we moved through Kejetia market one day we encountered a handful of folks who remembered hearing Obaa Sima back around its release in 1994. More recently, thanks to a few Ghanaian-made viral TikToks, I've learned how many people of a certain age heard these songs as staples at funerals and other local dance parties. The music reached a lot more people despite what Yaw had reported. ?

I was also surprised to learn that the album was originally recorded at a slower speed—we have included a slow version download here.?In the years since, the concerts that Ata Kak has performed have been one of the absolute joys of my life to experience. It couldn't have been achieved without the intense dedication of Ata Kak's booking agents at the time QuJunktions and his London-based bandmates, including Esa Williams, Pax Nindi, Binisa Bonner and Tim Tapsell. Hearing Obaa Sima live is astounding and thousands of people all over the world have been there too.?

—Brian Shimkovitz, Berlin 2025

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In late 2013 I was trying to take a disconap before djing a New Years party in Glasgow. All I could think about was finally getting in touch with Ata Kak. I decided to book a oneway flight to Toronto and I was not going to leave until I found some family contacts. It turned out Yaw's son Jeffrey still lives there and we had this incredible meeting in a townhouse complex on the edge of town.

I couldn't believe it when I finally spoke with Yaw and explained to him how well-loved his music had become. ATFA the label had been operating for several years by then but the tape that really started the whole thing couldn't get reissued. Once we got in touch all the complexities of how to actually do that came into focus.?It always irked me that our reissue of Obaa Sima didn't sound excellent. Nevertheless, it has a sonic charm that endures. Obaa Sima was a kind of manifesto for the whole Awesome Tapes From Arica blog project when it started. That sound and approach embodied something I wanted to further explore.

After years of enjoying his music, it was thrilling to finally meet Yaw and hear his story. I wanted to let everyone hear the music in the highest resolution possible but we couldn't make it happen.?In early 2024, by some cosmic coincidence, I made a new friend in my Berlin neighborhood who causally introduced himself by saying, "I have a clean copy of Obaa Sima, you can have it if you want." Not just wildly kind but also serendipitous as we reach the 10th year since the cassette's reissue.?

This new remaster, lovingly rendered from an almost impeccable source, is a revelation for anyone who wished to hear more of how this music was meant to sound. Our longtime collaborator Jessica Thompson carefully restored it with updated tools in her state-of-the-art studio.?

Over the past 15 years or so, as I DJ these Ata Kak songs at almost every show, I still feel a sense of wonder upon listening. You can go deep into the crevices of the very audible audio artefacts and hear a lot. Maybe it's a little sad to part ways with the wows and flutters whose contours I'd grown to know like the back of my hand.?When I visited Yaw in Kumasi a few years ago for a documentary shoot, it was shocking to learn that his brother had actually sold quite a few copies of the tape. As we moved through Kejetia market one day we encountered a handful of folks who remembered hearing Obaa Sima back around its release in 1994. More recently, thanks to a few Ghanaian-made viral TikToks, I've learned how many people of a certain age heard these songs as staples at funerals and other local dance parties. The music reached a lot more people despite what Yaw had reported. ?

I was also surprised to learn that the album was originally recorded at a slower speed—we have included a slow version download here.?In the years since, the concerts that Ata Kak has performed have been one of the absolute joys of my life to experience. It couldn't have been achieved without the intense dedication of Ata Kak's booking agents at the time QuJunktions and his London-based bandmates, including Esa Williams, Pax Nindi, Binisa Bonner and Tim Tapsell. Hearing Obaa Sima live is astounding and thousands of people all over the world have been there too.?

—Brian Shimkovitz, Berlin 2025

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Tracklist:

1.Yegle Nesh (Live)
2.Tizita (Live)
3.Belew Beduby (Live)
4.Anchihoye Lene (Live)
5.Abichu Nega Nega (Live)
6.Yetewat Hil (Live)

It’s been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia re-emerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival.

Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player’s powerful DC-based trio—which practices each weekend in his basement—featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA’s expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities.

Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like “Tizita” or “Anchihoye Lene”) upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia’s original compositions (like “Yegle Nesh”) shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments—often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age.

"Pioneer Works Swing (Live)" brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents.

Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he’s been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old-fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

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DJ Black Low burst on the international scene last year with Uwami, a collection of his early, downright avantgarde amapiano work. The young producer and DJ makes electronic music that sounds like nothing else: glitchy and fierce while smooth and soulful, all under the rubric of South Africa's most-exported dance music movement to date. Now comes Uwami II, which features the rest of the tracks from the acclaimed debut plus a new song "Gijima." The Pretoria, South Africa-based artist has more work in the pipeline as we present these inimitable songs for the first time on vinyl. The song "Gijima" is a previously unreleased track Black Low chose to include in this collection as cremates more work at a furious pace. "This is essential listening from a 20 year-old star." - Resident Advisor Best Tracks of 2021 "Uwami keeps an adventurous spirit at its core and pushes far beyond genre conventions in the process." - The Vinyl Factory "A producer with a fully realized voice." - Bandcamp Best Albums of Winter 2021 "The hard hitting beats of the electronic percussions make the songs seem like they're out of this planet." - AfroPop Worldwide

TRACKLISTING: 01. ALONE IN A DARK [+ MR. PERFECT FEAT. DJ LA BENGWA] 02. SBONO (VOCAL MIX) [FEAT. DJ LABENGWA, LICY JAY & MENATE ENTERTAINMENT] 03. DOWN THE ROAD (ORIGINAL MIX) [FEAT. DJ LA BENGWA] 04. VULA VALA 05. 60 DAYS NO SLEEP 06. GIJIMA (VOCAL MIX) [FEAT. STATAH & DAFF GEE]

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Tracklist:

1 KADI YOMBO
2 GHO MITSABA NA VOKO
3 BOSSOGHO AKÉTI NA MISSINGUI
4 MOGHOGHO
5 GHO MINONGO
6 NGONDÉ
7 POPEDAKA
8 NIAGHAULIANO GHUNI
9 KUDU
10 GHO BOKA NZAMBÉ

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it's Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music. Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution. Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo's capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists. On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui-not only the musician, but the man-someone whose age hasn't altered any of his freshness or authenticity.

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TRACKLIST
01. TEZETA
02. ENDEGENA
03. ZENGADYW DEREKOU
04. GUMEGUM
05. NEFAS NEW ZEMEDIE
06. ATMETALEGNEM WOI
07. MESTIRAWI DEBDABE
08. OU-OU-TA
09. AYA BELEW BELEW

Unknown recording outside Ethiopia which documents Mergia Hailu & The Walias legendary early period. Beautifully-rendered instrumentals of classic Ethiopian standards, "Tezeta"is the follow-up reissue of the hugely popular seminal Ethiopian instrumentals LP "Tche Belew" (ATFA012). It was a Cassette-only release in 1975 on the band's in-house label, to fund their record store. From their genesis as members of the Venus club in-house band in the early 70s, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band were at the forefront of the musical revolution during an era where modern instruments and foreign styles superseded the traditional fare to become the staple sound of Ethiopia. No one would argue that the Walias were the trailblazing powerhouse of modern Ethiopian music. They were the first band to form independently without affiliation to a theatre house, a club or a hotel; unprecedented and risky as they had to raise all funding for expenses by themselves including buying equipment. They were the first to release full instrumental albums, considered to be commercially unviable at the time. They opened their own recording studio, with band members Melake Gebre and Mahmoud Aman doubling as technical buffs during sessions. They were also the first independent band to tour abroad. In short, they were the pioneers every band tried to emulate; some more successfully than others. Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV. This Tezeta album, the band's second recording, released in 1975, is one of those that have been impossible to find for nearly three decades. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu's melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible. Profoundly engaging; it's an immersive trip down memory lane for those of us getting reacquainted with it, while also an enthralling and gratifying experience for fresh ears.

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At the age of 28, Awalom Gebremariam arrived in the United States, following a years-long journey from Eritrea. He'd made it to a refugee camp in Ethiopia several years ago and eventually attained asylum status for passage to America. But before he left his hometown, Eritrea's capital Asmara, he made his first and only recording so far, Desdes. In 2006, Awalom began to teach himself two of Eritrea’s most recognizable and important folk instruments, the wata and the krar. Although they have roots in traditional music, they are heard in most Eritrean folk and pop recordings. Awalom completed Desdes in 2007, not long before he departed Eritrea. Because Awalom left after the recording he never received any money for cassette and CD sales. But he also didn't get to find out how much of an impact the songs have had locally. His songs appear to focus on love, but Awalom isn't speaking about romantic love per se. Much of the music Awalom heard growing up was intertwined with Eritrea's difficult and contentious split from Ethiopia. In 2012, during a trip to Switzerland to help promote a film about biking in Eritrea, ATFA was given a copy of Desdes by fixed-gear bicycle athlete Patrick Seabase, the documentary’s protagonist. Seabase gave a copy to ATFA founder Brian Shimkovitz as a gift and it later appeared on the ATFA blog. ! A few years later Shimkovitz was contacted by some agencies in North Carolina, where Awalom had settled. Through a translator very one decided to work together on a reissue of his recording. It took many months to source a clean master but now the album is ready and Awalom’s goals are clear. He spent years waiting for the chance to escape economic and political turmoil at home. Now 29 and living in North Carolina, he works in a restaurant and plans to bring his music to Eritrean communities across North America as well as newer listeners with whom his powerful sounds and remarkable journey will deeply resonate

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On their third seven-inch release, the band dares to reimagine a true soul classic — Jon Lucien’s timeless masterpiece “Would You Believe in Me” — with an irresistible disco twist.
This stunning double-sider delivers two distinct moods built on the same hypnotic backing track.
On the A-side, the ever-soulful Kiko, one of Portuguese finest jazz voices, breathes new life into Lucien’s original lyrics with heartfelt emotion and silky smooth delivery.
Flip it over and discover the B-side, a fresh Portuguese reinterpretation, passionately performed by Brazilian-born powerhouse Denize Machado from the ultra-militant Bamba Social.

With “Would You Believe in Me,” The Bam Jam Band bridges eras, continents, and grooves — paying homage to 70s soul while keeping the dancefloor burning.

A heartfelt tribute. A daring remake. A must-have for every modern soul lover.

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Strut proudly presents the debut album from producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Momoko Gill. Fresh from her critically acclaimed collaboration Clay recorded with cult electronic artist Matthew Herbert, Momoko steps forward in her own right for the first time with her remarkable debut solo album.

Listen: listen.k7.com/a3aef2bd-1ccc-4c12-b4c1-227a8e216711


TRACKLISTING
LP:
A1. SATELLITE
A2. NO OTHERS
A3. HEAVY
A4. REWIND/REMIND
A5. SHADOWBOXING
A6. TEST A SMALL AREA

B1. 2CLOSE2FARR
B2. ANYWAY, I’M DROWNING
B3. WHEN PALESTINE IS FREE
B4. RIVER
B5. INEFFABLY

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Two days after his 100th birthday, Marshall Allen started recording New Dawn, his debut solo album. A member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra since 1958, Allen assumed leadership of the band in 1995. Throughout his nearly seventy-year career, Allen has never released a solo album under his own name, and yet, instead of capping such a legendary output, New Dawn seems to herald a new beginning. A love letter to spacetime, it channels a century of musical intelligence into seven tracks, showing Allen at his most protean—freely moving from relaxed, transdimensional palettes to bluesy big band and beyond.

The title track “New Dawn” is the centerpiece of this impressive album and the arranger Knoel Scott wrote the lyrics himself. We are thrilled to have the incomparable Neneh Cherry, stepdaughter of legendary jazz musician Don Cherry, lend her unmistakable voice to this song.

“It’s gorgeous! Neneh is a jazz singer now! Sounds like something Nina Simone might have done.” – David Byrne

The 7” single is limited to 300 copies, numbered, and comes in a chic screen-printed cover …

Musicians: Neneh Cherry – Voice Marshall Allen – Alto Sax Knoel Scott – Baritone Sax, Michael Ray – Trumpet Bruce Edwards – Guitar Richard Hill – Bass Timothy Ragsdale – Bass Owen Brown Jr – 1st Violin Cristina Ardelean Montelongo – 1st Violin Derek Washington – 2nd Violin Dimitra Karageorgopoulou – 2nd Violin Michael Ireland – Viola Ilektra-Despoina Stevi – Cello George Gray – Drums

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Frederiksberg Records is proud to announce the long-awaited reissue of Ambonisye Lord Shepherd’s 1981 debut album, Evidence For Real — a deeply personal and spiritual fusion of Soul and Jazz that has remained a hidden treasure for more than four decades.

Tracklist
1.124th and Lake Street
1.2Life and Times of Malcolm X
1.3Fight for It
1.4Death Land
1.5I'll Always Love You
1.6The Day the Little Shepherd
1.7Verline
1.8The Teachings of Don Juan
1.925TH

https://listen.k7.com/2d96dfe1-f81a-40a2-9c99-d3566d309f45

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A collaboration between THE FUNKIN' MACHINE and Chicago's STARCREATURE RECORDS. This 6 track LP features full color art and cuts from cosmic disco to mediterranean boogie. THE FUNKIN' MACHINE specializes in sparkling and groovy funky sounds from the slopes of Vesuvius.After a sold-out 7", KIBBI GIBBONS returns with an album's worth of smooth of smooth, spaced-out, jazz-funk delights. Their debut LP is 7 tracks of deep house/acid jazz instrumentals that land you between an Ibizan beach and a liminal Mario Kart character selection screen. Limited to 300 copies.

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Double Black BioVinyl LP, in Pantone printed sleeve, with printed insert and packed in resealable protective sleeve.
For his third long-player under the Phi-Psonics banner, Ford-Young marshalled a series of live recordings at the Healing Force Of The Universe record store in Pasadena, sculpting fourteen tracks, largely composed in the moment with a fluctuating cast of players, which wonderfully transmit his ideals of community and inner peace. Called "Expanding To One", it features exquisitely calming yet searching pieces like "There"s Still Hope", where Seth"s softly undulating bassline underpins beatific explorations from core Phi-Psonics members, Sylvain Carton and Randal Fisher (both on saxophone), and Josh Collazo (drums), alongside guests Zach Tenorio (Wurlitzer piano) and Mathias Künzli (percussion). Equally sublime, "Healing Time" ripples like a mountain stream, with Ford-Young, Carton, Fisher and Tenorio joined by Minta Spencer (harp), Dylan Day (guitar) and, on drums/percussion, Jay Bellerose, a revered LA stickman most recently under the spotlight in Jeff Parker ETA IVtet.

Tracklist
1.1Prelude: Expansion
1.2There's Still Hope
1.3Healing Time
1.4Many Paths
1.5Sunrise
1.6Love Theme From Your Life
1.7We're All One
1.8Nature Signs
2.1Discovery
2.2It Finds A Way
2.3Sounds Of The Universe
2.4Before The Pyramids
2.5New Pyramid
2.6Mysteries Of The Dark

Listen: listen.k7.com/944cef9e-baf9-4e42-80f4-82434e3df7d1

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Phylipe Nunes Araújo's songs are as rich and varied as the diverse landscapes they were written in. The hills of Pernambuco, the lagoons of Alagoas, and the beaches of Bahia are all woven into his stripped-back, folk-inspired Brazilian songwriting. As part of a wider movement of musicians originating from Brazil's Northeast, Phylipe sees the process of music-making as the search for beauty itself.

Collaborating with fellow Northeastern artists Bruno Berle, Batata Boy and Nyron Higor among others, Phylipe's debut album represents the latest flowering of this exceptionally talented community's creative search.

The Northeast holds an almost sacred importance in Brazil's collective cultural imagination. The region bore witness to the brutal histories of Portuguese colonization and the African slave trade, while simultaneously amalgamating the diverse cultures, religions and traditions of those who have called it home. Countless Brazilian music greats - Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Hermeto Pascoal, Djavan and Luiz Gonzaga - have emerged from this vast cultural melting pot.

Born in Caruaru, Pernambuco state, and raised in the city of Santa Cruz do Capibaribe (famed for its textiles industry), Phylipe describes his music simply as "Brazilian music from the Agreste of Pernambuco". His masterful compositions thread together regional rhythm, folk poetry and sophisticated harmony.

Phylipe’s musical foundations were laid in youth, listening to the local elders rehearsing their forrós, attending São João street parties in front of his house and watching the Junina Quadrilhas dance through his neighborhood. At street fairs he would read the Literatura de Cordel (handcrafted pamphlets of Brazilian folk literature), and watch the rhyme battles between cantadores, violeiros, and repentistas, who improvise verses on daily life, social commentary and philosophy. This tradition of Northeastern folk poetry proved particularly formative for Phylipe as a lyricist. "I always try to write things as simply as possible. I believe that beauty must be easily understood. If I can facilitate the path to the message, there's no reason not to. It's something I learned from the traditional poetry here: it's more beautiful if everyone understands."

At the age of 11, Phylipe first got access to the internet. As he explains: "Still in adolescence I was also able to discover things like The Beatles and Nick Drake - I started to get to know music from the rest of the world and later to correlate that with my local musical experiences." Rich with extended chords and artful dissonances, it's clear from his compositions that jazz and bossa nova also took hold, but he's quick to eschew stereotypes. "Inevitably, people associate a Brazilian musician playing a nylon-string guitar with bossa nova…" "But the foundation is another story," he asserts, "It’s the Northeast."

On the guitar Phylipe experiments with the binary rhythms inherent in traditional Northeastern music. Coco, frevo, maracatu and baião are recontextualised, placed alongside Brazilian popular music (MPB), gentle lullabies and stunning ballads. "In these 10 songs, I am experimenting with making pop music on a nylon-string guitar with my foundation in the Northeastern songbook."

The contemporary musical community which Phylipe belongs to developed initially in Pernambuco's neighbouring state Alagoas. Phylipe lived in its capital Maceió for three years, where he built friendships and musical bonds with Bruno Berle and Batata Boy who together produced his album. Bruno also sings in unison with Phylipe on the duet "Valise", a song Phylipe wrote aged just 15.

In recent years, Phylipe, Bruno and Batata have migrated south to São Paulo, where the majority of the album was recorded. Other collaborators on the album include Alici, who provides vocals for the ebb and flow of "Temperim", Nyron Higor who plays drums on lead single “Asa” and the sweet indie moment "Ziz"", bassist Meno Del Picchia who plays on the mystical baião "Bixin" and the propulsive "Subindo a Ladeira", and Raphael Coelho who joins Bruno and Batata on percussion for "Santa Cruz", Phylipe's hypnotically powerful portrait of his hometown.

All songs composed by Phylipe Nunes Araújo, with the following co-authors:
"Muito Dengo" (1) and "Temperim" (4) with Raísa Feitosa;
"Bixin" (2) with Ivana Fontes;
"Ziz" (3) with Marvin Silva;
"Ainda É Verão" (5) with Denise Oliveira Dendê;
"Santa Cruz" (6) with Ítallo França and Richard Plácido.

Musicians:
Phylipe Nunes Araújo, Bruno Berle, Batata Boy, Meno Del Picchia, Raphael Coelho, Nyron Higor, Alici

Executive Production by Bruno Berle
Musical Production by Batata Boy and Bruno Berle
Recording Engineering by Vitor dos Anjos and Batata Boy
Photography by Virgínia Guimarães
Creative Direction (Graphic Project) by Virgínia Guimarães and Bruno Berle
Design by Virgínia Guimarães and Alessandro Renaldin
Photography Assistant: Saulo Tavares
All songs were composed in Northeast Brazil between 2014 and 2023.
Recorded in São Paulo - SP at Trampolim, Sound Department and Freak Studio.
Piano for “Asa” recorded in the dressing room of FIP Radio, Paris - FR.
Vocals by Alici on “Temperim” recorded at Studio Rural.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Germany
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BRIAN ELLIS' "IN THE DARK" back in print for the first time in over a decade, contains 8 synthesizer manifestos that offer a glimpse through ELLIS' imagination. This repress celebrates the infinite throwdown post- sundown and is truly a classic in the modern funk world.

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DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Two days after his 100th birthday, Marshall Allen started recording New Dawn, his debut solo album. A member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra since 1958, Allen assumed leadership of the band in 1995. Throughout his nearly seventy-year career, Allen has never released a solo album under his own name, and yet, instead of capping such a legendary output, New Dawn seems to herald a new beginning. A love letter to spacetime, it channels a century of musical intelligence into seven tracks, showing Allen at his most protean—freely moving from relaxed, transdimensional palettes to bluesy big band and beyond.

One of music’s vanguard avant-saxophonists, Allen continues to deliver durational feats during the Arkestra’s gigs. Still, the compositional energy contained on New Dawn is striking. Allen was approached with the idea of a solo record by Week-End Records’ Jan Lankisch. The Arkestra’s Knoel Scott — who has lived with Allen at the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra since the 1980s — worked with Allen to pore over the archive of unrecorded material and develop this debut. Scott assembled some of Philadelphia’s brightest jazz stars as well as some Arkestra veterans for the sessions. New Dawn was then recorded over a couple of days in Philadelphia, with additional recordings to be added in the coming weeks and months. The legendary Neneh Cherry will lend her unmistakable voice to the title track “New Dawn”.

Though greatly informed by the philosophy of Sun Ra and his Saturnian teachings—traverse jazz’s traditions, dig deep into spiritual geographies — New Dawn signals Allen as his own singular voice, one that’s swinging and bopping and reflecting into the future, with no sign of stopping. Week-End Records is proud to release this debut solo album by Marshall Allen.

“New Dawn is clearly an extension of Ra’s legacy and sound, but it’s also a masterful endeavour filtered through Allen’s tastes and approach”. – John Morrison, The Wire, November 2024 (cover story)

Musicians: Marshall Allen – Kora, EWI, Alto Sax Knoel Scott – Baritone Sax, Congas, Drums Cecil Brooks – Trumpet Bruce Edwards – Guitar Jamaaladeen Tacuma – Bass Richard Hill – Bass Timothy Ragsdale – Bass Owen Brown Jr – 1st Violin Akiko Arendt – 1st Violin Cristina Ardelean Montelongo – 1st Violin Derek Washington – 2nd Violin Elias Feldmann – 2nd Violin Dimitra Karageorgopoulou – 2nd Violin Michael Ireland – Viola Vasileios Vasileiadis – Viola Joseph Richard Carvell – Bass Ilektra-Despoina Stevi – Cello Jorik Bergman – Flute George Gray – Drums Jan Lankisch – Percussion

Special Guest: Neneh Cherry - Voice

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Repress!

A collaboration between THE FUNKIN' MACHINE and Chicago's STARCREATURE RECORDS. This 6 track LP features full color art and cuts from cosmic disco to mediterranean boogie. THE FUNKIN' MACHINE specializes in sparkling and groovy funky sounds from the slopes of Vesuvius.

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Kalita Records proudly return to the vaults of South Africa’s trailblazing Music Team label to present five essential, long-lost disco and boogie gems.


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Strut presents Mulatu Plays Mulatu, the first major studio album in over 10 years from the father of Ethio-jazz, Mulatu Astatke.

Tracklist
Vinyl:
A1. Zelesenga Dewel
A2. Kulun
A3. Netsanet

B1. Yekermo Sew
B2. Chik Chikka
B3. Motherland
B4. Yekatit

Listen: listen.k7.com/ae404432-cbfc-45cf-8ee4-958f2945bef9

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More