Afrobeat Trainspotter

A new home for Afrobeat: Audioblend.net

2009-03-08T00:13:00.004+00:00

Hello all,

Its been some time since I have posted on the blog. From now on you will find the next recincarnation of this blog at its new home: http://www.audioblend.net . Audioblend will have a wider electronice music scope than this blog but I am sure you will all enjoy it nonetheless.

Thank to everyone who followed and contributed to this blog and I hope you enjoy Audioblend!

Dj Mujava : the one to take the South African house sound global??

2008-08-25T17:21:00.003+01:00

We keep hearing about THAT South African artist who is going to take the local Kwaito/Pretoria/SA house sound global and it just falls short each time. Is Dj Mujava's "Township Funk" track the one to do this? It certainly has ticks all the boxes and seems more relevant than ever in light of all attention on the bmore sound, baile funk and african electronica is getting.

Dj Mujava has recently been signed to Warp and this is what they have to say about it:

"‘Township Funk’ is tough, dark, African dance music from the industrial city of Pretoria, South Africa.
It’s perhaps the most infectious dance record you’ll hear this year, echoing the early Warp sound of LFO or the Forgemasters in an uncanny way, almost 20 years on, across continents.

Is South Africa the new hip place for electronic music ?
Maybe….but we certainly hope that South African house will go worldwide with this track.

‘Township Funk’ will be released on Warp Records on 12″ on september 15th worldwide (excl UK) and available on all good digital outlets early, from august 11th.
In the UK, it will be released by the good people of This Is Music LTD."

This is already getting some coverage in the blogosphere and more recently in the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom. With a mid-September release lets see what happens...

DJ Mbuso features on Secret Weapons EP

2008-05-23T11:26:00.003+01:00

South Africa's favorite house producer, DJ Mbuso features on German label Innervision's Secret Weapons EP. The EP which features tracks from Alix Alvarez and Francois K finishes off with Ukukholwa Kuwe (I Believe In You)" (feat Shembe)by Mbuso which was orignally released on Phezulu Records last year. Secret Weapons EP was released in April 08 and can be bought at your local store or on Juno

DJ Mbuso - "Ukukholwa Kuwe (I Believe In You)" (feat Shembe)

Artist Check: Suzana Rozkosny

2008-05-23T11:01:00.002+01:00

Suzana Rozkosny ties up a great relationship between Jazz and Electronic music. Her broad musical upbringing reflects in her productions and collaborations. From nu-soul Erica Badhu-type tracks through to collabo's with German house master Jackmate she covers a broad spectrum of music and with consistency in quality.

For some listening check out:

Apelle Moi (Label: Philpot)

Used Label: Philpot)

Also , for those in Berlin check her out tonight (23.05.08) at the Watergate.

Soulphiction new album for 2008 out now

2008-05-16T19:12:00.003+01:00

Germans make some of the best house out there right now. Soulful and deep without the cliche sounds of so much house that gets stuck on "now-thats-jazzy-house-44" type compilations. Its fresh and interesting and packs a punch. Soulphiction encapsulates whats great about German house music with his new offering "Do you overstand?!" (Sonar Kollektiv) which came out last month.

The way he puts his material together has got some people saying he is stripping house down to something else. Well yes he stripping house down to what it should be a feeling, not a formula. This album pulls me back to Ron Trent / Chez Damier tracks on Prescription in its simplicity and intensity. And yes...also to Detroit...so many parralels to Moodymann and Theo Parrish.

Check some of this album out...

http://www.myspace.com/soulphiction

Gilles Peterson's World Wide Youtube Channel

2008-05-10T18:08:00.002+01:00

For those of you who love a bit of the GP man's legendary Radio 1 sets and all things Gilles-like, check out his YouTube Channel page. Its filled with video footage from the World Wide Festival, World Wide Awards, Brownswood Recordings and other favorites from Gilles Peterson. I will add it to my link list as a permanent link as its quite a cool site to keep visiting.

http://youtube.com/gillespetersonww

Pepe Bradock - Intriguing Feathered Creature

2008-05-03T15:28:00.004+01:00

The French deep house maestro can always be turned to for fresh sounding and exciting deep house. The artist who brought us rocking tracks like "Deep Burnt" has put out some more great music in 2008. "Intriguing Feathered Creature" released mid Feb 08 is the kind of house that plays well on a dance floor or chilling at home. Nice complex chords and a rather strange bird call sample throughout the track.

Intriguing Feathered Creature

Intriguing Feathered Creature (dub)

Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival 2008 line up

2008-04-30T18:17:00.002+01:00

The Worldwide Festival is back in style for its third French edition in the idyllic small fishing town of Sete (South of France). The Festival is taking place on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of July 2008 in some truly spectacular outdoor venues.

Look at the line up of confirmed dj's/acts:

Cinematic Orchestra, Laurent Garnier, Madlib, Sebastien Tellier, Pascal Comelade, Breakestra, Henrik Schwarz, Benga, Gilles Peterson, zero dB, Pilooski, Little Dragon, Dynamax, Marathon Men, Toshio Matsuura, DJ Lefto, James Stewart, L'Aroye and Ky… to name a few!

For more info and to book your ticket (tickets are currently 59 pounds / 81 euros) : http://www.worldwidefestival.com/

Artist Check: Five Men Three Missing

2008-04-26T08:12:00.002+01:00

With a name chosen from a competition at their first gig, these guys have definitely got a unique approach to their music and performances. Five Men Three Missing is a Johannesburg based band consisting of two guys (clever name huh?) Emile Hoogenhout and João Orecchia. Their sound is a mix of genres from dub influence to electronica with a beautiful fusion of live instrumentation and sample based work. They also have a rather unique live performance:

"For this band, performing a track is unlike any other. The song begins with the live performance of a short instrumental piece. This segment is recorded live, and looped in real time, so that it is continues to be heard by the audience in recorded format. As more parts are recorded live, they are laid over one another in sequence. This creates ‘layers' of loops which are synchronized in a time pattern. " Five Men Three Missing Myspace

Lets hope these guys get to do some touring outside of South Africa as their gigs have an amazing interactive vibe (see video and pictures on their profile ) and I'm sure their sound would go down really well in Europe.

Win a one off Charles Webster canvas from Defected

2008-04-21T20:49:00.002+01:00

Defected are giving a way a one-off canvas of the new Charles Webster compilation's art work in the run up to the release of "Defected presents Charles Webster". Check out the competition here:

http://www.defected.com/competitions/competition-details/47#

Video: A short interview with Theo Parrish

2008-04-19T09:57:00.001+01:00

Recently added on youtube, this video follows Theo Parrish as he records sounds in and around Detroit and explains a little bit about how Detroit and the city influences his music.

Need2Soul : Killer line up for next Cargo gig in London

2008-04-18T11:51:00.004+01:00

This is one top notch line up for Tortured Soul's latest gig in London. If you are not familiar with Tortured Soul, they are a live house band that do an amazing gig, so if they play in your town...check them out. Its been some time that we have heard anything new from them but they finally have some new material coming out , "In Transit - Advance EP"(check their myspace for a peak on some the new material) , which will be avilabel for sale soon. For now you can buy it at their gigs.

The guys over at Need2Soul host them for their london gig, check the line up!

Tortured Soul (NYC)
Charles Webster (Miso Records)
Rap Saunders

9pm - 3am at Cargo
83 Rivington Street
Shoreditch
London EC2A 3AY

If you are in London, check them out I have been in 2 Tortured Soul nights and they are always worth the money.

Artist Check: Black Coffee (Nkosinathi (Nathi) Maphumulo)

2008-04-12T17:10:00.007+01:00

I was looking through some playlists for some new music and came across a Kevin "Master" Saunderson playlist on theVinyl Junkies website. As I was moving down the list I came across Black Coffee "Turn Me On / Come To Me" and wondered if it was the same Black Coffee from South Africa that a friend of mine had told me about a few years back who was starting to produce some good quality deep house in Gauteng. To my surprise it was! Great to see SA producers making waves internationally.

Have a listen to "Turn me on", its a solid house track with that rather distinctive latin precussion that SA producers love. He put out three 12" last year so keep your ears open in 08 for more.

For more info on Black Coffee check out his Discog's profile or his myspace page.

George Levin gets the Sonar Kollektiv Orchester treatment

2008-04-10T17:50:00.004+01:00

George Levin's "(I Got) Somebody New" has be given the re-rub treatment by the Sonar Kollektiv Orchester, a collaboration from some of Sonar Kollektiv's finest. The track gets a makeover but retains all the good stuff from the original which was released in 2002. This will be coming out as part of the album (SK170CD)due for release in April 08.

Click here to listen to the original

Click here to have a listen to the remix

Both are great summer smiling songs!

Theo Parrish: Gig List

2008-04-02T12:24:00.005+01:00

If you havent seen Theo Parrish dj yet, then go on one of the dates below if you can! He is one of the most energetic and passionate DJ's to watch and his track selection will range from 70's funk to disco dubs and his own productions. I had the opportunity to see him play @ Plastic People and it will go down as one of my best nights out. Really worth the effort. Comment if you have seen him play and let me know what you thought....

02 apr 2008 10:00 RBMA - Info Session Sydney
03 apr 2008 8:00 RBMA - Info Session Perth
03 apr 2008 20:00 SHAPE Perth
04 apr 2008 20:00 MANDARIN CLUB Sydney
05 apr 2008 8:00 RBMA - Info Session Melbourne
05 apr 2008 20:00 MISS LIBERTINE Melbourne
11 apr 2008 20:00 COKE CULTURE TOUR BERLIN
12 apr 2008 20:00 COKE CULTURE TOUR HAMBURG
17 apr 2008 20:00 COKE CULTURE TOUR MUNICH
18 apr 2008 20:00 COKE CULTURE TOUR COLOGNE
19 apr 2008 20:00 COKE CULTURE TOUR ERFURT
25 apr 2008 20:00 TRAMWAY GLASGOW
26 apr 2008 20:00 SNAFU ABERDEEN
27 apr 2008 20:00 CABARET VOLTAIRE EDINBURGH
10 maj 2008 20:00 SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER SOUTHPORT PONTINS
31 maj 2008 20:00 YELLOW TOKYO
20 jun 2008 20:00 SONAR FESTIVAL BARCELONA
05 jul 2008 20:00 PLASTIC PEOPLE LONDON
02 aug 2008 20:00 PLASTIC PEOPLE LONDON
06 sep 2008 20:00 PLASTIC PEOPLE LONDON
04 okt 2008 20:00 PLASTIC PEOPLE LONDON

Sound Signature:
http://www.discogs.com/label/Sound+Signature

Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/soundsignature

Label Highlight: Freude-am-tanzen

2008-03-29T08:40:00.000+00:00

I picked up some of the releases on this label quite late but what I have heard so far has been awesome. Artists like Soulphiction/Jackmate have put out tracks that would make Moodymann nod his head and other quality productions come under Gamat 3000 ("feeling love" is a brilliant track) and Wighnomy Bros. With over 30+ releases under their belt this label has consistently put out good music, however on recent releases the track selections have definitely started pointing heavily to minimal house, which is a shame given the quality deep house releases they were putting out in 2004-2005. Nonetheless if you are not familiar with this label check them out: http://www.freude-am-tanzen.com/

Premier rocks it

2007-12-04T14:56:00.000+00:00

I had the privilege of seeing DJ Premier and Marly Marl play@ Canvas in London over the weekend. I have been listening to Premier both within Gangstarr and his solo production for years and watching him play on Saturday reminded me of all the great tracks he has been involved in. So...I decided to list out a few of my favorites:

- KRS-One - MC's Act Like They Don`t Know
- Big L - The Big Picture Intro
- Afu-Ra - Defeat
- Common - The 6th Sense
- Gangstarr - You Know My Steez
- Jay-Z - Intro A Million And One Questions
- Nas - Nas is like

Found these two mixes of Premier beats on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=youm845zkS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsnCD1GeA2A&feature=related

SA label Soul Candi rolls out mobile on demand music

2007-08-11T13:17:00.000+01:00

In conjunction with Rok Radio , Soul Candi is due to release an on-demand music service for mobile phones. The subscription based service will roll out across all three major South African mobile operators and will allow listeners to choose and listen in real time what they would like to hear rather than what is being broadcast. Furthermore, subscribers will be able to purchase tracks via their phone and have these sent to their phones memory cards rather than on the phones on board memory.

Soul Candi will be charging R10 (approx £0.70) a week for 5 hours of selected music hosted and mixed by leading SA DJ's. Cost of individual tracks is yet to be announced.

The move is certainly a pioneering one but it will be interesting to see how widely adopted this platform is.

http://www.soulcandi.co.za/

http://www.rok.tv/

Soul Control!

2007-08-02T13:33:00.000+01:00

If you haven't heard this yet...go listen! Following on from the massive track "Falling Up", Sound Scupltures Vol 1 is sure to impress. Tracks like "Soul Control" and "Synthetic Flemm" really do make me think there is still hope for the house scene!

Im not going to say anymore on this, check it out: http://www.rushhour.nl/store_detailed.php?item=38806

Before the music dies...

2007-07-29T20:15:00.000+01:00

Being hailed as the most important music documentary for fans of our generation, the documentary Before the Music Dies is getting a lot of attention at the mo.

"Narrated by Academy Award® Winner Forest Whitaker, BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES is an unsettling and inspiring look at today’s popular music industry featuring interviews and performances by Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Branford Marsalis, ?uestlove and a wide variety of others. "

Check Roots man ?uestlove's words on this and the state of hip hop on Gilles Peterson's show from 26 July http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/gillespeterson/

For more on Before the Music Dies check:

Beforethemusicdies.com

James Brown RIP 25.12.06

2006-12-28T11:23:00.000+00:00

The God Father of Soul passes on....

http://www.myspace.com/thelegendjamesbrown

Hit Alert! Slope- Aint Nothing Like this Feeling (Charles Webster remix)

2006-12-28T11:06:00.000+00:00

Oh man

If you havent heard Slope-Aint nothing like this feeling (Sonar Kollektiv) yet... then listen! (listen) Out in May 2006 this is getting a re-release on the Slope-Slope is Dope EP in Early 2007.

Charles Webster continues to show us that dance music can still be soulful, meaningful and exciting. He is always producing tracks that can sit on both side of the commercial/undergound line and this is no different. More Charles more!

Aint nothing like this...

www.sonarkollektiv.com
www.slopemusic.de
www.lovefromsanfrancisco.com

Been a while so....

2006-12-15T16:18:00.000+00:00

Yes yes, so long since I have posted ANYTHING here... man just been so busy and this has unfortunaltey been one of the things that has fallen to the wayside! So....

It a short but sweet post with a few tunes I think are hot at the moment, let me know what you think:

-Iz and Diz - Love Vibe Vol 2 (Aesoteric) [sample]
- Beat Pharmacy / Mutabaruka - Wate ( Water ) ( Deep Dub ) [sample]
- Ghostface - Ghost is back (Airplay) [sample]
-Deepchord / Rod Model / Mike Huckaby - Electromagnbetic Dowswing The FInal Step ( Mike Huckaby Remix ) (Synth) [sample]
-KANO / VYBZ KARTEL : Buss It Up (679 Recordings) [sample]
-Theo Parrish - Falling UP (Carl Craig Mix) (Third Ear) [sample]
- Mobb Deep - Shook ones re-release (instrumental) [sample]
-Nick Holder - Player (Magik J edit) (NRK) [sample]

Quite a mish mash of stuff....but have a listen...

Scandies rock the party!

2006-07-05T15:16:00.000+01:00

After recently coming back from a trip to Norway, I decided to look a bit deeper into the music scene in the Scandinavian countries. What I discovered was a groundswell of electronic music coming out from this area!

With big stars like Eric Prydz and Rasmus Faber putting Sweden on the map, more media attention has moved to the Scandinavian areas.

i-DJ recently ran an article on Sweden's growing electronic scene ("Swede Sensation") talking about the growth of Swedish artists and labels in all electronic music genres.

Rasmus Faber, deep house big league player, had this to say about Sweden:

Â?The club scene is quite small compared to many other countries, but the environment for making music is great. There are lots of talented and skilled musicians, vocalists, songwriters, and producers, many with a great level of technical skill.Â?

It will certainly be worth keeping an eye/ear on what goes on in Sweden musically. We already know that hip hop, deep house, breaks and jazz noodly stuff is well established here so Im sure we can expect lots more from this area!

PS. check out SUMO if you dont know them already, Swedishsh house duo with an album cover to rival any Abba shots!

http://www.myspace.com/sumothedanceband
http://www.heyahifi.com

Paz E Futbol - Jazzanova give their 2 cents worth on football

2006-06-30T17:07:00.000+01:00

Given that the world cup is being hosted in their home country the boys of jazzanova have decided to put togther a release to celebrate this:

Paz e Futebol compilation celebrates what is undoubtedly the Brazilian nations greatest passion next to soccer: music. What better time to showcase Brazilian music than coinciding with a World Cup? Featuring greats of the Brazilian music scene such as MARCOS VALLE and EDU LOBO, this record is sure to please those already in the know about the musical treats the country has to offer as well as winning over new listeners to the sound of Brazil.

sonarkollektiv.com