Release Date - 7th June 2019

Years before Scientist and Jammy battled the space invaders, Tradition dreamt up a sci-fi jazz/dub odyssey in north London.

Captain Ganja and the Space Patrol is one of the most singular dub albums that barely saw the light of day. A conscious effort to create a new breed of dub centred around the cosmic synths and keys of Paul Thompson. Making use of an early Roland sampler, Tradition broke away from the standard drum / bass workouts that ruled the day. With the Captain, dub becomes an atmosphere, a feeling, not a formula - littered with baby's cries, tribal chants, radiophonic noodlings and library soundtracks for space-age bachelor pads.

Originally issued by Venture Records in 1980, this small run was easily lost beneath the weight of their huge vocal LPs for RCA and everlasting lovers-tinged tracks like 'Movin On','Breezin' and 'Summertime'. The experimental strains in one of their early 45s led the BBC to approach them about contributing to the Dr. Who soundtrack, Captial Radio did likewise for the Hulabaloo theme. Neither saw fruition and this facet of the band's sound is easily forgotten by diehard fans.

01. The Breathtaking Blast

02. Subaquatic Swerves

03. Alien Circus

04. The Creepy Crawl

05. Frenzied Friends and Fiends

06. Morning on Mars

07. Planet Play / Laser Games

08. Rocket Repairs

09. Escape and Return

Release Date - 7th June 2019

This release by The Band of Enlightenment, Reason & Love presents a new instrumental version of the heavily sought after debut release "Zota Yinne" by Alogte Oho, the meanwhile classic second release on Philophon from 2014 (PH45002). So far, The Band of Enlightenment, Reason & Love, as Philophon's house band, never had any release under its own name, but here we go! It's sure: more will follow.

"Zota Yinne" is a dubbed out variation of the original Frafra gospel classic with the one and only Jimi Tenor as a guest on flute and synth. "Starlet Road Filling Station Romance" is an other-worldly search for love, perfectly characterized by Jimi Tenor's love cries on the saxophone.

a. Zota Yinne

b. Starlet Road Filling Station Romance

Release Date - 17th May 2019

Matasuna Records is delighted to reissue another jewel on vinyl: Ralph Week's song 'Let Me Do My Thing' is probably the most sought after Panamanian soul tune and the rare original 7inch is sold at incredible prices. The song was recorded together with the band 'Los Dinámicos Exciters' in 1971 in Panama.

During our research we were lucky to find Mr. Weeks, who could give us some background information to this song and his music career in general. Ralph Weeks was born 1943 in Panama, which he left at the age of 17 to move to the United States. There he founded the band 'Ralph & Telecasters' at the beginning of the 1960s. After his time in the US Army he started the band again, recorded their first single in 1965 and went touring in the United States during the following years. Among other gigs they also played twice in the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem (NYC) where one of the greatest musicians like Louis Armstron, James Brown, Marvin Gaye etc. performed there.
The charismatic singer and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass & keyboard) was invited to a show in Panama in 1970, where he performed with members of the band 'Los Dinámicos Exciters ', which he knew from his youth. In 1971 he came back again and recorded four songs with the band, which were released on the album "Lo Mejor De Los Dinámicos Exciters". Two of the recordings were also released under Ralph's name as a 7inch vinyl single on the Panamanian label "Sally Ruth Records" - among them "Let Me Do My Thing".
Then he returned to the States and founded a new band in 1975 with Carlos Brown, a member of the Exciters, which existed for about 25 years. Weeks' life has always been dedicated to music: even today, at the age of 76, he is still a member of an accapella gospel group that sings weekly at the church in his hometown in the state of Connecticut.

On the A-side of the vinyl you can listen to the amazing original version recorded in 1971 - which was remastered for the release. The funky Latintune has all the ingredients that helped him to his status as one of the best Panamanian soul songs: a killer rhythm, a deep grooving bass line, the virtuoso interplay of the trumpet players and the super sweet soul voice of Ralph Weeks. There's nothing more to add, but our favourite producer "Voodoocuts" was able to get something out of the original. On the B-side you'll find his version of the classic: a modified arrangement with a new in and outro, an extended break part and additional beats that will set every dance floor on fire. Don't miss this gem!

a. Let Me Do My Thing

b. Let Me Do My Thing (Voodoocuts Edit)

Release Date 19th April 2019

For Record Store Day 2019, Freestyle Records are proud to release on a fresh vinyl 45, two 1970's tracks by Ginger Johnson & His African Messengers that have been lost for over 45 years. 'Witchdoctor' and 'Nawa' (written by Dizzy Gillespie cohort Chano Pozo) demonstrate a musical progression as afro-funk had stamped it's indelible footprint on Ginger's ground-breaking afro-cuban and jazz hybrid style.

a. Witchdoctor

b. Nawa

Release Date - 22nd April 2019

a1. Michael Prophet - Everybody Get Ready

a2. Disciples - Everybody Get Dub

b1. Johnny Clarke - One Man Life

b2. Disciples - One Man Dub

Release Date - 5th April 2019

Volume Ten of the Mukatsuku label's Afro Funk & Disco Gems series has two more tracks released for the first time on a 7 inch in their own right. First up is Peter Yamson's 80's afro boogie feelgood masterpiece ''Everybody Dance'' taken from the Sun On Africa album (mispelt on discogs as Sun Of Africa by the way ! ) and licenced directly from the artist .Infectious chorus and funk groove with Roy Ayeresque vibes and punchy brass .

On the flipside from 1981 we get Get Up Tchamassi from french african group Tala AM which is a funk drenched heavy slap bass boogie mostly instrumental affair with female vocals and great sax playing and catchy rhythm guitar.

a. Peter Yamson - Everybody Dance

b. Tala A.M. - Get Up Tchamassi

Release Date 29th March 2019

"Luz da Joaca" is a track taken from S-Tone Inc. latest full-length "Onda", here retreated by the magic touch of Maestro Gerardo Frisina with his unique taste. A musical journey in two different movements, both in a Batucada style

The A-side exalts the original melody sung by Toco, while the B-side is a dub rhythm-focused version especially made for a DJ use. Once again Mr. Frisina gives us a sample of his skills as an affirmed producer and longtime collaborator of Schema Records!

a. Luz Da joaca (Gerardo Frisina Remix)

b. Luz Da Joaca (Gerardo Frisina Dub)

Release Date 29th March 2019

Combo Lulo returns to Names You Can Trust for their sophomore single, digging deeper into the diversified sounds of the Caribbean that helped define their debut. While the first single took a Jamaican foundation south into the neighboring continent, fusing the sensibilities of rock steady with those of classic Afro-Latin orchestras, this single goes far east. Inspired by the heady and sublime sounds of foundational ska mixed with East African influences, (think Buster's Islam, Don D's Addis Ababa or Further East), 

The Sieve & The Sand is a brand new composition within this natural order, albeit with the fortune of different reggae eras and studio styles to draw from. Divided into two parts (but also available seamlessly as it was played in the studio), Combo Lulo's talented players move effortlessly from the galloping shuffle of ska into a deep and dark, Roots Radics-styled instrumental. It's a lovely ode to the original styles of reggae, but also another impressive accomplishment that will surely leave listeners and new fans in anticipation of the shape of things to come for Combo Lulo.

01. The Sieve & the Sand, Pt. 1

02. The Sieve & the Sand, Pt. 2

03. The Sieve & the Sand (Extended Mix)

Release Date 22nd March 2019

In 1966, Bunny Wailer started singing spiritual lyrics before anyone else, and this masterpiece he sung about returning to Africa was written while he was still recording for Studio One. 

Although it was originally recorded for Studio One, it has never seen the day of light. Then Lee Perry recorded it again and released in 1971. This particular take was recorded especially for the album in 1976 and released from Island Records UK as a single.

a. Dream Land (feat. Bunny Wailer & Solomonic All Stars)

b. Dream Land - Version (feat. Bunny Wailer & Solomonic All Stars)

Release Date 22nd March 2019

A classic Rasta Man song sung by Bunny Wailer, the most devoted Rastafarian out of all the Wailers. This unforgettable Rasta Man Anthem was released just before one of the most important roots reggae albums to date, Blackheart Man, dropped. Unlike the original release, this single take is backed with a dub cut.

a. Rasta Man

b. Rasta Man Version (feat. Solomonic All Stars)

Release Date 22nd March 2019

One of the many spiritual and cultural classic lyrics that Bunny Wailer has written, and this is an exclusive single take. The lyrics - written soon after he was arrested due to possession of Marijuana, can be heard as "Fight Against Conviction" on one of the most important roots reggae albums to date, Blackheart Man, although this recording is an early take released in 1974 by the Wailers.

a. Battering Down Sentence (feat. Bunny Wailer)

b. Battering Down Sentence Version (feat. Solomonic All Stars)

Release Date - 8th March 2019

Kicking off 2019 two tracks the first time on a 45 from prolific Japanese producer DJ MItsu The Beats from the Sendai hip hop group GAGLE and licenced from the Jazzy Sport organisation. 

Mukatsuku put out two GAGLE 45's produced by DJ Mitsu back in 2008 so this is a welcome return to the label for the producer . A side kicks off with a dreamy jazzual affair featuring Kaneko Takumi on keys.On the flipside an excellent low slung jazz hip hop instrumental

a. Let Go (feat. Keneko Takumi)

b. Pilot

Release Date - 8th March 2019

Classic roots selection from 1981, reissued here on Lloydie Coxsone's Tribesman label

a. Creation Stepper - Africa

b. Pebbles - We Go A Africa 

Release Date - 8th March 2019

Volume 9 of Mukatsuku Afro series kicks off with 'M'Ongele M'Am' from Cameroon artist Eko Roosevelt Louis taken from his early 1980's self-titled album and licenced for this 45 from Nubiphone & Africa Seven. The track was one of the highlights of the 2017 Pop Makossa compilation for Analagog Africa and it's the first time ever on a single in its own right.

Driving brass funk fuelled afro disco does not really get much better than this. On the flipside Georges Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso gives us us the dance floor bomb ''Deni'' taken from his 1978 long player ''Gnanfou Gnanfou'' also licenced from Africa Seven and also the first time ever on a single. Punchy brass offset by those hipnotic vocals and funky wah-wah guitar has a deserved place on the flip. Strictly no repress. Essential 45 for the dancefloor!

a. Eko - M'Ongele M'Am

b. Georges Oudraogo - Deni

Release Date - 8th March 2019

Classic roots selection from 1983, reissued here on Lloydie Coxsone's Tribesman label. 

01. Barry Brown - Unity Is Strength

02. Barry Brown - Unity Is Strength (Dub)

03. Drumie Benji - Higher Region

04. Drumie Benji - Higher Region (Dub)

Release Date - 1st March 2019

In September 2016 Chouk Bwa met the Brussels-based duo The Ångstromers. A traditional Haitian Mizik Rasin — roots music — band, Chouk Bwa, formerly Chouk Bwa Libète, realizes the source of a drum and dance style using percussion and call-and-response vocals that are infused with Haitian Vodou.

'Chouk Bwa' means 'Root' in Haitian Creole. Three percussionists and two dancers are led by composer Jean Claude 'Sambaton' Dorvil on vocals and the fer, an iron bar/bell that announces different rhythms employed to call up the spirits, assisted by Gomez 'Djopipi' Henris. Chouk Bwa display the deep African heritage of Haiti, torn from Africa and secretly re-planted in a new land. The band members speak for Haiti, a nation that has seen the hardest of times and maintains a relentless spirit and strength through its culture.

The two tracks were selected from the first meeting with the Ångstromers at Café Central, Brussels, recorded live in September 2016. Modular synths and other vintage electronic instruments bring another dimension to Chouk Bwa's music.

a. Electric Mambo (Pawol Jatibwa)

b. Nago

Release Date- 22nd February 2019

Dubben is back! The highly esteemed producer duo make their debut on Matasuna Records with this superb 7inch. The two have been active since 2007 and released great music with their unmistakable style on labels like GAMM, Resense or Dejavue. Their reworks are not only appreciated by brasileiros, but are also popular all over the world.

With "Jesus Boogie" on the A-side, Dubben turns in a new direction and give this Brazilian gem from the 70s a nice boogie touch. The focus of their treatment is the dance floor, so that the usual dub effects are not used here. The result is an extremely danceable number that makes you scream for more!

On the B-side you'll get "Cachaça" - a rework of an obscure 60s bossa number from Poland. The song was re-arranged and got new rhythm parts, which were flavoured with additional sounds and various effects. The extended dub part with psychedelic harmonica and delays blends seamlessly into the track. A great tune in beloved Dubben style!

01. Jesus Boogie

02. Cachaca

Release Date - 22nd February 2019

Daniel Savio has been producing hi-quality releases for 20 years in groups such as Hundarna från söder, and a bunch of records in his own name, and as Kool DJ Dust. Most notably is his disco edits on releases as "The Disco Opera" and his contribution as a skwee originator on Flogsta Dancehall.

Now Daniel Savio makes his debut on Kings Chamber with four effortlessly cool digital dub tracks, on which he manages to take on a new genre and still keep his signature sound.

01. Musky Tang

02. Helskotta Dub

03. Papa Rules

04. 4 Troutski

Release Date 15th February 2019

With one of the hippest jazz albums of recent years under their belt, Jukka Eskola Soul Trio is back with a fresh new single. It's truly a double-sider of the highest order, as both of the tracks deliver a completely distinct flavor.

"Tiny B" on the A side is a neat bossa jazz number, and as usual in top of the genre, the lightness serves only as a facade. The composition starts to evolve before the listener gets too comfortable, transitioning into a beautiful cinematic section, which is followed by tight solos by Eskola on trumpet and Mikko Helevä on organ. The trio rises beyond its numbers, as the maestro Teppo Mäkynen overdubs his drumming with added percussion and vibes.

Hiding on the B side is a furious jazz dance burner, which sees the trio rise to energy levels that surpass even Five Corners Quintet in their tightest form. "Stick of a Branch" is highly syncopated business that takes its cues from a sound refined by 1970's independent afrocentric jazz groups. It's a style, which is inherently modernist, without a slightest interest in mass appeal, and firmly rooted in the blues.

If you need some no nonsense organic jazz on your turntable, it's hard to go wrong with this single.

a. Tiny B

b. Stick of a Branch

Release Date 22nd February 2019

The Polyversal Souls are back with another collaboration with Ethopia's No. 1 soul singer Alemayehu Eshete. As they did on their first mutual release Alteleyeshegnem, one more time the band presents a new interpretation of one of Alemayehu's classic songs.

Feqer Feqer Nèw is heavy soul at his best, completed by Alemayehu's trade mark vocal style. On Portrait of Alemayehu (Daytime), the Polyversal Souls are admiringly painting a picture of the master's gentle aura which surrounded him during the session.

a. Feqer Feqer Nèw (feat. Alemayehu Eshete)

b. Portrait of Alemayehu (Daytime)

Release Date 22nd February 2019

On his debut album "Scattered Memories", the composer, musician and true master on the Iranian spike fiddle kamancheh SABA ALIZADEH blends his instrumental virtuosity with spherical electronics, samples of Persian music instruments and field recordings from his hometown Tehran.

Born in Tehran in 1983 as son of the world renowned Tar and Setar virtuoso HOSSEIN ALIZADEH, SABA ALIZADEH studied the Iranian spike fiddle with SAEED FARAJPOURY and KEYHAN KALHOR plus photography and later experimental sound art with MARK TRAYLEat the California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles. His musical activities that lead him all around the globe for performances (a.o. at Carnegie Hall) branch into 2 different areas: on the one side ALIZADEH is a highly reputated virtuoso on his traditional instrument, on the other he likes to approach music from a more experimental / technological aspect in his electronic / electro-acoustic pieces. 

This not being enough, he founded Noise Works in 2014, a platform and label for organizing experimental concerts and for the transfer of knowledge of music technologies among young Iranian musicians which makes him a central figure at the forefront of the current, very vivid Persian music scene that gained a lot of attention through artists like SIAVASH AMINI, PORYA HATAMI and of course SOTE who included a track by ALIZADEH on the compilation "Girih: Iranian Sound Artists" that he had curated.In 2018, ALIZADEH self-released his debut "Scattered Memories" on CD in Iran which now, in a reworked version, sees its deserved world-wide release as LP. 

Over the course of 10 tracks ALIZADEH melts his 2 musical worlds into 1: tradition meets modernism, eastern sounds meet western production, folklore meets contemporary electronics. An album that will appeal to an open-minded "world music" audience as well as fans of current streams like ambient or drone in its most subtle forms.

01.Blood City

02. Dream

03. Colors Wove Me in Teheran

04. Would You Remember Me

05. Elegy for Water

06. Scattered Memories

07. Ladan Dead End (Kamancheh Version)

08. Fever

09. Greetings to Earthfire

10. Fluid

Release Date 15th February 2019

It's that time again. The skies are calling and its time to board our trusty jet for the 5th outing of Africa Seven's premiere class compilation Africa Airways. For volume 5 its time to brace yourselves for 10 slices of Afro boogie goodness. We up the boogie time groove with The Black Bells Group (the first band of lead singer Sidney 'Patrick Duteil' who went on to become the godfather of French hip-hop and a well know TV presenter. Here the groove is swinging... the perfect opener. Next up is German-based Cameroonian musician and cousin of Manu Dibango, Charly Kingson with this bass-synth boogie stomper. Big brass and jazzy trumpets add layers of sparkle too. Next its time for some highlife inspired boogie from Ghanian Gyedu Blay Amboley. Highlife fused with reggae, disco, boogie and jazz just as the lyrics say. 

Next we pair up with Africa Seven friend Eko once more under his Dikalo guise. The Cameroonian master musician is on fine form with his heavy brass and deep percussion with a driving afro boogie groove. To round off Side A its off to Cameroon again to groove with Jean 'Mekongo President'. Think Bernard 'Chic' Edwards on the bass with some African style and you can see it's the bottom end groove and afrobeat drums that power this gem along. 

We open the second side slowly and purposefully with the highly sought after 'French Girl' from Fotso. Drippy bass synth grooves and a wondrous percussion and drum shuffle pair with piano riffs to make this a unique sounding track. Our friend Tala AM is next with the foot-stomping 'Sugar Lump'. JK Mandengue is next with most definitely the catchiest chorus you will hear today. Nigerian Jide Obe gets synth and clavinet rich with his doe to sensible dating advice 'Too Young'. We close off the album with a track from label good friend Jo Bisso under his Mulamba guise. Sounding like a long lost TV theme from a late night TV show circa 1977. Let's get down and boogie with the brand new dance in town folks... the Dashiki. Until Volume Six takes flight it is time to unbuckle those seat belts folks.

01. Black Bells Group - Sweet Sidney

02. Charly Kingson - Nanga 'Boko

03. Gyedu Blay Ambolley - Highlife

04. Dikalo - Fine Biscuits

05. Mekongo President - Angona Mana

06. Fotso - French Girl

07. Tala AM - Sugar Lump

08. JK Mandengue - Chibidaba, Chibidaba

09. Jide Obe - Too Young

10. Mulamba - Dashiki (Instrumental Version)

Released 15th February 2019

To say "Mo'Horizons is back" actually isn't the truth as they haven't been gone since their first release 20 years ago. But - of course - as usual for musicians working together over decades, their releases becoming more and more... let's say 'selected'. So - on this release, in advance for their brandnew studio album 'MUSIC SUN LOVE' (release date 10th of May) and right on time for their 20th anniversary.

A1 "You Gotta Know It" feat. Noam Bar (7inch version) Having her singing in their Soundsystem for quite some years, this is the first studio recording of Mo'Horizons with Noam Bar, singer and musician from Israel. after living in Tel Aviv and Madrid she is now based in Mo'Horizons' hometown Hannover. On this song you can hear her both talents to sing and rap.

B1 "Ella Dice" feat. Nené Vasquez (Instrumental version) Long term Soundsystem member Nené Vasquez from Venezuela in another studio cooperation with Mo'Horizons, here on percussions, on the album version also singing.

a. You Gotta Know It (7inch Version) [feat. Noam Bar]

b. Ella Dice (Instrumental) [feat. Nené Vasquez]

Release Date - 21st December 2018

Wahever Records in association with Alex Dayo Drumming School proudly presents Gùndo Fara, the debut EP by Zantogola.
Inspired by the West African heritage of popular rhythms and songs, Zantogola are at the same time masters and explorers of the plenguedey music: a fusion between elements of mandingue, highlife and afrobeat with hip hop, reggae and jazz.
The band mixes traditional African-percussions rhythms with brass, voices, guitars, balafons and ngonis to create contemporary, reflective, joyous and highly danceable songs.
The Zantogola project was born in 2016 with the meeting of Alex Dayo and Matteo Boyero, and has grown up into a full scale band and human adventure. Among the members of the band there are musicians like Alai Sanfo, Hien Narcisse Moustique Piqué, Robert Goldsmith, David Kemp, Nick Onley, James MacPhail, Owain Arthur, Moussa Dembele and Shreya Rai.
Alex Dayo is a drummer/percussionist from Burkina Faso, former musician of the Kouledafourou National Ballet and leader of Wountey, the band who initiated Plenguedey music. Alex moved to London in 2008 where he set up a drumming school.
Shreya Rai is a 25 year old singer from Nepal. She is the main female singer for Zantogola, and also performs with other bands such as Namlo and Makindu (WAHEVER 004). She is a highly creative and dedicated artist, and a composer in her own right: look up her name for future releases.
This EP also features some special guests: violinist John Garner, Rafael Anker on EVI (electro valve instrument), Togo Clément Palé on bass, Sophia Mogapi on snare/cymbals, Marta Badia Marin on background doundoun and Dabaiyah Fidel on backing vocal.
Zantogola means “the greatest in everyone” and it’s the name of a character in Burkina Faso’s folklore. There are many tales of his extraordinary powers. He plays his percussion louder than anybody in the country, so loud that you could hear him from all the other villages.
He can devour a whole village’s food supply for a year in a single day, but his appetite is matched by his generosity: he will farm all the fields for the whole village single-handed. He also sleeps for a whole season unless the village needs him.
Zantogola also inspires a message of humbleness. In these dark times, Zantogola stands against growing nationalism and the tightening of borders to create a spirit of common purpose and brotherhood.
Gùndo Fara means “secret revealed” in Bambara, one of the most widely spoken languages in French speaking West Africa.
This 45 rpm loud cut 12’’ EP is an introduction to an eleven track album to be released in spring 2019, it is limited to 300 copies and comes with B side drum mixes that will not be included on the spring album release.

Composed and arranged by Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo
Produced by Matteo Boyero and Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo
Recorded by Matteo Boyero at Wahever Records, except drums on “Tare” recorded at the Alex Dayo Drumming School, and bass and electro valve instrument on “Taré”, recorded at Dondoli Studio by Joseph Sangare
Mixed by Peter Soldan at Dada Studios
Mastered by Simon Davey at the Exchange
Artwork by Sandra von Hazelberg

Musicians
Seli:
Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo: lead and backing vocal, drum set (congas, djembe, cymbals, high hat and calebasse), bass bara, doundoun, kenkeni & top bell, sabar, tama, maracas
Shreya Rai: lead and backing vocal
Dabaiyah Fidel: backing vocal
Abdoulaye Sanfo: djembe solo
Moussa Dembele: balafon (xylophone)
Hien Narcisse Likite Moustique Piqué: medium bara
James MacPhail: bass
Owen Arthur: electric rhythm and lead guitar
Robert Goldsmith: baritone sax
David Kemp: alto sax
Nick Onley: tenor sax
Matteo Boyero: drum machine kick programming

Taré:
Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo: lead and backing vocal, balafon, rhythm djembe 1, drum set (congas & djembe 2), bara, sabar, cowbell, shekere Abdoulaye Sanfo : djembe solo, rhythm djembe 3
Hien Narcisse Likite Moustique Piqué: kenkeni and top bell
Marta Badia Marin: background doundoun
Shreya Rai: lead and backing vocal
Pale Togo Clément: bass
Raphael Anker: EVI (electro valve instrument)
John Garner: violins
Robert Goldsmith: baritone sax
David Kemp: alto sax
Nick Onley: tenor sax
Matteo Boyero: drum machine kick programming

Sya drums (musicians present in the full version of the track not included):
Alexandre Yemaoua Dayo: rhythm djembe 1 & 2, djembe solo, drum set (congas & djembe 3), maracas, woodblock, doundoun, kenkeni & top bell, criquet Sophia Mogapi: drum kit (snare and cymbals)
Abdoulaye Sanfo: djembe snare
Matteo Boyero: drum machine kick programming

Special thanks to Peter Soldan at Dada Studios, Joseph Sangare at Dondoli Studio, Sandra Von Hazelberg for the artwork, Finsbury Park Art Club and all the students at the Alex Dayo Drumming School.

Notes by Alex Dayo:
Seli” means “pray”: whatever our beliefs as human beings, let’s pray to know ourselves so that we can gain a better awareness of humanity’s needs. “Taré” means “majesty”. How great is your mother’s love. How great is a lover’s love. It’s your choice to find the balance: as we cross many rivers, we encounter many mothers and loved ones. The greatest, they are in my heart majestically, I shall never forgot them. Not all women give birth to a majesty. I’m talking too and dedicating Tare to her Majesty, my mother Sita Sessouma, my mother by the river Kalpana from Nepal, and to all you great women from all over the planet.
I specially dedicate this EP to all my students.

a1. Zantogola - Seli

a2. Zantogola - Taré

b1. Zantogola - Seli Drums

b2. Zantogola - Sya Drums

Released 29th June 2018

- Deluxe 2x12" Full Artwork Gatefold, Shrink-wrapped Vinyl package 

- Printed Inner Sleeves

- Download Card

- Mastered by Lewis Hopkin at Stardelta

- Manufactured at Optimal (Germany)

- Managed and Distributed by Unearthed

The recording sessions for Rastrumentals took place over seven years, between São Paulo and Brixton, but the roots of the project stretch back to the arrival of Digistep’s father in 1970s Bristol. Aged 18 he had almost nothing to his name, apart from his treasured vinyl collection. These records are still in the family, and have been invaluable in shaping Dubkasm’s unique sound. Rastrumentals combines samba instruments such as the cavaquinho, pandeiro and cuica with the work of some of the UK’s greatest reggae musicians.

Long-time collaborator Ras B features prominently on the album, and his deep, lion-like cadence will be familiar to anyone who listened to Bristol pirate radio in the 90s. While the Nyahbinghi elder is deservedly respected for his contributions to music, his commitment to Rasta values goes much further. He is now the guardian of Fairfield House in Bath, former home of the Emperor Haile Selassie. It is his voice which gives the opening tune, Eco de Jongo, much of its power. An epic tribute to two ancient musics, it combines the circular, frequently improvised dance of Jongo (which dates back to Africans who were brought to Brazil as slaves in the seventeenth century) with Nyahbinghi drumming and the wisdom of the elder. The cavaquinho is strummed to give the tune a samba edge, and minimalist ‘plate and knife’ percussion locks around Rastafarian kette drumming to create a seamless and entrancing rhythmic palette. The music draws heavily on the Samba de Roda, which came to be seen as an expression of identity and a means of empowerment for the oppressed, and is a natural ally of Rastafarianism’s messages of righteousness and uplift.

Monte de Sião also features Nyahbinghi drumming, but here the kette is used alongside the distinctive Brazilian friction drum known as the cuica. The cuica originates from Africa, and some say that it was used as a lion call, because mimics the roar of the lioness.

King’s Highway is, as befits its title, a majestic journey into roots, featuring terrific work from one of reggae’s finest drummers, Blood Shanti, who has played with such greats as The Abyssinians, Sugar Minott, and Johnny Clarke. His incredibly tight pattern, and the soaring horns keep this tune on a stepping rhythm, in the style of New Chapter-era Aswad.

Samba and reggae are not the only styles the LP explores. The influence of jazz on reggae is significant but often overlooked (think of players like Lyn Tait, Tommy McCook, and John ‘Dizzy’ Moore), and tracks like Delta Blues, with its intricate yet easygoing guitar soloing and chorus of horns, and Cachoeira da Fumaça, a warm flute and sax piece, bring improvisation and musical sensitivity to the fore. Lava Quente is an uptempo history lesson with Ras B on the mic as horns and keyboards switch back and forth over gritty guitars and percussion.

Rastrumentals brings together the talents of nineteen musicians across two continents, and is a perfect example of Dubkasm’s unique ability to combine respect for their forebears with relentless innovation. Lewis Hopkin at Stardelta jointly mixed the album before mastering it via ½ “ tape, taking the sonics to another dimension. Paul Lee

a1 Eco do Jongo

a2 Missão

b1 Lava Quente

b2 King’s Highway

c1 Cachoeira da Fumaça

c2 Lei Áurea

c3 Regal

d1 Monte de Sião

d2 Delta Blues