Very funny take on 1970s Kenyan cinema – or blaxploitation? Get the song for free here, we only ask for your email, which we promise we won’t share with anyone!!!

If you like these guys, consider something crazy – buying some of their music! You can buy their superb album 82 either directly from us, or in the iTunes music store.

Yes, it’s been a slow process… we’ve held onto the remixes for months, squeezing them into our pipeline, and at last, we are happy to present to you this beautiful EP, which came out today exclusively on Beatport!!! We’ll post a bunch of info about the fine people who contributed to this EP, so stay tuned… meanwhile, check out this fancy little player below:

The album is out!! Beautiful album created in Brikama with the help of our friend Steve Pile. You can buy the album directly from us (paypal), or from iTunes. You can also get a taste for free: download the song Combination in nearly any format!

A few words about Jali…

Jali Bakary Konteh is a kora player and singer from Brikama, Gambia. He comes from a griot family, which includes some of the world’s most renowned kora musicians. His father is Dembo Konteh, who has toured the world with his kora, and his Grandfather is Alhaji Bai Konteh, the first griot to popularize kora music in America with his album “Kora Melodies from the Gambia,” on Rounder records.

Jali Bakary has not only inherited the talents of his bloodline, but has also incorporated his own style and twist into the music, as the tracks here will show. He has played with many of the Gambia’s finest talent, including Pa Boba and Sanku Jobarteh, as well as with his father on National televesion numerous times.  Konteh Kunda is his first full length album, entirely recorded at the Konteh Kunda music school in Brikama.

Thanks to Toni Polo of Radio Groovalización for this beautiful piece he cut with Alou days ago in Bamako.

53 years ago today… Ghana’s a youngster! So what better way to celebrate than with youngster music… forget 1970s analog studios for a minute, and sink into the sounds of hiplife, essentially Ghana’s national pop music these days… there’s something about that fruity loops aesthetic that just gets to us, super simple, melodic, bouncy… try it!

It’s out! Just a Band’s album 82 is available in iTunes… and very shortly right here on the site. Get Ha-He for free below:

Stream the full album here:

Akwaaba’s been mostly focusing on the Atlantic coast of Africa, but thankfully, we’ve finally connected with East African artists, in the form of this very interesting trio hailing from Nairobi, Kenya.

Traditionalists beware: Just A Band is pop music. Not Afropop, straight up pop. Pop as in music that you, your cousin and your mom might all enjoy. Music that your grandfather won’t ask to turn down immediately, as he may already be shakin’ his legs.

The references to Kenya’s musical heritage are not absent however, just subtle. Although the band mentions Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson as tttwo major influences, some of the softer tracks on their album “82″ evoke polyphonic, spiritual chants. Call it what you want: Just A Band’s recipe is potent, and we intend to spread the potency worldwide. Stay tuned, their album drops February 23! In the meantime, check out Just A Band’s Facebook page, and download this free mp3 of the song Ha-He: