(Originally published in the Lungu Lungu column at the Fader) Nairobi is a place I have yet to visit, but already I’m hooked to its bustling, cosmopolitan atmosphere. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Just A Band, I follow Sauti Sol on Twitter, I’ve been listening to Kenyan hip hop, hearing about Kenya’s nightlife and now Anto. I’d never heard of him. Clearly, I don’t reside in Nairobi, because it seems everybody there knows him; he’s an actor in Kenya’s top drama series Siri, and now also in Shuga on MTV. I didn’t know any of this, all I had was a tweet with a link to a video. I get a lot of those. I usually let them play in the background, and unfortunately rarely feel the need to even remember the artists’ name.

Not this time. Anto definitely caught my attention, first with his voice and his arrangements, then with the quality of his video. As it turns out, “Chips Funga” is the result of months and months of decanting in the studio, Anto being his own hardest critic. Before the studio were years and years of singing, 20 to be exact, ever since Anto started singing Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly when he was six years old. Anto grew up soaking in soul music from his dad’s record collection and was lucky enough to be born into a family that was highly supportive of his talent and taste for singing. He sang at church, he sang in school. In his own words, Anto was “unstoppable”.

And so is my appetite for Kenyan music. Detractors say Kenyan culture is dead, because folklore and tradition are nowhere near the limelight. I don’t understand how you can tell millions of people their culture is dead. I hear Anto and think to myself, Clearly Kenya is booming. I’m amazed a song like this can be created and recorded so well in Nairobi, so of course I had to geek out and ask Anto about this process.

“Recording live in Kenya is no walk in the park, since not many recording companies can accommodate full bands in their studios,” Anto says. The story is all too familiar: artists are mainly self-funded, which means they cannot afford to take chances. So when they go to the studio, it’s to record a hit. They aim at the most mainstream sound and the most immediate success. Anto laughs, “[Artists] want to churn out music that pleases the air for now, regardless of the possibility of longevity, because some want a quick return and some unfortunately fame.”

This quick hit, quick money, quick fame logic has spurred the growth of home studios, “mushrooming in people’s bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms,” as Anto puts it. Finding a producer who understands an artists’ vision, who can advise on arrangements and deliver on the engineering side has been a real challenge, but the situation is evolving: “Fortunately in Kenya now, music is coming full circle, and there are engineers and producers who are more inclined in quality of music, rather than releasing songs in massive numbers in the hopes of getting hits. And that has really challenged artists to come up with great music,” he says.

This is our slowest release in the making!!! On Benjamin Lebrave’s very first trip to Ghana in the fall of 2007, he met with X-Pensive Nframa, an up and coming artist, who at the time had just released a phat single produced by then-hiplife maestro JQ. Aunty Adoley could very well become Nframa’s wife… we don’t speak Ga so well but that’s what we gather – does anyone reading care to shed more light? ANyway, since 2007, Nframa has… vanished. Nobody seems to remember him, not JQ, not anyone. Which puts us in a strange dilemma: is it right to release this EP? We have Nframa’s signed authorization, but… we can’t pay him. So we decided to give away the EP for free. If Nframa was in any way still active with his music, we would have found him. And if he resurfaces, we’ll ask him what he wants to do. Thanks to Maga Bo and Sabo for their patience, thanks to Douster for being so quick, thanks to Boima for always dropping some hot ish!

Another great song via the Lungu Lungu column over at Fader mag. This time the spotloight shines on Eritrean-born, Addis resident Saba. Thanks to DJ Sirak for the link,here’s one of Saba’s first completed songs, the beautiful Lene Yalew:

From Fader:

A few years back I stumbled upon an ’80s Ethiopian synth-pop track by Tigist Mekonnen. At the time I was really into post punk and new wave. So this song really did it for me. The instrumentation was cheap but effective, Tigist’s voice was beautiful, and I thought there might be dozens and dozens of equally great Ethiopian synth-heavy songs. Sadly, I came to realize the appealing balance on this song between synths and Amharic vocals was more of a happy coincidence. The deeper I dug for similar songs, the bigger my frustration grew.

So when I flew to Addis Abeba last July, I was scared I’d end up drowning under layers and layers of not-as-dope synths. I was right. Most of the pop music I heard on the radio was a blend of R&B, tons of synths and sometimes a distinguishably Ethiopian pentatonic scale. Not all that exciting. I wasn’t sure where to look to next: purely traditional music? 1970′s Mulatu Astatke-type Ethio jazz? I love both types of music, but I’m not much of a folklore buff or a vintage digger. I left Addis feeling frustrated.

Luckily, my love affair with Ethiopian music was far from being over, and I started receiving songs from various missed connections. In particular, Ethiopian Brooklynite DJ Sirak has been feeding me amazing goodies, especially songs by Saba. I didn’t meet Saba while I was in Addis. It seems she is always at home writing songs, or in the studio working on her first album, which she hopes to finish by the end of the year. Although she’s young, she’s no rookie. She performed very regularly in Addis from 2006 until 2009, singing mostly covers, until she decided to focus on her own material. And when it comes to writing songs, she has a pretty insane background to fuel her creativity.

Saba grew up in Eritrea, the country with the worse press freedom index in the world, right below North Korea. It’s hard to imagine what life is like when a government kicks you out of your home, seizes all of your belongings and harasses you and your family. Yet this was a routine Saba had to get used to when she was still a child. She told me about one episode in particular, which she says changed her life forever. Her entire school had to attend a government meeting: “It was government officials encouraging Eritrean students to kill, beat and in any way they can harm Ethiopians,” she said. Shortly after, Saba’s parents sent their ten children to live in Addis, where for the first three years they had to make things happen without any reliable income. It was a big departure from the more comfortable first years they spent living in Asmara.

Even before the political turmoil, Saba found comfort in singing. She grew up watching Boyz II Men or Brandy videos on MTV, but also soaking in the classic Eritrean melodies her mom played all day long in her shop. Today Saba successfully bridges the gap between these Western pop vocalists and her deep roots in Tigrigna and Amharic folklore. When I asked Saba about the music scene in Addis, I could sense her frustration. On the business side, she told me, “there is no concept of artist management going around in this town.” About the nightlife she added, “Ethiopian crowds are hard to please, unless you sing cover songs.” But Saba’s looking beyond Addis and she realizes her music speaks to a much wider audience. “I can see myself going global with the work I am doing,” she says, “I often get comments such as, We can understand your music and your emotions, from foreigners in the audience.”

This song definitely spoke to me when I first heard it, it’s called “Lene Yalew,” or “What’s Meant for Me” in Amharic. It’s a love song, but also a spiritual song about accepting one’s destiny. Saba sings about finding the right person, waiting for the right time, and not worrying yourself to death until that person and that time comes. I’m not that spiritual, or patient: I can’t wait til her album drops!

It’s been a busy year so far for Ghana’s most scandalous Afro-pop duo known as the FOKN Bois. Aside from almost causing a war between Nigeria and Ghana, touring Europe, USA and releasing the world’s first Pidgen Musical, they also managed to record an 8-track EP The FOKN Dunaquest in Budapest with ELO of Irie Maffia Production, Hungary’s leading musical force, and released it on yours truly. 

The story has just begun… After the success of the original EP, a 10-track remix album by the finest Hungarian and international Global Bass producers is here. Remixes from Hungary’s own Slap In The Bass, Nobody Moves, Superstereo, URH and Jumo Daddy (Irie Maffia), as well as Frikstailers, Hijo De La Cumbia, Dj Vadim, Flore and Big Dope P from the international scene. Moobahton, dubstep, cumbia, bassline to uk funky all in one solid album. 

Now for the best part…as the producer ELO celebrates his 30th birthday this weekend he has decided to make the album a FREE DOWNLOAD for one month! 

Grab your free copy of The FOKN Dunaquest in Budapest Remix Album! Feedback is much appreciated!

NEWSFLASH: SORRY!!! Apparently the owners of this video have revoked our right to embed it on this site… we’re not sure at all what the point of making videos non-embeddable is, do you? Hopefully the video returns swiftly! Meanwhil you can watch it here

The FOKN Bois are back! Freestyling bucolic style, video courtesy of the fine folks over at dontwatchthat.tv. If you’re in Accra don’t miss Wanlov at High Vibes on November 17. Nope, not an ounce of information is online yet, so your best bet is probably to follow Wanlov on Twitter to get the update in time!

Late October, Pushking Noize came down to Accra to enjoy some time off in the sunshine, and record a few songs with Arc Djébé. Then in September, while he was editing the music back in Zurich, we headed over to Lomé to film Arc performing some of the songs we recorded. This is the first video pieced together by fellow Swiss homie Tillup. Our goal is to turn this video into live shows for Arc all over the world. Wanna be part of this adventure? Holla!

Next week we head to Copenhagen to schmooze with thousands at the World Music Expo. Among many, we’ll finally connect with the fine people over at Urban World Records, who’ve invited bbrave to take part at their off-womex tropical party. Here’s a live mix recorded just recently by Urban World’s Mikael Palner, for the 40th anniversary of Christiania, the famed freetown/commune neighborhood of Copenhagen:

Palner – Christianias 40th Birthday LiveDJMix by UrbanWorld Records

One of the reasons why Akwaaba decided to relocate to Ghana was actually to be closer to Liberia. A country we seldom hear about for its music. But last year we were introduced to Liberian music at the Buduburam Refugee Camp just west of Accra, where Shadow and a large crew of artists have been keeping their LIB music fresh and lively.
Fast forward to this year: over the summer our longtime friend and African dance music expert Chief Boima spent some time in Monrovia, where he identified key artists. After meeting briefly in Accra, he invited our own Benjamin Lebrave to fly to Monrovia, for the two to put together a sample of the exciting sounds of Liberia today.

Hipco is hip hop sung in colloquial English, the form of English you hear on the streets of Liberia. Although colloquial English retains a lot of English syntax, it can be a bit daunting at first because it is spoken very fast, many consonants are not pronounced, and a lot of words are borrowed from other local languages. But it has become the language of choice for young rappers. And much like hip hop, hipco has grown into its own culture, with its own lifestyle, dance moves and music. Today hipco often refers to more than just a type of rap, it’s a way of life.

Gbema is the generic term given to electronically-produced traditional music. So it covers a wide range of rhythms, most of them very high paced, reminiscent of Sierra Leonian Bubu or South African Shangaan. It’s also quite common for the rhythms to jump into half or double time..

This music, hipco and gbema, is having a profound impact on Liberia. Much like early day hip hop, hipco is a significant vector of social change, while gbema’s intricate rhythms are relentlessly challenging listeners and dancers. We called the compilation Lone Stars not only because it is the nickname of Liberia, but also because these artists are often left without much of an industry to survive. They are truly alone, with their music, striving to survive in a country still recovering from decades of destructive conflict.

Album is out today in iTunes and Bandcamp, and next week at other major retailers such as Amazon.

Junior Freeman & African Soldier – “Damyarea” (area song) by Akwaaba Music

Today Liberians vote for their next president. Just four days after the Nobel Foundation decided to let the world – and in particular Liberians – know how much they like Ma Ellen. We prefer sharing with the world a song that has been the soundtrack of an entire summer in Liberia – although summer there is the rainy season, which feels much more like winter. But meteorology aside, the “area song” has been an unavoidable sonic leitmotiv in all corners of Liberia. And we feel today’s a pretty OK day to share it: it’s also a sneak peak for our hipco and gbema compilation coming out… next week!!!!

DJ Djeff & Maskarado – Elegom Bounsa (Los Carlos Kuduro Bootleg) by Akwaaba Music

Sometimes a nice acapella ends up in the right hands… last year at Generation Bass‘ Incubate festival, we met a young cat with a knack for kuduro… enter Lorenzo aka DJ Los Carlos, a Dutch producer born to Surinamese parents. But let’s let him tell his story:

“My name is Lorenzo aka DJ Los Carlos, I am 25 years old and a Dj/Producer. I work as a resident Dj at a club in my hometown and freelance at several clubs in the Netherlands, and have also played at clubs in Bulgaria, England and Spain. I also follow an education focused on producing music at the Herman Brood Academie in Utrecht, the Netherlands. I’ve always been busy with music but I decided to make it my professional career when I was 21, ever since I’ve been doing everything I can to make this dream come true with the support of my family and friends.

Music has always been a big part of my life, I can’t remember a time in life when I didn’t listen to music. I used to make mixtapes when I was little with my parents old eighttrack. I started producing tracks when I was seventeen, more seriously by the time I was 21. When I was 21 I also started DJing. What originally inspired me is that music is really personal, you can put anything you want in a track. Each and every one of the tracks I’ve made has a memory, some good some bad, but they remind me of a time in life that was important to me. It is the same with some of my favorite music I listen to every day, they stand for a particular time in my life.

I listen to all kinds of music and get inspiration from everything. At the moment I listen to Kuduro and this music inspires me a lot. I like the purity of the African style music. My parents used to listen to Soca music when I was growing up. Because of my Surinam (South American) roots rythmic music has always been a special thing in my life. I get my inspriation from all kind of music and artists. I like to use all of these influences in my tracks.

I wanted to make a kuduro track that was catchy and I already listened to this song a lot, it was fresh and new and I felt it went great with my beat. I discovered kuduro a couple of years ago, I love listening to it but I also love to play it when I’m spinning at the club. People love dancing to it. It’s not mainstream yet in the Netherlands, so it’s always nice to see people going wild on music they haven’t listened to and maybe would’ve never heard if I didn’t play it. I always get asked about the songtitle and the artist afterwards. Listening to kuduro makes me happy, feel like I’m ready to start a party and gets me pumped up for the weekend.”

You’ll notice it also contains a sample of “Surra de Bunda” by As Tequileiras do Funk & DJ Gasparzinho, another favorite of ours. Kindly authorized by www.samsobeats.com – you can check out and grab this great track here:
http://youtu.be/WHdp3XV7djA
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/surra-de-bunda/id432553624
http://www.beatport.com/release/surra-de-bunda/354017