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!
in and out is about all those times of finding yourself in between the 'here', the 'there' and the 'nowhere' while trusting you will eventually find your way and the peace within. The visuals depict that very state of mind and lure you into that special space. Take a...
Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and creative director Jeune Lio, here's the lyrics video to his debut single My Love featuring Magasco. Video animation was done by Ozaki & Tiemo. RELATED Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and...
Music on the Road was shot by Daniel Kwabena Marmo of The 3 Suns. According to Solid K, " The video tries to capture how I feel about music, it depicts how hard it is to explain with words. It shows what a surreal feeling it brings to me. As can be seen, I walk...
Arc Djébé – “Mandja”
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!’
in and out is about all those times of finding yourself in between the 'here', the 'there' and the 'nowhere' while trusting you will eventually find your way and the peace within. The visuals depict that very state of mind and lure you into that special space. Take a...
Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and creative director Jeune Lio, here's the lyrics video to his debut single My Love featuring Magasco. Video animation was done by Ozaki & Tiemo. RELATED Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and...
Music on the Road was shot by Daniel Kwabena Marmo of The 3 Suns. According to Solid K, " The video tries to capture how I feel about music, it depicts how hard it is to explain with words. It shows what a surreal feeling it brings to me. As can be seen, I walk...
Moving Crunk Out The Way: Introducing Yob – Lomé, Togo
We met Yob on our last trip to Togo, almost one year ago already! We have hours and hours of footage, but finally managed to edit some of the fantastic footage, thanks in large to Tim Videomit, who met Benjamin Lebrave last fall in Paris. Check out the interview he did here (long version in French here). We should be heading back to Togo in a matter of weeks now, where we intend to catch up with Yob, Arc Djébé and cook up some fresh sounds for y’all! Stay chooned.
in and out is about all those times of finding yourself in between the 'here', the 'there' and the 'nowhere' while trusting you will eventually find your way and the peace within. The visuals depict that very state of mind and lure you into that special space. Take a...
Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and creative director Jeune Lio, here's the lyrics video to his debut single My Love featuring Magasco. Video animation was done by Ozaki & Tiemo. RELATED Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and...
Music on the Road was shot by Daniel Kwabena Marmo of The 3 Suns. According to Solid K, " The video tries to capture how I feel about music, it depicts how hard it is to explain with words. It shows what a surreal feeling it brings to me. As can be seen, I walk...
Moving Crunk Out The Way: Introducing Yob – Lomé, Togo
We met Yob on our last trip to Togo, almost one year ago already! We have hours and hours of footage, but finally managed to edit some of the fantastic footage, thanks in large to Tim Videomit, who met Benjamin Lebrave last fall in Paris. Check out the interview he did here (long version in French here). We should be heading back to Togo in a matter of weeks now, where we intend to catch up with Yob, Arc Djébé and cook up some fresh sounds for y’all! Stay chooned.
in and out is about all those times of finding yourself in between the 'here', the 'there' and the 'nowhere' while trusting you will eventually find your way and the peace within. The visuals depict that very state of mind and lure you into that special space. Take a...
Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and creative director Jeune Lio, here's the lyrics video to his debut single My Love featuring Magasco. Video animation was done by Ozaki & Tiemo. RELATED Follow up to Abidjan-based Cameroonian DJ and...
Music on the Road was shot by Daniel Kwabena Marmo of The 3 Suns. According to Solid K, " The video tries to capture how I feel about music, it depicts how hard it is to explain with words. It shows what a surreal feeling it brings to me. As can be seen, I walk...
Hard to believe, but it was just over 2 years ago that our first release, Akwaaba wo Africa, came out worldwide. What a journey it’s been since then! 2 dozen releases spanning the gamut from Nigerian highlife to Gambian griot kora, Angolan kuduro to Benin salsa… We’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with artists from 12 countries, not counting the numerous remixes pouring in from Mexico, Israel, Argentina, all over Europe and North America.
For us this release is at heart a big thank you, Thank you for helping us carve out a niche on this overcrowded web. Thank you for helping us connect the dots between talented, hardly-known local artists and music lovers worldwide. Thank you for playing our music on your radio shows, for pushing it on your blogs, for playing it at work and letting the world know where the music is coming from. We have been overwhelmed with the response, the emails, big ups and shout outs, and we start the year with a huge smile, filled with all the energy required to keep tons of fresh music coming your way.
So here it is, a collection of 50 songs giving a thorough taste of what Akwaaba is about: an open ear tuned in to sound made in Africa. We priced this mega-compilation at a ridiculous minimum price of $10. I mean, in many ways the price tag seems ridiculous, but if you feel differently, hell, shoot us an email and let’s bargain some more 😉 You can buy this compilation from us directly only, secured credit card payment and all that good stuff. It will not be available on iTunes or anywhere else.
Along with the songs comes a fantastic mix by DJ Zhao. We asked him to do this mix for us because he is one of the very few DJs we know, who can piece together a mix not made exclusively for the dancefloor. So here goes one hour covering so many of the sounds we have been pushing. Really, an epic journey into the heart of contemporary African pop music.
[:fr]
Difficile à croire, mais ça ne fait pourtant que 2 ans depuis notre première sortie mondiale Akwaaba wo Africa. Tellement de choses se sont passées depuis ! Deux douzaines de sorties qui couvrent un éventail allant du Highlife nigérian au griot gambien joueur de kora, du Kuduro angolais à la Salsa béninoise…Nous avons eu le plaisir de collaborer avec des artistes de 12 pays, sans compter les nombreux remixes en provenance de Mexico, Israël, d’Argentine, de toute l’Europe et l’Amérique du Nord.
Pour nous cette sortie est du fond du cœur un grand merci, merci de nous avoir aidé à creuser une niche dans un web surpeuplé. Merci de nous avoir aidé à connecter des artistes locaux talentueux et difficiles d’accès aux amoureux de la musique du monde entier. Merci d’avoir joué notre musique dans vos shows radios, sur vos blogs, au travail, et d’avoir dit au monde d’où la musique provient. Nous avons été débordé de réponses, emails, dédicaces et félicitations, et on débute l’année avec un grand sourire, pleins de l’énergie requise pour continuer de vous faire parvenir des tonnes de musique tout fraîche.
Donc la voilà, une collection de 50 titres, un aperçu global de ce qu’est Akwaaba : une oreille ouverte et tournée vers les sons en provenance d’Afrique. Nous avons fixé cette méga-compilation au prix minimum (et ridicule) de 10$. On veut dire que sous beaucoup d’aspects le prix nous paraît ridicule, si vous n’étiez cependant pas de notre opinion, et bien envoyez-nous un email, et lançons les négociations 😉 Vous ne pouvez acheter cette compilation que par nous directement, paiement sécurisé etc. Elle ne sera pas disponible sur iTunes ou autre.
En plus des sons vous avez droit également à un mix excellent de DJ Zhao. On lui a demandé de réaliser ce mix pour nous car c’est l’un des rares DJ que l’on connaisse à être capable de composer un mix qui ne soit pas fait exclusivement pour bouger en soirée. C’est donc une heure de beaucoup de sons dont on a fait la promotion, un véritable voyage épique au cœur de la pop music contemporaine d’Afrique.
[:de]
Hard to believe, but it was just over 2 years ago that our first release, Akwaaba wo Africa, came out worldwide. What a journey it’s been since then! 2 dozen releases spanning the gamut from Nigerian highlife to Gambian griot kora, Angolan kuduro to Benin salsa… We’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with artists from 12 countries, not counting the numerous remixes pouring in from Mexico, Israel, Argentina, all over Europe and North America.
For us this release is at heart a big thank you, Thank you for helping us carve out a niche on this overcrowded web. Thank you for helping us connect the dots between talented, hardly-known local artists and music lovers worldwide. Thank you for playing our music on your radio shows, for pushing it on your blogs, for playing it at work and letting the world know where the music is coming from. We have been overwhelmed with the response, the emails, big ups and shout outs, and we start the year with a huge smile, filled with all the energy required to keep tons of fresh music coming your way.
So here it is, a collection of 50 songs giving a thorough taste of what Akwaaba is about: an open ear tuned in to sound made in Africa. We priced this mega-compilation at a ridiculous minimum price of $10. I mean, in many ways the price tag seems ridiculous, but if you feel differently, hell, shoot us an email and let’s bargain some more 😉 You can buy this compilation from us directly only, secured credit card payment and all that good stuff. It will not be available on iTunes or anywhere else.
Along with the songs comes a fantastic mix by DJ Zhao. We asked him to do this mix for us because he is one of the very few DJs we know, who can piece together a mix not made exclusively for the dancefloor. So here goes one hour covering so many of the sounds we have been pushing. Really, an epic journey into the heart of contemporary African pop music.
Many,. many, MANY thanks to Ryan Lash for coping with the lack of structure, the heat, the at times dubious food and the heavy sweat-inducing “small walks” across Lomé and Accra!!! And tahnks to Tim aka Videomit for piecing this video together, at last we are excited to share this glimpse into Arc Djébé’s world with you. Full album available from us via Bandcamp, or in iTunes.
Heyyyo! Remember these cats? Yep, same doods we rocked Mancuso with last September in Tübingen! What a warm welcome… these cats are not only fantastic party DJs, who know how to appreciate a good African groove in their sets, they are also ideal hosts to a wonderful – yet not soooo famous – German city. To all you wannabe Afrocentric DJs: be ncie to these guys, and try to get your arses to Tübingen asap, their party is well worth playing. Or just attending! Check out their Facebook page. Oh and better, yet, check out this fabulous set they pieced together for us:
How did this happen?!?! In their own words:
“So this is our exclusive mix for Akwaaba Music. It‘s not so much all new and exclusive bangers but rather our impression of African music and its big influences on other musical territories (with one or two stylistic exceptions in the mix). We also kinda tried to give an idea of what we do in our club sets, not paying too much attention to tempo or style while keeping it funky and a wee bit humorous… Featuring Akwaaba artists Appietus, Ruff‘n‘Smooth, Kedjevara, Onyenze, Killamu, Dred Man-Gi and Arc Djebe. Hope you enjoy!”
Uhhhhhh… yep, we do. Right?!?! Have you downloaded this mix already?!?! Have you listen to their Mixcloud page? How about their myspace?! Wait, and more importantly, if you’re in or near Tübingen, are you attending their party this Saturday November 13?!?!
When was the last time you listened to music from Togo?!?! Even the biggest world music nerds seem to not be so well versed in this tiny West African nation’s rich musical heritage. We’ve heard it all: that it has poor cultural heritage, that all of the talent is sucked up by neighboring Benin, that there simply is no infrastructure in Togo to enable artists to come up with anything half decent.
Well…. it sounds to us like all of the above are well contradicted by one man: Arc Djebe. The Lomé native has been hustling on the guitar for years now – over two decades! His talent took him from Cameroon to Côte d’Ivoire, yet to this day Arc Djebe has been doing everything himself: auto-production, and auto-distribution. Which means a permanent hustle, in a country where music producers are scarce to say the least. With help from friends, occasional grants and live shows, Arc Djebe managed to record 4 mini albums, including this last one. Dagbénéva means “happiness” or “quest of happiness” in Ewe, the most common language along the Togolese coast. Six potent tracks, recorded at home, in Togo, with his band Zozodede.
You can grab the full album directly from Arc Djebe’s Bandcamp store, or from iTunes. You can also download this great great track Kumble (“power”) for freeeeeee:
