Chop Our Music – 2 year Anniversary Super Release!

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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]

superrelease_cover_480_final_web

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.

supermix_cover2

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.

[:]

Crowd Krushers – Krush on Akwaaba Mixtape just in!

akwaabakrush cover improved final480Heyyyo! 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?!?!

Full tracklist on the Soundcloud page.

Hat+Hoodie – Akwaabarama mixtape

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Akwaabarama Mix by Hat+Hoodie

Our German sucks, but we still love to *read* Hat + Hoodie’s posts – or should we say, look at the odd series of letters and wonder what they are saying. Thankfully, once they get behind the decks the language is universal, and this last mixtape of is sure to move any dancefloor from Cape Town to Hamburg, Dakar to Beijing. Here’s what the doods have to say:

How long have you been DJing?

Both of us have been DJing for a long time, together it’s over 20 years. We dug many different styles ever since and got to know lots of great music, which maybe is why we still like our sets rather diverse. Being friends for a long time, we finally teamed up in 2009 and started hat+hoodie.

How long have you been into tropical / African beats?

We both were into Reggae, Dancehall, Ska and Afrobeat at some point, which probably built the foundation for us. In the last few years we became more and more involved in electronic dance music, but always felt it lacked the rough and direct energy of a Dancehall party. Playing so-called “World Music” never was an option, as it was considered Hippie-Music and absolutely not club-compatible in Germany. So you had to listen to it secretly, ha ha. That was, until 2008 Radioclit and Buraka Som Sistema hit the clubs. Hearing “Secousse” for the first time was a true key moment – We instantly got hooked on Tropical Bass and World Electronics.

Its an eclectic mix… What’s the story behind it? What are some of your current favorites?

We tried to put everything in there that we like right now, so there’s Tropical House, some UK Funky, African Beats, Barefoot, Dancehall… We like it wildstyle, a whole night of Tech House gets us bored. Then we wanted to feature some of the great artists we met on the internet recently, such as BukBuka from Istanbul or Sabbo from Tel Aviv. We really love cruising the Web for new artists and connecting with them. We also wanted to represent the German/Austrian scene, so there’s the very awesome Schlachthofbronx from Munich, So Shifty from Hamburg, and of course Vienna‘s Ku Bo and Beware & Motorpitch.
We like messing around with music rather than only playing it out, so we mashed some of the tracks, re-arranged them, combined them… What came out is pretty much what we consider a good party: global dancehall music, lots of bass and a touch of anarchy, hehe.

Playlist:

Skeat – Relela [Akwaaba]
Skeat – Mama Le Papa [Akwaaba] x Douster – Alleluja [Bebup]
Killamu – Melodia de Semba [Akwaaba] x Mujava – Mugwanti/ Sgwejegweje [Out Here]
Poirier – Militaris Riddim [Ninja Tune] x So Shifty – Clap (Acapella) [Top Billin]
Fauna – Gauchito Gil (Douster Remix) [ZZK]
Skeat – Phamphanyane (hat+hoodie Edit) [Akwaaba/Bootleg]
Hat+Hoodie – o!e [Faluma Africa]
Roska – Squark (hat+hoodie Edit) [Rinse/Bootleg]
Schlachthofbronx – Vem Que Tem (Beware & Motorpitch Remix) [Man Rec.]
Sekta – Peterpan (Doc Daneeka Remix) [Top Billin]
Beware & Motorpitch – Pororoca [Man Rec.]
Manare – Pirog [Younggunz]
Old Money – Mamaseh (Sabbo Remix) [Unreleased]
Jali Bakary Konteh – Combination (hat+hoodie Remix) [Unreleased]
Chief Boima – Techno Rumba (Uproot Andy Remix) [Dutty Artz]
Legobeat – Gun, Whistle, Bird (Cocotaxi Remix) [PBP]
We Are Enfant Terrible – Wildchild (Myd Remix) [Web]
Jamtech Foundation – Run The Track [Mad Viking]
Lady Chann – Sticky Situation (Toddla T Remix Intro) [rcrdlbl]
Bert On Beats – Suomo (Ku Bo Remix) [Man Rec.]
BukBuka – Capoeiristas (Jump da f@#$ up) [Unreleased]
Schlachthofbronx – Ayoba (Ku Bo Remix) [Man Rec.]
Figura – Ze Bula (Peter Pozorek Remix Intro) [Unreleased]
Figura – Ze Bula (Sabbo Remix) [Akwaaba]

Killamu vs Max Le Daron mixtape

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To be honest, we don’t really remember how Max showed up on our radar… did he ask for a Killamu promo? Did we comment on one of his pungent sets? How can it already be a blur?!?! Whatever the case may be, we’re glad we connected, this cat’s been making noise in Brussels with his MDD crew, pushing kuduro, cumbia, coupé décalé or kwaito, without neglecting European flavors such as uk funky, dubstep or grime. So Killamu fit right into his routine, and we hope you dig this mix!

Max Le daron vs Killamu mixtape – Download