Going Africa and Beyond… Ruff-N-Smooth’s moto seems particularly appropriate for this next Akwaaba remix contest: their song Azingele is the next big hit coming from this new Ghanaian powerduo, the video’s been out for a couple of days only, and it’s already generating serious buzz in Ghana. The track features SK Blinks, the go-to guy in Ghana for hooks and choruses in French. The aim with SK is also to reach an audience outside of Ghana, inside its neighboring Francophone countries. So it only makes sense to take this song even further, and put the acapella in the hands of beat makers all over the world. Grab the acapella from Soundcloud, do your thing, and send back your work of magic BEFORE FEBRUARY 28. Either use our dropbox or any file sharing service you wish, just make sure you tag your song!! In the past many, many remixes we received got lost in the shuffle due to very poor tagging, so when you send your remix:
– make sure you tag the song well enough: if we can’t see your remixer name anywhere, we’ll never know it’s yours.
– make sure we can DOWNLOAD the song. Seems pretty obvious, but it’s apparently not. We’re always on the move, and most likely will not listen to your remix online. Possibly in a trotro or an airplane. So please make it easy on us and let us download it and take it where we need to.
– please send us a message by email or on Soundcloud with your full contact info and a short bio. That’ll save a lot of time for all of us.
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.
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.
AFRICA10 needs your help!!!! The film is a character-based feature documentary about the incredible spirit of soccer in Africa. It features five inspiring stories from across the continent, intercut with commentary from famous Africans including Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu and players such as Michael Essien, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roger Miller. AFRICA10 illustrates, in a dramatic and visual way, how soccer is helping Africans lift themselves up. Read the full story here. AFRICA10 is 3 years deep in the making, and for this final stretch, they are asking for some support. Please take a moment to consider and pass around the info!
Miss Doctor was one of the biggest hits this year in Ghana. Appietus’ tight production has been booming throughout the entire country since last spring, so six months later it’s a special treat to see the vocals land in the hands of an army of young producers throughout the globe. On this EP we present some of our favorite submissions to the Miss Doctor remix contest. As usual choices were difficult and most likely quite imperfect. But we hope this small sample helps to propel 4X4 into new club stratospheres, and helps to turn new heads onto Ghanaian beats. A quick round up of the lucky few featured here:
Dance Kill Move – Sweden/Colombia: we instantly loved this cumbia/reggaeton/dancehall rework by this young Swedish duo. Funny how it came about: last summer Ricardo – the beatmaker in this duo – spent a few weeks in Colombia, where his family is from, soaking up the cumbia, vallenato, porros, champeta and reggaeton. Then upon his return, stumbled upon the remix contest. Luckily for us, his summertime love affair brought Miss Doctor that much closer to the Colombian coast. Escucha fuerte!
Sabbo – Israel: This is not the first time we dig Sabbo’s remix, and certainly not the last! What can we say, we just love how he turns songs into dancehall/kuduro-tinted club bangers. Sabbo’s sound is well established with all tropical / global bass bloggers and DJs. The cool thing here is, he was already playing the original Miss Doctor in his sets, so when he heard about the contest, he knew he had to remix it!
Paul Marmota – Chile/Mexico: Paul is a native of Santiago de Chile, where he started producing and getting involved with the local music scene. But in a quest to broaden his horizon, he relocated to booming Mexico City, where he has been working alongside artists such as Zombie Discos Squad, Erick Rincón or Waya Waya. His remix is a good example of his heavily percussive sound, which we feel matches well with 4X4’s fast delivery.
artfx! – Germany: another returning favorite, this Berliner is deep-rooted in the German dancehall scene. Over the past 12 years, he has built a name for himself releasing dub plates as part of the Bandulero Sound! collective, Yet his musical horizons are far broader, as demonstrated in his clubby take on Miss Doctor.
This here is a 2 hour roundup of some of our favorite sounds coming from Africa. With a definite emphasis on sounds to make your hips move, and also definitely not an exhaustive line-up of genres – we are heavily biased towards Ghana, Angola, the Congo Kinshasa and Ivory Coast… what can you do!
BBRAVE put this mix together for This Is Africa and Nairobi-based Ghetto Radio who will air the mix… shortly. In the meantime, cop it here, and make sure to check out the full playlist below. And make sure to play loud and warm up the tip of your half-frozen feet!!
