“Heart of Light” – the last words uttered publicly by democratically elected first president of newly independent Congo Patrice Lumumba at his inauguration address, 3 months before his murder by Belgium and CIA, because he dared to oppose the Western forces of oppression and planned to keep the wealth of the Congo for the Congo. Freedom and hope was killed in 1961, with disastrous consequences that last until today, but The Heart of Light can never die…
Rougher and tougher twin of the previous DRUM volume, Amandla explores the somber and serious side of contemporary electronic dance music from South Africa and Angola. In 2013 capitalist brainwashing and new waves of cultural and economic imperialism replaces the overtly oppressive policies of Apartheid and colonialism; inequity, injustice, and corruption still pandemic on the African continent; but the indestructible beat of Soweto, Pretoria and Luanda lives on. These new urban sounds express the frustration, longing, joy and hope of a new generation, the continuing struggle and POWER of the people. Rhythm as a weapon, music as a weapon: a real weapon in the concrete sense. Africa! Mayibuye! Amandla!
This edition in the Ngoma Mix Series focuses on new 125 bpm African Electronic Dance Music. As i have argued in the “Real Roots of Kwaito” piece for This Is Africa, American and European Disco, House, and Hiphop were crucially influential in the beginning stages of development of post-Apartheid South African urban music, but since then SA House and Kwaito have matured and grown into its own skin, much more an extension of indigenous rhythm cultures than related to “Western” dance music. For example the beat patterns in these tracks are distinctly different: the constant off-beat high hats found in the US and Europe are almsot entirely absent; and with much more rich and developed rhythm elements and very different emphasis, this music should probably be thought of as simply new African dance music, with not much to do with what is traditionally known as “House” or “Techno” at all.
From slow meditative burners to dizzying fast numbers, Kushal Das’ every phrase is clearly pronounced, the celestial and crystalline music has an orderly, intellectual feel – simply beautiful.
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Sitar playing of a very different character than the above recording: in a lower register, much more visceral and emotionally expressive, with more grit and texture – alternating between long bluesy passages and crazy drunken (but always poetic) rants. (new 320k file added! thanks to comrade Morgen)
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Mithila – Love songs of Vidyapati
A cappella songs of love and devotion by mainly male, and 2 femail, vocalists in a steady and evenly paced manner, never venturing into cries of passion or lapse into melancholy. Not sure if the love expressed is sacred or profane, but it is for sure of an eternal nature. (musically not one of my favorites)
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Voyage Intérieur – Sheila Dhar
Performed according to the principles of the Kirana Gharana school of singing, this amazing woman takes us on an epic dreamlike inward journey during the course of this double CD.
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Troupe de Kutiyattam du Kalamandalam – Kutiyattam
Kutiyattam is a 2000 years old form of Sanskrit theatre, traditionally performed in Hindu temples of the state of Kerala. Musically this is pretty wild stuff: intense percussion with dramatic and often “dissonant” singing/narration. Not for the faint hearted or those only looking for “beautiful” Indian music.
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L. Subramaniam – Le violon de l’Inde du sud
(this may be a re-post) Virtuoso violin playing by the master. Enough said.
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actually on the whole a lot more relaxed and calm than the studio recording above, a superb live session.
Made this for ultra cool international / art / architecture / concept / urbanism / fashion / music / design organization Platoon: United rhythms towards a borderless future: African House and European Acid, Hungarian Folk and Korean Pop, Cumbia Electro and Arabic Techno, Avant Jazz and Street Bass – international beats for dance floors and head space – against prejudice and xenophobia. DOWNLOAD: mediafire
A few out of print treasures from Ocora (RIP), probably the best global music label ever in terms of selection, recording quality, documentation and general dependable professionalism (The French perhaps always were the colonialists who paid the most attention to the cultures of those they conquered and continue to exploit, with Napoleon’s encyclopedia of Egypt still being the most comprehensive hundreds of years later), were first uploaded on my old blog a long time ago, and now have been revived by the kind soul who runs SEANCE (a place where you will find much more amazing gems). I will also be re-upping many things from Africa, Asia, Middle East, South America, etc. in the days to come.
and here is a repost from the old blog, of classic Congolese Rumba, literally the sweetest sounds i have ever heard.
tracklisting: volume 1 / volume 2.
Big big thanks to Bolingo69 for the original upload. It is criminal that these heavenly sounds are out of print and commercially unavailable anywhere. Here are both volumes together on mediafire.
And I’ve been meaning to do an official NGOMA volume of modern dance floor Soukous for some time… it will happen soon. But until then, there are lots of awesome tunes in this episode of Radio Ngoma:
Dj Zhao: Edits, Mixing and Selection (Berlin)
Werner Puntigam: Trombones (recorded in Linz, Austria)
Marcel: Percussion (recorded in Berlin)
A hybrid musical entity made of dj and live instrumentation consisting of 2, 3, 4, or 5 members, NGOMA Soundsystem fuses Ancestral Rhythms, Acoustic Textures, and Urban Bass Pressure. Drawing from both the wealth of sonic traditions from Africa and beyond as well as up-to-the-minute street sounds worldwide, NGOMA Soundsystem exists in the tension between electronic composition and live improvisation, creating unique “Ancient-Futurist” musical experiences for both concert hall and club, often at once mind expanding and dance-floor smashing.
this recording is a 1 hour studio edit of the 3 hour live performance at Fusion Festival:
Bigup Bomb Diggy crew out in Amsterdam for inviting me to contribute to their mix series.
Ever since drums were banned on most slave plantations in N. America during the 1600s, after the masters discovering that the slaves organized revolts with their talking drums, the expression of poly-rhythms in N. American popular music has primarily been through use of the voice. This is the reason music in the US is typified by the simple 1-2 “dupple” rhythm, in contrast to more complex beat patterns in South-America or the Caribbean (which kept their drums). Thus the evolution of all subsequent Afro-North-American music was profoundly shaped, from Blues to Funk to Disco: kick on the 1, and snare on the 2; all the way down to the late 20th Century – complex poly-rhythms in hiphop is produced with rap, and the drums remain a skeletal, minimalistic boom-bap, as if just to mark time.
Now in the 21st Century a renewed sense of rhythmic complexity returns to Afro-North-American dance music in the form of Juke/Footwork in Chicago: interlocking 2s and 3s form intricate beat structures, unmistakeably related to many forms of percussion styles in the motherland (but still often keeping that N. American hard snare on the 2).
OR: STREAM: MIXCLOUD //// DOWNLOAD: SEPARATE TRACKS OR SINGLE TRACK
This NGOMA volume demonstrates this reconnection, after centuries of separation, between African tradition and Afro-Diaspora: between Nigerian Juju/Fuji music and Chicago Juke/Footwork, between Ethiopian dance styles and Detroit Ghetto-Tech, between Iberian trad-modern street sounds and American R’n’B/Pop, between Afro-Punk and Club Music, between Congolese Mbira workouts and Hiphop, between Ghanaian and Senegalese drumming and Urban Bass Pressure. Let us pump up the volume and remember the power and spirit of rhythm which survives every hardship, cruelty, and oppression, and rejoice in the timeless Music Of the Drums.
big thanks to Keith Jones for knowledge passing, Itzi Nallah, Sonic Diaspora and states side massive for making the Juju-Juke tour possible, my B-girls Jessi and Maya for support.
Juju-Juke Tour kick off in Belgrade
I have played this set a few times now during the Serbia, Germany, and US East Coast tour a few weeks ago, and crowds have gone completely BONKERS as the energy went straight through the roof: 500 screaming people and massive MOSH PIT at 3AM during Mikser Festival Belgrade; club crowd which refused to leave, clapping and hollering for 20 minutes after lights went up and sound was turned off at The Shrine Chicago. I guess the world is more than ready for 160 BPM Afro-Footwork pressure!!!
and here is that adrenaline fueled misanthropic juke edit of South African punk rockers Koos by itself (download and drop into your set if you are wo/man enough :D):
dj LeBlanc has made a 1 hour mix of new material coming out of the Tsonga scene in SA. in his words:
“In december 2011 I met the Shangaan music producer and singer Hanyani Maluleke, aka Mr. Jambatani, in Johannesburg, South Africa. I got in touch with him by my dj buddy Sebcat (Rebel Up! & Brussels Up!) who asked me to find cd’s of him as he had heard a couple of songs on the blog of Ernie Hoggins, whom is hereby credited for introducing the man and his music for the first time.
Back home in Brussels, I realised that one of the 5 home burned cd’s that I had gotten from Jambatani was unreadable, as were all of the title tracks of the 4 cd’s left.
But the music is great, so just following my ears, I made a selection of 12 tracks from about the 45 songs that were on the cd’s. At first, the variation in tempo’s (slow, fast) grasped the attention, which roots it firmly in the xitsonga music tradition (tsonga disco, shangaan electro) as well as the rich instrumentation, choirs, funny samples and vocal crazyness of Mr Jambatani himself. ”
and after that when you saying to yoself “hot damn i need more!” here is another dope mix of Shangaan business you won’t hear anywhere else by our man in Brussels:
I really should continue the Complete Ocora Catalog upload Project from my old blog… and maybe i will. No, not maybe, i will. It is too important and we can not let such a great body of recordings be lost just because the label went out of business in these stupid times.
But until then, Easy Jams has put up this rare 7-inch, one of the (i both hope and hope not) few missing from my collection.
OR: STREAM: MIXCLOUD // 1 TRACK DL: MEDIAFIRE // SEPARATE TRACKS DL: MEDIAFIRE
Grounded in the rhythmic traditions and tonal language of North Africa and the Middle East*, Djinn Bass fuses Sufi Ritual Music and Club Beats, Sacred Egyptian Hymns and Abstract Dub, Classic Rai and Dubstep, Turkish Taqsim and Tech House, Moroccan Chaabi anthems and Tribal Electro. Ouds, Flutes, and Darbukas mix and blend with electronic pulse; vocal refrains underpinned by digital bass, sometimes chopped, looped, and dubbed out. Decidedly anti short-attention-span, as the FUSION series have increasingly become, the tracks are long because duration is essential for the ecstatic and immersive nature of this music.
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01 Georges Kazazian-Sagate Tassabih + Moritz Von Oswald Trio – Pattern 4
02 Salam E Varzesh – E Bastani + Sideshow – African Cherry (Zhao Extended Edit)
03 Farhang Sharif – Pishdaramad Homayoun + J Kenzo-Conqueror
04 Yaşar Akpençe – Kings of Tomorrow + Jason Cheiron – Afrotastico
05 Unknown – Sultana + Doomwork-Isla
06 Flutes Gasba Du Nord – Est De L’Algerie + Uncle Bakongo – Makonde
07 Es’lam Yfattar_VS_Dj Gregory-Elleeol Ritual (Zhao Percussive Mix)
08 Cheikha Rimitti – Mohammed Ay Sidi + Dj Jeroenski – African nights + Roska – Squark
09 Tabla Voyage – Tablat Barhum + Roska – Jackpot
10 Nass El Ghiwane – Salif Albattar + Zombie Disco Squad – The Dance
11 Nass El Ghiwane – Iahmami + Raw Artistic Soul-Keep On Shining
12 Scarab – Fall of The Towers of Convention + Dead Can Dance – Saldek + Foiledtorsos – The Specialist
13 Ali Hassan Kuban – Walla Abshero + Malente & Dex – Bangkok (James Braun & Dan M Remix)
14 Birol Yayla & Şenol Filiz – Outro
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*for a different take on North African and Arabic flavors, get into NGOMA 9.
a brilliant Electronic Gamelan mix by Nautilus Sound from Australia. beautiful as it is suspenseful, subtle and powerful, totally epic. includes all kinds of tasty Nu-Gamelan (lol) treats from Downtempo Gamelan to Gamelan-Step to Tribal Gamelan Tech to even Junglist jump up Gamelan.
Komodo, Sofa Surfers and Jam’N Mix
Dj Zhao – Unknown Indonesian Traditional + Spring Water
Monkey Chant Traditional
Resident’s – Santa Dog
System 7 – Borobudur
Komodo – Shadow Dance
Gamelan X – Flutterswarm
Komodo – Bali Dub
Tomosuke – Gamelan de Couple
System 7 = Simon X Files
Dj Zhao – Deadbeat+ Lost Luggage
Sevish – Islands
Sweet and groovy little 30 minute set of Chichaton, that psychedelic Peruvian Cumbia and Guaracha sound we all love with extra Moom sauce, by the Estropical Explorer Funklore DJ (who also writes for Norient); made with tender loving care while wearing only the finest hats of Latin America.
01. Aniceto y sus Fabulosos – Mi Gran Noche
02. Los Wemblers de Iquitos – Lamento del Yacuruna
03. Los Wemblers de iquitos – Un Silbido Amoroso
04. Los Mirlos – Cumbia de los Mirlos
05. Grupo Celeste – Mi Lamento
06. Tulio Enrique León – Cumbia Algarrobera (this one is actually from venezuela, not peru)
07. Manzanita – Serrano con Orgullo
08. Los Mirlos – Chinito en Cumbia
09. Los Orientales – La Danza del Mono
Thanks to the good people at Free Music Archives: Heavy Ethio-Funk jams by Imperial Tiger Orchestra, live at the OCCII in Amsterdam 20/11/2009 (where i played with Rebel Up crew 1 year later – and dropped one of my Ethio-House edits as grand finale for the set :)), for free stream and download.
we welcome a super dope guest straight from NYC, an Afro-Futurist with his feet firmly planted in timeless rhythm roots – CHIEF BOIMA.
The past few years Boima has immersed himself in the world of music production, and has released original tracks and remixes alone as well as part of the duo Banana Clipz with DJ Oro 11. He’s also done numerous collaborations with folks like DJ Orion, Lamin Fofana, DJ Rupture, Matt Shadetek, and Uproot Andy, as well as producing tracks for international singers and rappers such as Los Rakas, Black Nature of the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, and Khady Black.
PRESS: Guardian UK, XLR8R, The Fader
In the era of branded lifestyle packaging, still sometimes something happens which makes us question our ideas of who makes/listens to what, what that means, where the lines are drawn, how this informs the construction of social identity, whose values are projected by which aesthetic, and which “genres” are assigned to what class and ethnic group. I think the release of this documentary film may be one of those times, and i hope this mix which goes with it is one of those things, demonstrating the connectedness between Rock and Roll and its African roots, between power chords and dance beats, between decades past and today, between defiant youth in London and defiant youth in Zimbabwe – and that the same rhythmic blood and spirit of revolt runs in all of our veins.
these 75 minutes include exclusive mashups and re-edits, and go from Punk to heavily Africanized Rebel Rock to Post-Punk, Dance-Punk, Political Dub, Punk Step, 60s Afro-Garage Techno, Bass Music and beyond, features remixes of Congotronics and a couple of tunes not from the motherland, but surely in keeping with the Afro-Punk spirit.
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before you listen and download: how much is this product worth to you? if possible, please make a donation.
SINGLE TRACK DOWNLOAD: sendspace or mediafire
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01 [South Africa] National Wake – Black Punk Rockers
02 [South Africa] National Wake – Mercenaries
03 [South Africa] KOOS – Is Jy N Moegoe
04 [South Africa] National Wake – Dreams In My Head
05 [Zimbabwe] Chikwata 263 – Dudumduri
06 [South Africa] Dread Warriors – Xighangu Xamina
07 [South Africa] National Wake – Tchindi (live]
08 [UK] Andy Moor – From E to F + Pinch – Warlord
09 [South Africa] Kalahari Surfers – Don’t Dance (Live) + Bass Boy – Stamp
10 [DR Congo] Docteur Nico & African Fiesta – Save Me
11 [Mozambique] 340ML – Shotgun (Zhao Fix)
12 [Zimbabwe] Evicted – Mapurisa (Remix) –
13 [Zimbabwe] Chikwata 263 – In the Jungle
14 [South Africa] National Wake feat. Warrick Sony – Bolina (Kalahari Mix) + Cyrus – Manhatten Blues
15 [UK] Andy Moor – Ella Speed + Unknown
16 [DR Congo] Kasai Allstars – The Incident At Mbuji-Mayi (Bass Clef Remix)
17 [DR Congo] Kasai Allstars – Mukuba Special (Shackleton Remix)
18 [France / UK] DJ Rupture & Andy Moor – Broken Minded
19 [South Africa] Powerage – Waiting For the War
20 [South Africa] Powerage – Freedom + FilthyBeatz – Bounced
21 [Angola] Acromaniacos – unknown
22 [South Africa] KOOS – Ek Is My Dilemma
23 [South Africa] Fuzigish – Burn the Fucking House Down
24 [South Africa] Wild Youth – All Messed Up
25 [South Africa] Wild Youth – Wot About Me
26 [Tanzania] Jagwa Sound System – Watu na Maisha Yao
27 [South Africa] A-Cads – Down The Road
28 [South Africa] The Dynamics – Garlic Baloney
thanks to the following blogs for support!!!
Guardian Music, Afropop, OkayAfrica, Tropical Bass, Rhythm & Roots, Future Legends, Have Plenty, WonderMaa, Dynamic Africa
musicology article from Black Music Research Journal published by Columbia University, detailing the inherent contradictions and dynamics within 2 post-war British youth cultures centered around Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American music — the Skinhead movement and the Northern Soul experience.
Voices of Hate, Sounds of Hybridity: Black Music and the Complexities of Racism (PDF: 1MB)
probably nothing mind shattering and even if none of it is news to you, still some interesting first person accounts of what went on in London and other places in the 60s and 70s, perhaps giving us insight into the political dimension of music and its consumption in our own time.
NGOMA SOUND 
