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viewing 1 To 11 of 11 items
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LP
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NNT 018LP
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As Metal Preyers, London's Jesse Hackett and Chicago-based Mariano Chavez distill a sozzled, bleary impression of their time spent with Lord Tusk and a crack squad of Ugandan musicians in Kampala, 2019 for the indomitable Nyege Nyege Tapes. Documenting the result of six weeks of making music, art, and videos, and Waragi Gin-fueled rides into Kampala's nightlife, Metal Preyers takes form as an industrial/ambient film soundtrack for Chavez and Hackett's visual art produced under the Teeth Agency moniker. Joined by a full battery of traditional percussion and strings, plus the canny use of whistling and Lord Tusk's rude sound system sensibilities, the Afro-Anglo-Americano ensemble serve a triple AAA-rated trip that lures listeners into their intoxicated/intoxicating state of mind and effectively connotes the experience of a jag deep into the belly of Uganda's thrilling, sprawling capital city at a crossroads of East and Central Africa. It's not the first time Jesse Hackett has worked with Ugandan musicians -- his 2017 album Ennanga Vision (SNDW 105CD/LP) saw him teamed with electro-acholi stars Otim Alpha, Geoffrey Opiyo Twongweno, and Albert Bisaso Ssempeke - however the vibe this time is more psychedelic in a road-level, grimy and noisy style thanks to the expanded plate of inputs, including an all-star Ugandan roll call of Otim Alpha, multi-instrumentalist Lawrence Okello, percussionist Omutaba, and Rian Treanor-collaborator Ocen, all girded by the vital ruggedness of London underground don, Lord Tusk. In their pair of "Dream Sequence" suites the album freewheels with delirious style, from mechanically musical drones in the title track to a quietly febrile conclusion recalling Craig Leon's Nommos (2013). Bouts of melodically stressed noise give way to gin-steeped sing-song, chunks of chopped-&-screwed gristle, and dizzy clusters of Singeli-esque rhythm in a stop/start, unpredictable manner that frankly hasn't been done on record quite like this before. DJs will find ways of working this material into sets, although the album is really best swallowed in one for an intense, soundtrack-like experience that recalls the drunken rowdiness of films like "Wake In Fright" or a febrile Safdie Brothers flick set in Uganda, and speaks directly to the thrill of Kampala's atmosphere at night. RIYL: The Wild Bunch, Craig Leon, King Midas Sound, Talking Heads. Mastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Edition of 300.
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10"
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NNT 017EP
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Roving punk ethnomusicologist Julien Hairon, aka Judgitzu, delivers fire on Uganda's Nyege Nyege Tapes with two cuts of high tension, cheek-pulling club G-force. After spending the past six years recording soundscapes and traditional musicians across Asia, Oceania, and Africa, and releasing them on his Les Cartes Postales Sonores label (along with reissues of tape and CD discoveries on his petPets label), Judgitzu's finally presents his first electronic music productions as the result of his residency in Tanzania since 2017. Clearly inspired by the domestic, hyperlocal sound of Singeli, but more stripped and tipped towards minimalism, the results have been lighting up clubs, back-rooms and festivals from Kampala to Salford and beyond over summer 2019, and are only set to go further with this full release. "Umeme" is grade-A rocket fuel that runs at 180bpm for nearly seven minutes of unyielding, panic-inducing stabs and undulating bass rhythms. It starts up ferociously and does not let go until the end, sustaining a state of high alertness that will leave even the most reckless ravers breathless but ready to go again. "Kelele" follows with equal regard for your heart rate and rave health, but this time by stealth and less in-your-face, filtering the drums with field recordings of revving motorbikes and squawking animals in an ebb and flow of pilly rushes and tropical hyperdelia. Hands-down it's one of 2019's deadliest dancefloor sessions and hopefully the start of many to come from an exemplary new producer.
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2LP
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NNT 016LP
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Nyege Nyege Tapes spotlight the charming, young style of Electro Acholi from the Luo of Northern Uganda with a compilation of zippy rhythms and ear-worm hooks by 15 artists. Electro Acholi is the plugged-in version of traditional Acholi courtship songs from the region around the cities of Gulu and Lira, in an area spanning north Uganda and southern Sudan. This compilation surveys the sound's golden years circa 2003-2008, when a brutal civil war in north Uganda meant that traditional, larger wedding ensembles of up to 25 players were too costly, and younger producers with access to Fruity Loops and video editing facilities stepped in to fill a gap in the market. Using samples and synthesis, they created custom, sped-up versions of traditional songs and performed them at the ceremonies, leading the sound to spill out into local nightspots such as the Alobo Night Club and the Opit Travellers Inn. Scaling from a balmy 106bpm in the likes of Brother Q & City Boy's slinky bumper "Can Deg Ming", to pelting up-tempo styles embellished with local instrumentation, such as Pro Lagwee's "Rwot Moo", and the quick, all-electronic backing to the call-and-response vocals of "Kolo (Dog Mix)" by Opiyo Twongweno, the set affords a privileged insight to modern Acholi music usually omitted from the "world music" racks. Now for the first time, pioneers of the style such as Bosmic Otim and the breezy swang of "Bandera Pa Kaka", Lakoc Jojo with the cracking stepper "Apiyo Nyara", or the mellifluous Lady Grace Atim and her acidic banger "Adoko Gwok" take their place alongside Otim Alpha to present the best of Electro Acholi to keen-eared dancers everywhere. Effectively a continuation of NNT's ongoing archaeology of the Luo people's sonic culture, following the roots excavation of Langi Griot and thumb piano player, Ekuka, and the branches of Otim Alpha on his single string fiddle and drum machine, Electro Acholi Kaboom is an unmissable, even rare, survey of a critical, metamorphic phase shift between ancient, analog worlds, and digitized modernism. Also features Baby Davlin, Jahria Okwera, Pan Afrique, Ojegele, Tabu Buzy Body, Zing Zang, and Jeff Korondo. RIYL: Shangaan Electro, Soca, Singeli. Clear vinyl; Mastered at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.
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LP
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NNT 012LP
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Nyege Nyege Tapes' revelatory first Singeli series culminates with a rush from scene bossman Mohamed Hamza Ally, aka Sisso, whose studio in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania is the epicenter of the world's most thrilling, punkish new dance style. Arriving after incendiary instalments in 2018 by Bamba Pana (NNT 008LP), Jay Mitta (NNT 010LP), and Duke (NNT 011LP), and the introductory Sounds of Sisso compilation in 2017 (NNT 005LP), the Mateso album pulls focus back to the scene's lynchpin with eight none-more-compelling cuts of breakneck loops and helter-skelter riffs on vinyl, supplemented by a tape with equally exhilarating bonus material awaiting quick clickers and dancers. The collected 16 tracks chronicle Sisso's work over the past four years, spanning a period after his informal studio in the sprawling ghettos of Dar-Es-Salaam grew from a small shack selling DVDs and MP3s, to come to catalyze countless new releases from local producers such as Bamba Pana, DJ Longo, and Balotelli, as well as a wave of new MC's, including Makavelli, Cad Reedah, Anti Virus, Dogo Muchi, Dogo Mjanja, Rehema Tajiri, and Yung Yuda. Sisso's productions epitomize Singeli's hyperlocal scenius, distilling the vitality and struggle of life of the fringes of the Swahili-speaking world's most populous city, into a unique music which seems to reflect the idea of keeping a cool head in frenetic situations. Between his ratchet rhythms and pitched-up melodies there's a sublime, unresolved tension at play, where the music feels to accelerate so fast that dancers are gliding, sustaining a breathlessly "up" effect that uncannily recalls mid '90s UK happy hardcore as much as Chicago footwork, Caribbean Soca, and Shangaan disco, yet with a psychotomimetic appeal all of its own. The tracks on Mateso are no doubt some of Singeli's most potently direct and crafty, circling from proper knees-up whirligigs to hyper, laser-riffing funk, ecstatic choral cut-ups, and hard but super-sweet steppers that will spark off any up-for-it dance the world over. Mastered and cut by Matt Colton. Pressed on emerald green vinyl.
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LP
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NNT 011LP
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Nyege Nyege Tapes deliver another volley of breathless Singeli from Tanzania, this time the vinyl debut of Duke showcasing the sound of Pamoja Records, following multiple zingers from the scene's core Sisso Studios. Yet again making practically everything else seem pedestrian and tepid by contrast, Duke's take on Dar Es Salaam's Singeli style is ruthlessly fast and rugged, crammed with colorful samples and, quite crucially, loaded with a pair of blistering vocal tracks starring MCZO & Don Tach, and Dogo Lizzi, respectively. In Uingizaji Hewa the tempos thrillingly tilt over the 200bpm mark, but they're held in check with a clutch of slower instrumentals written in Duke's newer hip hop Singeli style. When he goes fast, dancers will know about it in the likes of "Naona Laaah" featuring machine gun rapid rhythms somehow matched for pace by MCZO & Don Tach, and again in the pedal-to-the-metal recklessness of "M Lap" starring Dogo Lizzi switching up from dancehall bark to fasssst-chat styles that put Daddy Freddy to bed. But those hi-NRG bombs are only half the story. The rest of the LP shows off Duke's wicked way with a hook and the diversity of his drum programming in highlights ranging from the PC Music-compatible bounce of "Sing4444444", to the cascading chromatic licks and slow/fast suss of "Duke 4", the joyful dervish of "Duke Bit Puyo", and two dizzying pieces with spiraling, Bollywood-style vocal samples that close the record with a blinding flourish. RIYL: Sounds of Sisso (NNT 005LP), PC Music, Shangaan Electro. Master and cut by Matt Colton. White vinyl; edition of 300.
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LP
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NNT 010LP
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The hyper blaze of Jay Mitta's debut album, Tatizo Pesa kicks off a trio of searing singeli albums from the sound's ground zero: the Sisso Studios of the Mburahati ghetto, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. A breathtaking boost of 180bpm+ rhythms, syncopated loops and nagging hooks, Tatizo Pesa notably introduces 13-year-old MC sensation Dogo Janja alongside nine knockout instrumentals that make much western dance music seem prissy and pedestrian. Dispatched by the acclaimed Nyege Nyege Tapes from Kampala, Uganda, Tatizo Pesa presents the raw, untrammeled energy of Tanzanian singeli with immediate effect. Like his peers, Bamba Pana, DJ Balotelli, and DJ Longo, Jay Mitta combines traces of older, local folk melodies with elements of "bongo flava", or up-to-the-minute Swahili rap music, but at breakneck tempos that give the sound its inexorable energy and verve. Their style takes traditional music into orbit of contemporary, accelerated styles ranging from Grenadian jab jab/soca to Chicago footwork, hardcore UK rave and French flashcore. Jay Mitta's debut offering renders the lushest, variegated spectrum of singeli since the style emerged in its current form only a few years ago. On the one hand he plays up to pure rave needs with outright steamers such as "Don Bet", and the ratchet tension of "Mwakidimba", but they're balanced with hip-hop swagger in the standout title tune featuring 13-year-old Dogo Janja, and the deep south bounce-esque of "Masera", while the mercurial quickstep of "Dura" and "Mchuma Bet" are bound to snag wider-eared ravers with their so-fast-they're-weightless string and key arrangements. It's very hard to ignore that with Tatizo Pesa, Jay Mitta has produced a new and unmissable high-water mark of the ancient yet up-to-the-second east African music bound to translate directly to all willing bodies. Mastered and cut by Matt Colton. Edition of 300, blue vinyl.
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LP
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NNT 009LP
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After almost 15 years of peddling his own music on the streets of Mbale, Robert Mugamba's Kadodi finally gets a proper introduction to the outside world thanks to the increasingly vital Nyege Nyege Tapes crew. Kadodi pairs a transfixing percussive soundtrack with modern electronic contributions from Bamba Pana and Sun C, resulting in another remarkable document from the pearl of Africa. Extending privileged insight to the way ancient practices meet modernism near the Equator in East Africa, Kadodi renders a set of mesmerizing, rhythm-melodic percussion and crowd hollers, along with electrifying reinterpretations by local, East Ugandan producer Sun C and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania's Bamba Pana. Placing ageless ritual music alongside its club antecedents, the results find tradition frictionlessly reconciled with modernism, drawing bridges between tribal identities and ancient belief systems, and clubs as contemporary sites of ritual enactment. The musical aspect of the ceremony is intended to induce initiates to a trance state, readying them to transcend from boyhood (basinde) into men (basani). The twice-yearly rites of passage are such an occasion that their soundtrack has now transcended from original ritual use to find its ways into nightclubs, thanks to producers such as DMX, Papas and Sun C - the pioneer of Kadodi music's shift into electronic spheres. On Kadodi, the ceremony starts on side A and continues into side B, documenting the Domadana Kadodi Performers brewing a bristling frenzy of polymetric percussion with hypnotic intensity coming as a result of their natural complexity. Following this utterly unique situation, Mbale native Sun C offers a near-ten-minute electronic reinterpretation of Kadodi music on "Kaad 4", mirroring the breathless cadence and intensity of the original in its sustained pitches and intricate syncopation of pipes and pointillist percussions. And you can trust Bamba Pana to take that one step farther on "Wateranga", where he ramps the original drums with Singeli-style pattern and pace to irresistibly energetic effect. This is incredible, unique music. Master and vinyl cut by Matt Colton. Edition of 300.
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LP
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NNT 008LP
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Nyege Nyege Tapes follow the frenetic Sounds of Sisso comp with Bamba Pana's debut album, Poaa -- an incredible second volley of grimy Singeli fire from the belly of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Jumanne Ramadhani Zegge a.k.a. Bamba Pana is one of the core producers, alongside Jay Mitta, of the Sisso studio -- a central hub for MCs and producers in the Mburahati ghetto on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam. Along with his peers, Bamba Pana uses a laptop and software to update the local, usually acoustic and instrumental style of Singeli, computerizing its hyper rhythms and zinging melodies for the needs of younger, contemporary crowds in an upfront, direct way that has translated far beyond its East African roots, as anyone who witnessed the Sounds of Sisso tour or heard the compilation will surely attest. As a debut album statement, Poaa could hardly be more distinguished. Perhaps best compared with the urgent tempi and quicksilver syncopation of Shangaan Electro or Angolan Kuduro to outsiders, it's effectively a form of Tanzanian grime or hard dance music, using rapid-fire, hypnotic rhythmelodies to drive crowds to dance in thrilling, new ways. Bar one killer cut, "Linga Linga" featuring the distinctive bark of Bamba Pana's long-time vocal foil, MC Makavelli, the set is entirely instrumental with voices used only as strobing rhythmic filaments. The other eight tracks range from an "introduction to brand new dance from Africa" in "Agaba Kibati," to what sounds like turbo speed makina in "Biti Three," whereas "Baria" hops from shredding synths to hyper-colored percussion in wild style. Meanwhile "Biti Six" features some of the set's giddiest harmonies, spiraling so fast they evoke weightlessness, while "Kusini" is patently compatible with the ruffest P. Adrix riddims for Príncipe, and the incendiary "Pooa Bama Rmx" provides a breathless 145bpm race to the finish that feels twice as fast, thanks to its inimitable, needlepoint percolations.
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2LP
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NNT 007LP
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Ekuka is a mesmerizing survey of Ekuka Morris Sirikiti's thumb piano performances broadcast on radio stations in North Uganda between 1978-2003. All previously unheard beyond the stations' range of transmission, Hailing from the Langi tribe of Lira, Northern Uganda, legendary local griot Ekuka Morris Sirikiti performs his music in various situations -- festivities, market days, and other gatherings -- on a homemade foot/drum contraption coupled with the Lukeme; a small, handheld thumb piano that produces flurries of metallic rhythm-melody under deft digits, and is maybe best known as an Mbira in its heavily distorted use by the Democratic Republic of Congo's amazing Konono Nº1, as well as myriad other recordings from the vast Central and East African region. Entirely comprising home recordings of the original radio broadcasts made on various devices, the music on Ekuka is understandably distorted to differing degrees, resulting in a broad spectrum of fidelities that are both unavoidable and inherent to the music, its reception, and its perception by those who didn't catch the broadcast as it happened. The 12 songs selected zig-zag across the timeline 1978-2003, with an alternating patina of ferric noise that camouflages their chronology -- it's difficult and unnecessary to discern their recording dates, as the songs serve a timeless social purpose, from everyday reminders to be a good husband; take your kids to school; and don't disturb the wife of your son; to Government commissioned warnings about venereal diseases, drinking alcohol, and paying taxes. Considering this all took place against the backdrop of tribal warfare and cattle raids by rebels, the raucous laughter on "In Boloney For Ayinet" demonstrates the humor and pathos behind the songs in a way that may literally escape listeners elsewhere. And in that context Ekuka is quite unlike most other vintage recordings which resurface outside of Africa beyond, say, Honest Jon's Something Is Wrong and Bellyachers, Listen (HJR 050-1LP) sets, which admittedly document a much earlier period circa 1938-1957, but were also selected from recordings not specifically or even vaguely conceived for the international market. As with Nyege Nyege Tapes' previous dispatches from modern day Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, Ekuka provides a genuinely street-level, unfiltered perspective on unfathomably long-rooted traditions in a way that sounds incredibly fresh, unfamiliar, and hugely interesting to keen ears. Master by Matt Colton at Alchemy.
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2LP
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NNT 003LP
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None-more-vital East African label Nyege Nyege Tapes present Otim Alpha's melodic electro Acholi bangers on vinyl for the first time, following suit with their blazing, acclaimed Sounds Of Sisso compilation (NNT 005LP). Alpha's debut international release Gulu City Anthems features 11 songs written and recorded between 2004 and 2015 in Northern Uganda and ranges from hi-velocity bangers to more romantic mid-tempo swagger, all serving a totally infectious showcase of his plugged-in take on traditional Larakaraka wedding music that's bound to get a lot of listeners itching for a +1 invite to one of his ceremonial sessions (crashing is always an option, too!). Working with producer Leo Palayeng, Otim essentially computerized Acholi wedding music, weaving its traditional, see-sawing folk fiddles and call-and-response vocals with stripped, pounding drum machine polyrhythms in a sort of hypnotic, minimalist delirium. For the most part, it's properly up-tempo, with some searing highlights in the likes of his wickedly off-kilter jig "Kodi Pa Barikiya (Kwan)", the jabbing clash of almost cajun-style rapid-fire riffs and turbo-charged toms in "Toni G", or the Detroit/Chicago ghetto-compatible bang of "Too Wiye Ming-Alphazo". But there's also one super-charming piece called "Agiki Ne Tye" which works at a relatively leisurely 120bpm with strolling bass and bright, joyful chord cadence, presumably intended to allow the party a sweet breather. Following Alpha's recent, stellar introductory live show at Unsound '17, this collection is set to impress eager ears beyond Uganda and the East African scene, and is surely destined to be lodged in record collections somewhere between your Shangaan Electro, Konono No.1 and Caribbean soca faves -- in other words: your party-starting section. Remastered and cut to vinyl by Matt Colton at Alchemy.
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2LP
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NNT 005LP
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Pure Singeli fire from Tanzania's febrile Dar Es Salaam underground, showcasing the punkish sounds of the Sisso Records studio with a belter volley of hi-velocity missiles for Kampala, Uganda's Nyege Nyege Tapes. Hitting frenetic levels of velocity comparable with full on soca or Shangaan electro styles as much as Northern British takes on happy hardcore and Makina, trust there's no messing about with this one. This is a bracing first introduction to the Singeli sound, whose collision of souped-up rhythmic energy and breathless bars should immediately translate far beyond its east African base. Across the 14 tracks of Sounds of Sisso you're familiarized with the sound's core producers -- Bwax, Sisso, Tampa Pana, and Yung Keyz Morento -- and its amazing fast chat MCs -- Dogo Niga (aka Bobani) and Makaveli -- with a totally uncompromising style that can't help but make most other dance music sound a bit pale and limp by comparison. No matter where you're from, this is patently music for raving to, combining punkish, satirical lyrics about the challenges of Tanzania's youth -- from police corruption to dating when you're broke -- with productions that scream get mad get mad in a way that's maybe best associated with hedonistic noise or gabber. However, this is from Dar Es Slaam, and they've got some heavy style down there. From the near cheek-pulling G-force of Bwax and S Kide's "Baba Aminata Natafuta Kiki" to the mental, cut-up intro and rapido attack of "TMK" by Suma, nobody lets the pressure gauge tick below fucking off it, pal, taking in the chipmunked Bollywood chorus and speecore pace of Dogo Niga's "Polisi" and the Shangaan/Soca-like hybrid "Mshamba Wa Kideo" from Mzee Wa Bwax or the Nu Monkey-on-tour styles of "Kimbau Mbau" along with the Nkisi-esque jag of Maseke, Pasopa and Mako's "Roho Inauma". But, there are also some sweeter and hip hop styled freaks, too; check for the warped hip hop knock of "Nammiliki" from Makaveli, or the sugar-rush of Csso's "Shobo" and the hyper colourful soundsystem FX of "Ndugulawama". Also features Dogo Suma Lupozi, Dogo Mudiy, Ganzi Mdudu. Remastered and cut by Matt Colton.
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