Congo's turbulent and exhilarating '70s: Nightclubs and dance floors were packed to the brim in the capital, Kinshasa. Exuberant crowds, still giddy from independence a decade prior, grooved to the sounds of the country`s classics. In fact the whole continent was submerged into the Congolese Rumba craze. Encouraged by the fantastic productions of the Ngoma label, vibrant radio waves had been spreading the Congo sound from Leopoldville all over the continent, becoming the countries' No.1 export. The unexpected success nurtured an incredible wealth of talented musicians. One of them was Verckys, who, at age 18, became a member of the country´s most dominant and influential band; Franco´s OK Jazz.

'African grooves with a more laidback feel can be found on this excellent retrospective. Leader Verckys is one of the titans of Congolese music, a former Franco associate whose exploration of the region's folkloric rhythms like the cavacha was laregly responsible for the soukous beat which followed. The ten tracks here are magnificent, upful rhythm zephyrs.' The Wire

In the early 1980s, a particular alchemy between new musical technologies and significant social, cultural, and political transformations in Ghana gave rise to a new style of highlife. Drum machines and synthesisers appeared alongside lilting guitar lines and punchy horns, and the emerging Ghanaian diaspora began incorporating US disco and boogie, R&B, European new wave, and Caribbean zouk and soca into their music.

Originally surfacing on Duncan Brooker’s indie Kona label in early 2001, the album single-handedly kick-started the thirst among jazz, funk and soul fans and ‘diggers’ to rediscover lost music from Africa made during the ‘60s and ‘70s from a time when many countries were gaining independence and celebrating a Pan-African identity within their music. This compilation paved the way for Strut's brilliant Nigeria 70 compilation as well as labels like Soundway and Analog Africa! Out of print for over 8 years, the album has been reissued on Strut in its original form with an extra bonus track, a dynamite unreleased psychedelic cut by Kenya’s Ishmael Jingo.

The making of Congo Funk!, our long-awaited journey to the musical heart of the African continent, took the Analog Africa Team on two journeys to Kinshasa and one to Brazzaville. Selected meticulously from around 2000 songs and boiled down to 14, this compilation aims to showcase the many facets of the funky, hypnotic and schizophrenic tunes emanating from the two Congolese capitals nestled on the banks of the Congo River.

«Medicine Man Orchestra» is a sensory journey through the spiritual worlds of West African griots. It explores the emotional and medicinal power of music and words across borders and throughout history.

Sing to emancipate the African woman. A unique encounter between the Bantu lullabies of the Congo, electronic music and hip-hop. A hybrid project which gives pride of place to dance and which highlights the daily life of Congolese women in a daring way and above all connected with the times. Gladys Samba, renowned singer and percussionist, had for years wanted to revive and popularize the lullabies of the Republic of Congo, considered as a true cultural heritage of his region. In 2018, with the help of the Institut Francais du Congo, she succeeded in doing this with the show "Les Mamans du Congo". Forks, plates, baskets, pestles and recovery equipment accompany with rhythm and subtlety the voices of the five mothers of the Congo. For his part in France, the artist Rrobin has been exploring electronic music and hip-hop since 2013.

Les Amazones d’Afrique is a creative force that embraces international voices; sweet, strong harmonies that summon the rights of women and girls; and a meltdown of heritage and new gen talent. They were formed in Bamako, Mali, in 2014 by three renowned Malian music stars and social change activists, Mamani Keïta, Oumou Sangaré and Mariam Doumbia, and the collective has since expanded to involve many female artists from across Africa and the diaspora.

Seven years in the making, the official retrospective of one of Somalia's most famous and beloved private bands, Iftin. Digitized from cassettes recorded between 1982 and 1987 at the legendary Al-Uruba hotel's secret studio and the jams for the masses performed in the basement of Somalia's national theater. Banaadiri rhythms from Somalia's south, Mogadishu's finest vocalists, Dhaanto reggae-like guitar licks, and smoldering brass blend seamlessly with the sounds of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to form one of rawest, most cosmopolitan eras of music anywhere. Iftin's Mogadishu is where the world's sounds begin and end.

Wah Wah 45s are very proud to announce the release of Kalba, the first album from Ghanaian xylophone master Isaac Birituro and Leeds-based producer and singer- songwriter Sonny Johns AKA The Rail Abandon.

Konkolo Orchestra is a Zürich/Switzerland based project initiated by multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Alexis Malefakis. With strong jazzy afrobeat and highlife references, Konkolo Orchestra pays homage to musical innovators such as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Tony Oladipo Allen, Ebo Taylor and many more.

Soul Jazz Records new ‘Apala: Apala Groups in Nigeria 1967-70’ is the first ever collection of Apala music to be released outside of Nigeria. The album focusses on a wide selection of recordings made in Nigeria in the 1960s, a time when Apala music was at the height of its popularity. Apala is a deeply rhythmical, hypnotic and powerful musical style that combines the striking nasal-style vocals and traditions of Islamic music, the Agidigbo (thumb piano), and the equally powerful drumming and percussion rhythms and techniques of the Yoruba of Nigeria.