Nyege Nyege Tapes Vinyl, CD & Tape 13 Items

^Following 2019's acclaimed self-titled debut album, Metal Preyers take the left hand path into a gloomy backwater filled with haunted creatures and fraught with peril. "Shadow Swamps" again finds London-based Jesse Hackett handling the music and Chicago's Mariano Chavez fashioning the album's visual identity, which this time includes a short film and book for a fully immersive experience. "Shadow Swamps" is the soundtrack to a pitch-black fairy tale about a father and daughter as they journey through a swamp avoiding gremlins, red swines and crater creatures. Musically, it pivots between the clattering Czech new wave experimentation of "Valerie and her Week of Wonders" composer Lubos Fiser, or the magical, eccentric lounge of Birmingham's Broadcast, and the grinding industrial grot of Italian pioneer Maurizio Bianchi.This time around, Hackett has roped in production assists from his six year-old-daughter wonder Nyasha hackett who used phone memos to record herself singing - veteran Metal Preyers collaborator Lord Tusk, and Manchester-based painter, DJ and producer Richard Harris, aka Sockethead. The crew inks an unsettling, richly textured sonic landscape, with claws of rhythmic smoke curling around chiming otherworldly xylophone, disembodied fiddle drones echoing over screwed 'n chopped beatbox dirt and half-heard magical vocals buried under clouds of white noise.

When first released on limited edition tape in 2018, Les Experience electro Maloya was the first ever compilation of Jako Maron's plugged-in updates of the traditional, politicized form of folk music from Réunion, a tiny island off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Like séga, Réunion's other main musical style, Maloya's origins can be traced back to African slaves and indentured Indian workers. But unlike séga, Maloya's stripped down drum 'n bow rhythms and call-and-response vocals, which were originally used as ritual mediations as far back as the 17th C., have become a form of protest music favoured by the island's creole population in the 1900's, leading it to be banned during the '70s because of its associations with the Communist party.Jako Maron's electro Maloya instrumentals are perhaps less explicitly politicised, yet they still carry the charge of eons of encrypted ritual thru their geometric designs and inexorable dancefloor traction. In 11 parts, Maron uses modular synthesis and drum machines to mutate and relay Maloya's meaning for the island modern indigenous population as well as users far beyond the island. This new vinyl edition includes four previously unreleased tracks from the same period.The results are some of the canniest, most infectious recordings we've heard from this region of the world, all generally (but not exclusively) working with slow tempos and a range of humid, piquant, and hypnotic synthlines that lend the sound to strong comparison with everything from Equiknoxx's mutant dancehall thru the current Flex sound outta NYC, to the sorta crooked dembow fusions explored by Brian Piñeyro (DJ Python/DJ Wey) and that recent Drew McDowell X Hiro Kone EP, or even the acid modulations of his Belgian namesake, Ro Maron.

When first released on limited edition tape in 2018, Les Experience electro Maloya was the first ever compilation of Jako Maron's plugged-in updates of the traditional, politicized form of folk music from Réunion, a tiny island off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Like séga, Réunion's other main musical style, Maloya's origins can be traced back to African slaves and indentured Indian workers. But unlike séga, Maloya's stripped down drum 'n bow rhythms and call-and-response vocals, which were originally used as ritual mediations as far back as the 17th C., have become a form of protest music favoured by the island's creole population in the 1900's, leading it to be banned during the '70s because of its associations with the Communist party.Jako Maron's electro Maloya instrumentals are perhaps less explicitly politicised, yet they still carry the charge of eons of encrypted ritual thru their geometric designs and inexorable dancefloor traction. In 11 parts, Maron uses modular synthesis and drum machines to mutate and relay Maloya's meaning for the island modern indigenous population as well as users far beyond the island. This new vinyl edition includes four previously unreleased tracks from the same period.The results are some of the canniest, most infectious recordings we've heard from this region of the world, all generally (but not exclusively) working with slow tempos and a range of humid, piquant, and hypnotic synthlines that lend the sound to strong comparison with everything from Equiknoxx's mutant dancehall thru the current Flex sound outta NYC, to the sorta crooked dembow fusions explored by Brian Piñeyro (DJ Python/DJ Wey) and that recent Drew McDowell X Hiro Kone EP, or even the acid modulations of his Belgian namesake, Ro Maron.

In 2018, Rian Treanor left his home in Rotherham, UK, and headed to Kampala for a residency at Nyege Nyege's villa studio. The mind-expanding experience inspired his critically acclaimed 2020 full-length "File Under UK Metaplasm", but that wasn't the end of the story. Treanor also spent time working alongside Acholi fiddle player Ocen James, developing an improvisation-heavy collaboration that would push both musicians' idiosyncrasies into completely new places.Treanor wanted this collaboration to be as tactile and reactive as a live performance with traditional instruments, so he set about working on a digital process that would synchronize with James' approach. Using physical modeling techniques, Treanor created an instrument that explored the tunings and sounds of the a'dungu, an arched harp, and the nah or nag. With Ocen playing his rigi rigi, a single string violin, they intuitively experimented with the spectral properties of sound, using texture and acoustic contours as their structural framework. They were able to develop a sound together that was unconventionally rooted in traditional Ugandan culture, but shuttled into different dimensions of noise, computer music and radical UK rave."Saccades" is the buffer between two vastly different sonic universes, united in respect and sprightly curiosity. Treanor's hyperactive computer-controlled rhythms are immediately identifiable on opening track 'Bunga Bule', but the sound palette is distinct: it's more flexible and less digital. James' expressionistic fiddle strokes are a revelation, contorted into hoarse squeals and rough vibrations that rub and flex off Treanor's tin can shuffle. The fertile back and forth continues through the ruff DSP tumble of 'As It Happens', before James cracks open the melodic core of his instrument on 'The Dead Centre', allowing Treanor to dispense with rhythm and meet his fiddle strokes with heavenly drones.Each track steps down a different avenue for the two artists, from the nightmarish microtonal twang of 'Memory P...

In 2003, Pisco Crane assembled a six-piece band from motivated and talented like minds in the Kinshasa slums where he grew up. Pisco had been involved with a handful of local rap acts when he was younger, but after meeting legendary instrument builder Bebson De La Rue, he was inspired to follow a new path. He set about building instruments from the discarded trash that surrounded his city: bits of old computers or oil cans were fashioned into bass guitars and drums, and keyboards were bashed together using springs, metal pipes, and offcuts of tubing. If there was a core philosophy that guided Pisco at this stage in his journey, it was that everyone should have access to instruments, no matter where they come from or what their budget might be. And following in the footsteps of Bebson, Pisco locked into a Congolese tradition that touches on the eccentric genius of globally lauded artists like Konono N§1 and Staff Benda Bilili. Over the years, Fulu Miziki's notoriety grew in the Kinshasa underground - their utopian vision of the future was infectious. Eventually, they were joined by performance artist, sculptor and fashion designer Lady Aisha, who offered the band unique colour and a soulful central focus. Influenced by Kinshasa's street performance scene, Aisha helped the band devise vivid masks and costumes that were as electric and singular as the instruments they played, and the scene was set. In 2020, as the world was plunged into lockdown, footage of Fulu Mziki went viral and their star began to grow exponentially, with a video of the band preforming the track 'Tikanga' racking up millions of views on Facebook. The band used this opportunity to work on documenting their sound, and shored up at the Nyege Nyege studios in Kampala for a year to assemble a definitive album. Recorded by HHY & The Macumbas' Jonathan Saldanha, this record captures the band's furiously innovative mixture of industrial sonics, spiritual jazz, punk, and Congolese soukous pressure. At their best, Fulu Mziki sound almost completely out of time, curving pounding rhythms around microtonal clanks, rousing chants and spiky sonics. On 'Mutangila', there's a hint of disco in the 4/4 stomp, but it's been shifted into a post-punk ritual, adorned with complex bell percussion and overlapping vocals. 'Congo' is even harder to define; electrified buzzes form a bassline, but it's the mindboggling rhythms that shuttle the track into psychedelic realms, led confidently by Lady Aisha's limber rhymes. Fulu positively slither on the sultry, industrial-influenced 'Sebe', while 'Tikanga' reminds of Congo's rumba-derived soukous traditions, materializing the sounds into the future with tight, pounding percussion and head-melting fx. The story of Fulu Miziki is sprawling and complex and constantly evolving, with various offshoots and band iterations. Two members left the band in 2016 to form Kokoko! with French producer Débruit. Not long after they recorded this magnum opus album, several other original members left to form a similarly named outfit currently based in Europe. This other incarnation recently released an EP of electronic productions without the band founder Pisko Crane and lead vocalist Lady Aicha, on the UK based Moshi Moshi records. Pisco and Lady Aicha currently lead a different outfit in Kinshasa made up of completely new musicians. This full-length is the remaining proof of Fulu Miziki at their most vital and most complete - it won't be repeated - and can never be recreated. It's an essential portrait of one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's most innovative contemporary outfits, and some of the most surprising hybrid music you're likely to hear.

At only 19 years old, Dar Es Salaam's DJ Travella represents a new wave of singeli producers who are driving Tanzania's breakneck dance sound into fresh, innovative spaces. Unaffiliated with any of the well-known studios like Sisso and Pamoja, Hamadi Hassani's music points singeli's fusion of taraab and techno towards the stars, locating a cyber-singeli style that's dense, kinetic and unashamedly sexy.Hassani started producing at 15, and a few years later his debut is a jagged set of hi-nrg dance music that pulls influence from across the globe, folding together elements of dembow, rave, R&B, and trap. But nothing's straightforward: opening track 'Crazy Beat Music Umeme 2' juxtaposes grinding 200bpm rhythmic intensity with urgent plucked strings, sounding like Timbaland conjuring a Thunderdome soundtrack for a Tanzanian street party.'Crazy Beat Music Umeme 4' is even more barbed, with neon rave synths and hand-jammed percussion that's one part 808 Mafia and one part DJ Diaki. On 'London Bandcamp', Travella meshes hi-speed singeli backbeats with downtempo dembow kicks, squeezing out unexpected sleaze in the process, while on 'London Uwoteeee' there's an almost romantic sparkle, with ethereal vocals draped across woodblock cracks and whistles.But Travella sounds most nimble when giving the nod to Atlanta, and his merging of earworm synth hooks and neck-snapping East African rhythms on tracks like 'London Jomon Beat' will leave no doubt that the young producer is capable of bending singeli completely to his will.

Ounds Of Pamoja Is Nyege Nyege Tapes' Latest Foray Into The World Of Tanzania Singeli, The Breakneck Dance Strain That's Quickly Moved From Dar Es Salaam Throughout The World. Following "Sounds Of Sisso", A Compilation That Focused Mostly On The Tanzanian Capital's Sisso Studios, This Set Highlights Recordings From Duke's Pamoja Records. And While Its Predecessor Brought Attention To The Producers, "Sounds Of Pamoja" Showcases The Wide Variety Of Mc Talent Under The Pamoja Records Umbrella, With Production Mostly Handled By Duke.Tanzania Is A Country Of Young People Almost Half Of Its Population Is Under 15 Years Old And Singeli Is A Young Genre. Duke Started Making Music When He Was 13 Years Old, And By The Time He Was 18 He Had Opened The Pamoja Records Studio. He's Joined On The Compilation By A Talented Cast Of Young Local Talent: 20 Year Old Pirato Mc, 19 Year Old Dogo Kibo, 20 Year Old Mc Kuke, Dogo Lizzy, Mc Dinho, Mc Kidene And Mczo, The Versatile Rapper Who Accompanied Duke On A Selection Of Global Tour Dates.The Music Is Fresh And Unpredictable, Switching Beats Every Few Bars And Rattling Through Hyper-Local Dance Styles With Jagged, Joyful Ease. But It's The Mcs That Push "Sounds Of Pamoja '' To The Next Level, Capitalizing On The Vitality Of Dar Es Salaam's Musical Landscape As They Trade Bars, Switch Flows And Somehow Keep Up With Duke's Lightning-Fast Productions. It's Breathtakingly Unique Dance Music That Recalls The Youthful Spirit Of Detroit Techno Or Footwork, With Rapid Body Movement, Social Combustion And Tongue Twisting Lyrical One Upmanship Guiding The Rudder.

Silver Vinyl LP.A member of of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Fulu Miziki band, the long-running eco activist collective forging experimental rhythmic music from repurposed trash, Kinshasa's DJ Finale dives into his country's history to brainstorm a dauntless hybrid dance sound. Kinshasa has long been a hotspot of musical fusion and innovation, and Finale builds on the popular template of soukous, or kwassa kwassa - a sound that developed in the mid-20th century from the rhythms of Cuban rumba and flexible emotionality of jazz.While soukous was initially performed with traditional instruments, Finale takes a minimal electronic approach, melting familiar rhythms into other Congolese trad-moderne styles like n'dombolo. 'Basss 30' bolts a brittle swinging beat over white noise bursts and acidic synth sounds; 'Pitschu Debou' features Fulu Miziki's Deboul on vocals, and folds soukous guitar riffs into a stark neo-trap frame; 'Tobandi' is raw and industrial, like Muslimgauze but aimed at the late night/early morning club set, with dangerous blasts of whirring electronics and jerky Congolese rhythms."Mille Morceau" is a thoughtful mitigation of the Democratic Republic of Congo's past and present. It celebrates Kinshasa's rich history, while remaining proud of an energetic, youthful contemporary scene that's ready to look far beyond the borders.

Gold with Black Splatter Vinyl.It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America.This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver.On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time.Assembled from heaving industrial sam...

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America.This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver.On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time.Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth...

From Its Founding In The Late 14th Century, The Kingdom Of Buganda Has Been Celebrated Through Sound And Nurtured A Rich Musical Tradition In Its Royal Court. Coming From Across The Kingdom, Musicians Would Take Turns In The Palace To Sound Drums, Xylophones, Flutes, Lyres, And More To Praise And Honour The Existence Of The Kingship. In Recent Years However, The Tradition Has Been More Difficult To Maintain, Especially Since 1966 Where There Was A Violent Attack On The Palace That Abruptly Abolished The Kingdom And During Which Royal Musicians Fled Or Were Killed. And While The Kingdom Was Re-Established In 1993 As A Cultural Institution, Many Of The Remaining Musicians Had Since Chosen To Sideline Their Skills To Deal With The Issues Of Their Day To Day Lives, The Practice Of The Royal Tradition Waning In Popularity, Especially With Younger Listeners And Players.But All Is Not Lost. Scattered Across The Kingdom, A Motivated Team Of Older Veterans And Attentive Young Players Are Still Keeping The Tradition Alive. Offering A Transversal Glimpse Into The Past And The Present, "Buganda Royal Music Revival" Collects Recordings Made In Between The Late 1940s And 1966 Illustrating The Older Generation's Skills, And Presents Them Alongside Recent Recordings Featuring Old And Young Musicians Who Still Carry On This Musical Tradition, Some Even Performing For The Current King, Muwenda Mutebi Ii. The Later Were Made During The Shooting Of The 2019 Documentary "Buganda Royal Music Revival" That Presents Through A Film What This Album Conveys Through Sounds: A Packed Dive Into A Century-Old Tradition.The Music Displayed Here Is Diverse And Vibrant, Presenting A Variety Of Styles And Highlighting Instruments That Illustrate The Depth And Sophistication That Stemmed From The Royal Court Experience Of Buganda. As A Starter, The Album Opens With 'Mujaguzo'. Often Translated As 'The Drums Of The Kingship', The Mujaguzo Is A Crucial Ensemble For The Cultural Tradition, Made From Drums Collected By The Kingdom Throughout...

Raja Kirik Is Indonesian Duo Yennu Ariendra And J. Mo'ong Santoso Pribadi, Two Radical Artists Who Draw On Java's Rich Cultural Traditions And Its History Of Struggle Against Colonial Oppression To Create Music That Surprises, Challenges And Educates In Equal Measure. They Root Their Music In The Sound Of Shamanic Trance Dances, Specifically The Jaranan, Or Jathilan, A Hindu-Buddhist-Era Dance From The 11th Century That Symbolizes The Ways Common People Could Overcome Their Rulers Using Evasion And Agility. "Rampokan" Is Ariendra And Pribadi's Second Album And Is Inspired By Centuries Of Cultural Resistance In Java. When Dutch Traders Established A Colonial Presence On The Island At The End Of The 16th Century, The Javanese Used Traditional Dances To Express Their Opposition. Raja Kirik Express This Historical Friction With A Mind-Bending Fusion Of Traditional Indonesian Percussion, Digital Noise And Overdriven Dutch Hardstyle. The Album Roots Itself In The Stage Of Jaranan Performance Where The Players Become Possessed, Connecting To Their Subconscious Mind And The Body's Collective Memory And Trauma. Ariendra And Pribadi Reflect This By Dousing Evocative Microtonal Clanks From Their Arsenal Of Home-Made Instruments In Expertly Designed Digital Noise, And Stringing The Disparate Elements Together With The Oppressive Pneumatic Pressure Of High-Bpm, Warehouse-Ready Kick Drums. Like The Trance Dances That Inspired Them, These Tracks Evolve And Cycle From Misery To Ecstasy, Spinning Distinctive Narratives With Rhythm, Texture And Repetition. The Album Title Is Taken From "Rampokan Macan", A Colonial-Era Arena Battle Between Spearmen, Criminals And Wild Animals. The Ceremonial Fights Were Provided To Illustrate The Strength Of The Javanese Royal Kingdoms In The Face Of The Dutch East Indies Government; Raja Kirik's Sophomore Album Is A Similarly Lavish Display, Offering A Charged Confrontation Of Idm, Hard Dance Music And Traditional Sounds That Spits Fire Into The Face Of Tyranny.