World music
Track: Made Kuti signs to Partisan, with debut single
THE RECENT announcement of Made Kuti’s signing on the dotted line for Partisan marks him as the third generation of his family to join the record label, after legendary and revolutionary grandfather Fela Kuti and four-time Grammy nominee father Femi Kuti. The debut single “Free Your Mind” exhibits a myriad of Kuti markers but also …
Premiere: Cable Street Collective reveal new track featuring Gregg Kofi Brown of Osibisa: ‘Speaking In Tongues’
We’re delighted to premiere the new single from London based 7-piece Cable Street Collective right here on Backseat Mafia here this morning. Titled ‘Speaking in Tongues’, the track features Gregg Kofi Brown from legendary Afro-rockers Osibisa, who also co-write the song. Mixing up Afro rock, Soul and a good deal of sunshine, the track is …
News: Mr. Bongo announce new compilation, ‘Volume 4’, for November
We’ve been a fan of Brighton-based record company Mr. Bongo for some time, with many of their brilliant reissues of world/Latin music appearing on our collective shelves over the years; and we’re delighted that their news of their latest release, volume four of their lauded compilations, has been sent our way (plea directly to Mr …
See: Orchestra Baobab – 50th Anniversary/ re-release and archive video for Dee Moo Woor
Ok so this is really heart and soul stuff. The legendary seminal Senegalese collective Orchestra Baobab are marking the 50th anniversary of their ground breaking music making with the vinyl release on World Circuit of their 2002 ‘come back’ album ‘Specialist In All Styles’. The record announced the return of the band a full nineteen …
Track: Soundwalk Collective With Patti Smith – Knowledge Of The Self
With their new album Peradam due for release on September 4th, 2020 via Bella Union, Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith have shared new track “Knowledge Of The Self” and an accompanying video that features editing and a visual collage by Anastasia Ivanova. Of the track, Patti Smith says: “We have to, in order to be free of all of the things that we are attached to, even ideas of ourselves, …
NEWS: Orchestra Boabab celebrate 50 not out with vinyl
SENEGALESE legends Orchestra Boabab are marking their 50th anniversary this year; and in celebration the band have announced the first-ever vinyl issue of their landmark 2002 reunion set, Specialist In All Styles, which is set for September 25th. Specialist In All Styles was the first full outing by the band in the three decades since …
ALBUM REVIEW: Khruangbin – ‘Mordechai’
THEY weren’t an outfit that was hyped into the musical consciousness worldwide by a huge machine, fully packaged and billboarded; rather Houston’s Khruangbin have seeped into the world gradually but effortlessly via all the coolest of channels. First breaking through in the UK on the back of their inclusion on Bonobo’s LateNightTales mix compilation, they …
News: Oumou Sangare To release new album ‘Acoustic‘
Malian singing superstar, songwriter and activist Oumou Sangare has just announced details of her next release ‘Acoustic’ via No Format which will re-invent her 2017 album the super funky ‘Mogoya’. That previous record, her first after an 8 year absence, marked a step change for this singular artist with its pumping bass, guitar stabs and …
See: Yorkston/Thorne/Khan share video for “Sukhe Phool”
Taken from their third album Navarasa : Nine Emotions, which came out earlier in the year to widespread acclaim, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan (aka James Yorkston, Jon Thorne and Suhail Khan) have shared a video for the track Sukhe Phool. The album centred around the nine emotions (nava) or Sentiments (rasa) of the arts, around which the trio …
Track: Dub Mentor – Hysteria (Wuhan Fight Dub)
Based on the Mark Stewart classic and with a stellar range of guests including Stephen Mallinder, Anna Domino, Ghalia Benali, Tao Weiss, Julia Rovinsky, Yao Xu and the people of Wuhan China, Hysteria is the new single from UK producer Dub Mentor. True to his title, Dub Mentor has produced something that marries the influence …