African Jazz/Funk/Psych

Witch was the first band in Zambia to release a commercial album — 1973’s Introduction.

2000 Blacks Got To Be Free is a musical collaboration between the African American vibraphone player Roy Ayers and Fela.

Get out! Fight!” The Lijadu Sisters’ Horizon Unlimited is the insurgent afrofunk their second cousin Fela strived to create.

"Lost Tracks: Accra to Addis" is compiled by Afrocat, in her 25th year as a DJ/Selector, Music & Culture Curator, Radio Show Presenter on the Blaxploitation Lounge…& an Adventurer!

In Ghana “to chop” is to eat, so the phrase No Funk, No Chop quite simply means; deliver afro funk and disco bombs, or no one will eat today.

It was the sound of post-independence Nigeria, a time of celebration and wealth but, ultimately, of political oppression. 

On the title track Fela and the backup singers ridicule the mindset of men in uniform over an urgent, quick-march accompaniment from Afrika 70.

Strut presents Mulatu Plays Mulatu, the first major studio album in over 10 years from the father of Ethio-jazz, Mulatu Astatke.

The early 21st Century, a shadowy figure rose from the dust that settled atop forgotten record collections throughout Africa, leaving behind trails of clues, but Luaka Bop unmask a phantom: the great William Onyeabor.

Florence Adooni Unleashes A.O.E.I.U. – An Afro-Futuristic Highlife Odyssey: Step into the future of highlife with Florence Adooni’s debut album, A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity). 

A landmark recording from one of Ghana’s great musical architects, Ebo Taylor’s 1977 self-title release marked the first solo LP by the legendary guitarist, arranger, and composer after years behind the scenes shaping the sound of modern highlife.

Gentleman is both an Africa 70 and Afro-beat masterpiece.

The 25 songs presented in "Roots Rocking Zimbabwe - The Modern Sound of Harare' Townships 1975-1980" showcase the birth of the modern music industry in Zimbabwe and the explosion of creativity bands of the 1970s and 80s endlessly delivered.

Hard to find South African jazz gems selected by record digger Fred Spider, featuring tracks by Victor Ntoni, Gibson Kente, Winston Ngozi, Victor Ndlazilwane, Zim Ngqawana and Jonny Dynai, among others.

Funeral For Justice is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2019 breakout Afrique Victime, it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form.

Talking Timbuktu is the 1994 collaboration album between Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré and American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder.

Susso, aka bassist / producer Huw Bennett, creates music inspired by, and directly sampling, the magnificent sounds of the Mandinka people, recorded during a recent trip to Gambia.

Getatchew Mekurya is probably the most revered veteran of Ethiopian saxophone.

The massed horns, relentless grooves, and bold improvising that would come to define Fela's aesthetic sound positively revolutionary on these essential early recordings.

Seminal album from cult Ghanaian musician Alhaji K. Frimpong, recorded in 1976 and considered to be one of the best highlife albums ever recorded. Features the masterpiece Kyenkyen Bi Adi M’awu (come back my love) - universally known in Ghana, covered and sampled by artists such as Chronnix, Gnarls Barkley and many more. Backed by Vis a Vis - one of the most influential bands to come out of the Ghana Highlife / Afro Rock movement. Unique avant garde sound that blends traditional highlife percussion and horns with synthesizers. Original copies of the album are extremely rare. The album was reissued in limited quantities in 2011 and has been unavailable since - even reissue copies sell for high prices on the second hand market. Record Store Day exclusive pressing comes on Blue vinyl with heavyweight sleeve.

Soul Jazz Records' new Nigeria Soul Fever is their first release to explore the vast wealth of Nigerian music recorded in the 1970s.

Restoring, reissuing and contextualising iconic tracks from Ousmane Kouyate & Ambassadeurs Internationaux, Rail Band, Les Messagers du Mali, Mystere Jazz de Tombouctou and many more, the second compilation in this series dives ever further into the richness of post- independence music emanating out of Mali. One in which traditional foundations and instrumentation, blended with modern musical advances and influence.

The Nigerian princesses of afro-funk arrived on the international scene with 1976’s Danger and never looked back.

A collection of fourteen digital reggae, deep roots and dub rarities from the Nigerian underground, spotlighting a time when Jamaican reggae entwined with Nigerian styles, politics and consciousness, creating a bridge between Lagos and Kingston.

This album is a compilation of hard-to-find 7" singles released in Kenya by the Audio Productions stable in the first half of the 1980s and most have never been released outside of East Africa.

Highly-anticipated first new songs since 1994

His 2009 World Circuit debut, the raw and uncut Secret Agent, has all the ingredients that combine to make Afrobeat so special.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fela Kuti's classic Open and Close, Partisan release the first vinyl pressing since the 1980s.

This definitive reissue features the original LP remastered and pressed on 180 gram triple vinyl in a gatefold sleeve.

Femi Kuti’s ‘Journey Through Life’ marks a deeply personal chapter in the Afrobeat legend’s career

Gnonnas Pedro’s “Mo Ngbadun Re” - a song written to pay tribute to Nigerian and Beninese musicians - would change the trajectory of Analog Africa, forever.

The prestigious Ethiopiques series returns! Before "Swinging Addis" took over the world, there was Moussie Nerses Nalbandian - the Armenian-born composer who shaped modern Ethiopian music. Mentor, arranger, and pioneer, he laid the foundations of Ethio-jazz. This Ethiopiques volume revives his forgotten legacy, recorded live with the Either/Orchestra. First issue ever with new exclusive photos, 2LP set in a gatefold sleeve.

Seminal sounds from the golden age of Ghanaian music. Highlife, rock, and soul collide and merge with tradition and culture. New styles meet old styles.

Francis Bebey is the kind of artist whose legacy feels infinite. Tresor Magnetique, this compilation of unreleased tracks, archival recordings, and neglected gems from Bebey's vault, feels like a grand reveal in an ongoing narrative - a story that spans continents and generations. The compilation's name (translated as "Magnetic Treasure") sets the stage perfectly. Not only does it reference the fragile tapes discovered in the home of Bebey's son, Patrick, but it also hints at the almost gravitational pull of Bebey's art. Meticulously digitized at Abbey Road Studios, these tracks radiate clarity and urgency that defy the decades separating them from contemporary ears. One listen to Tresor Magnetique, and it's as if you're opening a letter from another era, only to find that its contents speak to you more vividly than today's headlines.

Legendary yet ever-evolving, Zamrock pioneers WITCH continue to push boundaries with their bold new record, ‘SOGOLO’. After their remarkable resurgence and 2023’s critically acclaimed ‘Zango’ - their first album in nearly 40 years -‘SOGOLO’ proves that their innovative spirit remains as strong as ever.

The ultra-rare holy grail masterpiece by Elcados originally released by EMI-Nigeria in 1973 and recorded by Kayode Salami.

Seun Kuti releases highly anticipated album Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) featuring guests Damian Marley and Sampa The Great.

Over the past few years Acid Jazz has released a series of reissues from the enigmatic ‘Albarika Store’ – a goldmine of records from Benin, West Africa from the late ‘60s through to the early ’80s. 

Digitally remastered from the original tapes, Ali Farka Touré’s ‘Green’ album showcases Ali's acoustic guitar and vocals, both alone and accompanied by calabash and ngoni (traditional four string guitar)

Rejoice is a very special collaboration between Tony Allen, the legendary drummer and co-founder of Afrobeat, and Hugh Masekela, the master trumpet player of South African jazz.

Released in July 2006 via the World Circuit label, Savane was Ali Farka Touré’s final solo album, and a deeply resonant “farewell” work.

William Onyeabor was born outside Enugu, a small, rural town in Eastern Nigeria, he created his own genre of African electronic funk in the late 70s and early 80s, making music completely unique for his time.

For the last few years, Acid Jazz have been the proud custodians of the Albarika Store legacy. Hailing from the small but culturally-significant state of Benin, the label was operational from the late-1960s until the early 1980s, and was home to some of the finest, deepest, rawest West African cuts ever. A fount of local and regional music, infused with contemporary Western influences, the beating heart of the Albarika sound were the mighty T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, who in various guises released dozens of recordings for the label, under the leadership of Mêlomé Clément.

A defining recording of the era, Sikyi Highlife bridges tradition and innovation at a pivotal moment in Ghanaian music. Deeply rooted in the classic 1950s–’60s highlife sound, K. Gyasi drew inspiration from the ancient sikyi drum-dance of the Akan people of southern Ghana, shaping the album’s rhythms around its distinctive pulse.

Even the most dedicated crate-digger might go their whole life without stumbling across any of the three LPs Antoine Dougbe released in the late 1970s and early '80s. Yet he is remembered with a mixture of admiration and fear; for Antoine Dougbe was not merely one of the most inventive songwriters to emerge from the fertile music scene of Cotonou, but also a powerful Vodun initiate whose close connection to the spirit world allowed him to refer to himself as the Devil's prime minister.

Alhaji K Frimpong’s 1977 Highlife masterpiece, melding traditional Ghanaian musical forms with experimental instrumentation and innovative arrangements.

The album is a fusion of highlife and soul.

By 1972, when Music of Fela: Roforofo Fight was originally released (on two vinyl albums, Music of Fela Volume One and Volume Two), Fela was becoming one of the most avidly followed musicians in West Africa. 

Mdou Moctar’s new album is Funeral for Justice completely re-recorded and rearranged for acoustic and traditional instruments. It is an evolution of the band’s critically-adored breakout – the meditative mirror-image to the blistering original.

1979 township disco funk masterpiece from one of South Africa’s most prolific bands of that era.

Inspired by his cultural background Bukky goes in search of the cuisine traditions of his mother land Nigeria.

Strut presents Nigeria 80, the next essential chapter in the legendary Nigeria 70 series, diving deep into the explosive sound world of 1980s Nigeria.

Now-Again has been reissuing the essential records from the Zamrock scene since 2010. This is the first commercial release of this Ngozi Family album that only ever made it to the test-press stage - it is part of an extensive campaign centered around Paul Ngozi and his band; all releases are licensed directly from the Estates of Paul Ngozi and Chrissy Zebby Tembo.

Afro-Disco Makossa is what happens when that same artist asks a different question entirely: what would a Ghanaian producer in '76 have made if he set out to create an American disco record for his hometown? The result is a sonic patchwork of Afrobeat, funk, and disco built for the DJ of any era.

In 100% SAHARA GUITAR, Etran de L’Aïr are back to claim the throne, with their first studio album! And what a sound it is. Recorded in sunny studios on the WEST COAST, the brothers take that old Agadez sound to new levels, adding even more guitars into the mix, weaving layers of reverb-laden melodies and shimmering harmonies into a tapestry of sound. How much guitar can they fit into one record? The answer is 100%.

Les Racines is the latest solo album from the eminent guitarist and songwriter Vieux Farka Touré, and his first for World Circuit Records. Known as the ‘Hendrix of the Sahara’, Vieux has released 4 critically acclaimed solo albums to date, extending the boundaries of traditional West African music into new and uncharted territory

Through a series of double vinyl releases, the Rare Groove Collection explores the fusion of World Music with Soul, Funk and Disco. In this new Ethiopian volume, discover the unique alchemy born in the clubs and cabarets of a buzzing Addis Ababa, a sonic heritage as rare as it is precious!

Africa Express, known for its groundbreaking cross-cultural musical collaborations, ventures into new territory with its this project, an album recorded at Bahidorá Festival in Mexico (where all artists were also performing).

Muzikawi reissue the self-titled solo instrumental album of Ethio-jazz composer, Dawit Yifru, which offers an exceptional occasion to rediscover one of the most important eras in Ethiopia’s music history.

In a world full of musical mediocrity, ANTIBALAS emerges like a funky, horn-infused phoenix, ready to shake your booty and expand your mind. This Brooklyn-based powerhouse brings the heat and the rhythm on their latest album, aptly titled "Antibalas."

The 1974 debut album Ojinga’s Own and single Basa Bongo/Black Pepper by Guyanese Afro-Folk band The Yoruba Singers has been remastered for vinyl and digital.

When a passionate DJ and crate digger intuitively selects music for a DJ compilation, without artistic compromise and without the burden of trends, AfroMagic vol.2 emerges from the depths of his soul.

Following the great success of BBE’s 2023 reissue of Remi Kabaka’s 1976 lost masterpiece 'Son of Africa' comes yet another neglected and hitherto-hidden slice of pure Kabaka goodness: 1980’s 'Roots Funkadelia'.

This epic Afrobeat album contains just one eponymous track clocking in at just over 25 minutes in length, and beginning with a mysterious and psychedelic musical interplay between Fela on organ and Tony Allen on drums.