![Album Review: Jupiter & Okwess – Kin Sonic [Glitterbeat Records, 7th July 2017]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/a0517546476_10-335x335.jpg)
Fans of contemporary music from the African continent have been blessed in 2017 with releases from Zimbabwe’s Mokoomba and Mali’s Tamikrest and Songhoy Blues – illustrating that there’s a wealth of new artists and contemporary sounds emanating from the continent. Jupiter & Okwess from the Congo, cement this reputation by...
Tag Archives: Afro-Funk
Much like a charming village fete with a complimentary cleansing mud bath, Ealing Jazz Festival provided both entertainment and healing from the music and comedy of sliding from one stage to another. Unfortunately for the locals, this was the second week that the Walpole celebrations had been washed out. However,...
There are musicians who follow the traditional styles of their country and those who create brand new ones, assembling together and evolving what their country has to offer. One of the best examples of the latter (not too densely populated) category is Jupiter Bokondji, founder and band leader of Jupiter...
Three months ago, we had the pleasure and thrill to host them on the Epic Dalston stage. Having known them and enjoyed their music, it’s almost inevitable to recommend anyone to attend their gigs. So, don’t make any plans for the 4th of August, you should even postpone your holidays...
Originally formed in 1966 in the coastal town of Cotonou, Orchestre Poly Rythmo became one of Benin’s finest exports and, consequently, a flagbearer for African music. With their exuberant brand of afro-funk and party fuelled soukous, their sound and their on-stage energy defy their advancing years. Thanks in no small...
![Album Review: Ibibio Sound Machine – Uyai [Merge Records, 3 March 2017]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/a2574861825_10-335x335.jpg)
Yes, Ibibio Sound Machine are back, with their hotly anticipated second album and they have returned bigger, better, rougher and tougher! It’s three years since the release of the now classic self-titled debut album and Uyai (Merge Records) doesn’t disappoint, laying down 12 tracks of synth-tinged African vibes sweeping from full...
Awesome Tapes from Africa’s Brian Shimkovitz has done a brilliant job over the past seven years or so of bringing new life to legendary artists whose genre-shifting music has often been lost in the sea of modern sounds. One of these prolific musicians is Ethiopian Hailu Mergia, the keyboard and accordion...
For over 40 years, Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou have been producing their own indomitable brand of voodoo-infused Afro-beat, heavily tinged with highlife and soukous accents. Having disbanded sometime in the mid-eighties, like many other long lost doyens of tribal African dance music, they were rediscovered in the early part...
Mokoomba are the biggest band in Zimbabwe, achieving global recognition, with their breakthrough album Rising Tide. Five years on, with an established global fan base after playing in over 40 countries, they’ve released their self-produced third album, Luyando (Out Here Records). Attracting glowing reviews, the album blends their pan-African sound with traditional...
K.O.G & the Zongo Brigade is Afro-fusion in the truest sense of the word: “you can call us Afrofusionists! Think about African music and fuse it with every other genre you know in the world” said Kweku, founder member of the band, in our recent interview. He originally comes from...
