Various Artists

ts early 2015. Welcome to Africa Seven. We are a new record label. We may be based in Paris and London but our hearts firmly rooted in the universal motherland. We love African music, we want everyone to hear it and we want to spread the love. We are a collective of crate diggers, afro music-heads, label spotters and vinyl buying obsessives. We don't have any particular musical release agenda apart from, "is it of African origin, does it have a beat?, do we like it?". For the first few releases on Africa Seven we are exploring a rich seam of creativity and groove from the 70's. Stand by for re-issues from Manu Dibango, Jake Sollo, Jo Tongo, Pasteur Lappe and Tala AM to name but a few.Trying to decide our first release was a long drawn out affair. Everyone had their favorites...,. Would it Manu, Tala, Ray, Jake or Jo? In the end we just couldn't decide. To keep the peace we settled on a taster compilation called "African Airways Vol 01". Think of it as a statement of intent. A sample of aural treats in store. As for the cheesy name, well...,.. we like African Music, who doesn't like air hostesses? and we are aeroplane geeks. It was a no-brainer really.Volume 1 of Africa Airways focuses on the funkier side of 70s African music. We can't think of any better way to start an African compilation than some pounding, powerful, masterful African drumming. Thank you Ekambi Brilliant, you sure know how to set up an opening track. Next up we jump to the Cameronian king of the Tchamassi dance, Tala Andre Marie (Tala AM is his snazzier moniker). "Black Gold" is a track that really says it all. Cant-sit-still grooves, masterfully jangly guitars and a really cool nascent use of synthesizers. Is it possible to play a song over and over again 300 times? - we think so. Elvis Kemayo is next up with the funky assault. Big brass, big basslines and happy times. Cameroonian native Jo Tongo, now lives in New York but back in the 70s he was part of the Fiesta label massive who were cranking out great records in Paris. "Jangolo" is quite possibly his finest moment. Keeping things Cameroon to finish up side one is the Saxophone master Manu Dibango. "Mimbo" is jazzy, darty gem. Manu recently turned 80 and celebrated with a series of gigs. A true afro legend with over 30 albums to his name. Quite a few have never been re-issued since the 70s and they are now patiently queued up on our release schedule.Opening side two of our vinyl is Jo Bisso. Give It Up is a funky, brass however from 1977 on the Disques Esperance label. Next up is "Mbongui". Did you think a flute in African music could sound this funky? Nigerian Jake Sollo met with an untimely death but his music lives on. Jake was a leader of one of the first wave of funky afro bands to come out of Nigeria in the early 70s, "The Funkees". "Father Time and Mother Nature" retains all those key elements of what made his band so successful. Sookie are next up with their US style funk..., but with an African twist. To finish up the LP Paris based "African Soul Band" bring out the dark strings, chanted Senegalese vocals and mirroring marimbas for their epic closer "Nande" from 1978.Stay tuned for more Africa Seven releases on CD, Vinyl and Digital. Our next release is from the Cameroonian Saxophone master Manu Dibango with a rare 1977 Film Soundtrack "Ceddo". Think thoughtful, brooding afrobeat meets Shaft.

We are more than ten releases in here at Africa Seven. It has been a wild ride... It was eight months ago that we launched our label and released our debut release the Compilation "Africa Airways 01: Funk Connection". It did better than we ever imagined and we had to repress the darned thing twice... So predictably for a follow up we humbly present you with "Africa Airways 02: Funk Departures 1973-1982". We have unashamedly stuck to the formula of our debut, keeping the funk deep and the groove pan-African. Heading straight for the afrobeat, dance-funk jugular.We open up Volume Two with an absolute corker... "Na Real Sekele Fo Ya" from Cameroonian-in-Paris Pasteur Lappe. Produced by Jacob Desvarieux of Kassav fame, this track is an instant grabber, Think of the Blockheads "Rhythm Stick" goes Afro chant with deep, soulful moog grooves and on-point brass stabs. Next up is M'Bamina an Italian / Ivory Coast band who swing things heavy with "Kilowi Kilowi". Sweeting strings, funky bass lines wrapped around a late 70s style disco groove.Ekambi Briallant is next up with his floor tappingly catchy afro soul "Aboki (Mon Copain)", produced by one of our favorite producers Slim Pezin. To round off the A-side of the vinyl we present the first outing from the Makeba family. Here the (sadly prematurely departed) Bongi Makeba, daughter of "Mama Africa" Myriam Makeba, shows the world just what an amazing artist she would have developed into. Bongi wrote a fair number of her mother's tracks in her later years and "Don't Do It" shows us what true talent for the song she was blessed with. The track her powers along with wah-wah guitar and masterful alto sax. A real treat.Friend of Africa Seven and Cameroonian native Jo Tongo opens thing up on Side B. Jo now lives in New York but back in the 70s he was part of the Fiesta label collective who were cranking out great records in Paris. "Piani" is his purest dancefloor moment, here again in full glory.Next up we bend our African remit ever-so slightly and head off to Holland for a James Brown style fuelled funk stomper "Relax.. Before Doing Sex" from Oscar Harris and his crew. Its big, its bold, its brassy...,.. It's fun.The power trio of Bozambo are next up. Between them they have released over 12 solo LPs and here together with "Get it On The Music" they power through with a keyboard/synyh driven afro-funk groove years ahead of its time..., made in 1978 but sounding like 1984. Misse Ngoh is one great guitarist and a masterful adaptor of the Makossa rhythms of his native Cameroun. The title track from his Esperance 1979 LP "Tata Ngoh" mixes in his trademark rhythms and grooves with slap bass and striking brass lines. One heck of a catchy song too.We round off the compilation with the Queen of Queens, Myriam Makeba. Possibly / probably the most influential female musician to come out of Africa..., ever. "Mama Africa's" biography is awe-inspiring and vast, but very hard to summarize in a few sentences... so please check it out for yourself. From breaking the African sound in the West, to the obsessively catchy "Pata Pata" to the influential, focal role she played in helping bring an end to Apartheid in her native South Africa. There are many tracks to feature from Myriam but we aren't about hits here at Africa Seven. Being the crate diggers we are, we thought the best way we could honour the lady was to dig the crate even deeper and go with the most obscure Myriam track we could find. "Toyota Fantasy" was recorded during her exile years spent in Guinea with the Esperance team as a one off promotional 7" single giveaway release. Be aspirational, as the lady says.We hope you enjoy your flight with African Airways 02. We hope to be fuelling up an aircraft with some psychedelic propellant for volume 3 sometime in 2016... at a vinyl store near you.

3 Year Compilation LP ...

Frotee team has hand picked 8 previously unreleased songs by 8 Estonian artists. These tracks, with their range of styles from soul to AOR, jazz to ambient, have long ago earned their rightful place in Frotee's heart but are only now being released in a form of a record. Check out Tornaado's - 'Seitse' for a dope take on Kraftwerk's “Das Model” ! On “Valgusesse” compilation you’ll find tracks from groups from Frotee’s earlier discography. Elektra, under their initial name Kooli-prii, had recorded another charming soul cover. Fusion-disco-reggae group Tornaado surprises us with an Estonian version of Kraftwerk's hit single “Das Model”. It might well be the first opportunity for you to discover some early Estonian ambient sounds by Tiit Aunaste or hear the songs from the previously underrated pop-singer Kristi Tammik. The collection also features pop sounds by the well-known Estonian jazz musicians Sven Kullerkupp and Lembit Saarsalu. The pianist Sven Kullerkupp recorded perfect Balearic beat in 1990 and Estonian best saxophonist Lembit Saarsalu found time to play disco-funk with Estonian Radio orchestra in 1979. Both sides of LP end with authentic Estonian yacht rock, played by Salamander and Radar, respectively.

The 4th release features another pack of dance floor friendly tracks.

BACK IN STOCKRepress of D.KO01

The last couple of years have been huge for Pomo , going from a relatively obscure Canadian producer to releasing his debut EP on HW&W, remixing for the likes of Janet Jackson and Mark Ronson, producing "Am I Wrong?" on Anderson Paak's debt album and touring the globe with Disclosure as their opening act.Bastard Jazz has commissioned Pomo to be next in line for the fourth volume of their "Tempo Dreams" compilation series, following on the heels of the acclaimed Soul Clap compiled Vol. 3. As with other Tempo Dreams records, Pomo has curated a slick and well polished album full of exclusive tracks from friends and collaborators such as Lindsay Lowend, Aloka, Exmag, Syre, Daniel Crawford, FVLCRVM and more. Touching on the shimmering nudisco sound, plodding deep electronic vibes, funky instrumental hip-hop, and even a hint of drum 'n' bass, Tempo Dreams Vol. 4 takes it's rightful place in the series as one of the most forward thinking compilations showcasing emerging young talent.

Re-stocked for the first time to celebrate BBE's 20th anniversary, this selection of "Rock, Funk, Soul, Jazz & Soundtrack Breaks For Modern Living" was originally released in 2009 and finally repressed.The sound of the sixties and seventies has never been so sought after as at the present moment. You could even argue that modern music just isn't good enough. As evidence consider this: contemporary producers and artists are often looking back to get inspired - insert staggering number of examples - so you can safely say that even in this digital age the beating heart of modern R&B and hip-hop is still vintage soul, funk and jazz.This is why BBE Records have teamed up with DJ/Producer Mr Thing, to dig deep into his extensive collection to compile a series of 5 long players of rare and sought after breaks. This series reflects brilliantly on his dedication to digging for those untouched and unrivalled samples and breaks as you hear him use in his DJ sets. As a DJ, Mr Thing never fails to engage the crowd with his winning combination of hip hop and funk breaks spiced up with his legendary mixing and scratching skills.Volume II as you guess is the 2nd installment in the five part "Strange Breaks & Things" series contains superb songs, some you've probably never heard of, some which may make you go: "I recognize this sample!"… because it was once used as the backdrop for a classic Hip Hop track. If you liked the legendary "Strange Games" compilation series on BBE compiled by the likes of Kenny Dope & DJ Spinna, you'll love "Strange Breaks & Things".

Seven Davis Jr. presents his new curated compilation Future Society on R2.Seven Davis Jr. has firmly established himself as one of the foremost purveyors of future sounds having released his unique music on forward thinking labels such as Kutmah’s “Izwid”, Funkineven’s Apron Records and Ninja Tune.For “Future Society” Seven has curated a collection of his favourite new, unsung and like-minded forward thinking artists to highlight the talent he has encountered on his travels, (the album features artists from New Zealand, U.S.A., U.K. & Switzerland).Consisting of mostly exclusive unreleased tracks, this collection contains electronic, soul and house tracks with a pioneering spirit. Welcome to the Future Society.