News & Updates — Afrobeat

After almost a year in the making, the new joint project between Peace & Rhythm and the California-based bands Buyepongo and Quitapenas is now launching in pre-order today, Friday, February 5, 2021, exclusively from Bandcamp as part of Bandcamp Fridays. The digitals will be available to download for those that purchase the 45. The digitals will also be available for sale. The following month's Bandcamp Friday, on March 5th, will mark the release date of the physical split 45. To pre order, please visit us here  About the release: You might say Buyepongo and Quitapenas are sibling neighbor bands since they are of Mexican-American heritage, share some band...

Happy earth arrival day to one of my favorite bassists, Malachi Favors Maghostut. Most famous for playing in my all time favorite group, the highly theatrical and musical Art Ensemble of Chicago, he's also played and recorded with all of the Art Ensemble members, as well as Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio, Archie Shepp, Cheikh Tidiane Fall, Andrew Hill, Wadada Leo Smith, Sunny Murray, Dennis Gonzalez, Fred Anderson, Muhal Richard Abrams, Dewey Redman and many, many more. Born in Mississippi, he started playing bass as a teenager and in '53 made his recording debut with Paul Bascomb after which he found...

Since the release of Big Mean Sound Machine's fourth album Runnin' For The Ghost, released in April on Peace & Rhythm (North & South America) and Blank Slate (Europe & Asia), the band has continued touring relentlessly, winning new fans every time out with their avant-afro-psych-funk. The album has gotten a lot of radio play and excellent support from publications & blogs such as Downbeat, Afropop Worldwide, Okay Player, Global A Go-Go, Afrobeat Blog, Funkish, Grateful Web, Brooklyn Vegan and more. Word on the street is that this is one of critic's favorite albums of the year. We're also pleased...

Here's a salute to the recently deceased Jaki Liebezeit, the human metronome for Can, among other projects. After playing free-jazz in Germany in the mid-to-late '60s, including an ensemble led by Manfred Schoof, as well as with Globe Unity Orchestra (with a young Peter Brotzmann on sax!) he decided to go with a decidedly more disciplined "motorik" beat as a founding member of Can, a band of Stockausen's students that were really into the Velvet Underground and "world music" and forged a whole new template for out-rock. Indeed, Can are synonymous with the "Krautrock" history. Brian Eno called Krautrock's "motorik"...