Dom La Nena
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Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina even further.Nu Genea's Bar Mediterraneo is an idea of a shared place where people meet and fuse together; a space that leaves its doors open to travellers and their lives, always exposed to the whims of fate. Some of this can be experienced through the multitude of sounds that come together in the tracks, layers of different acoustic instruments, voices and synthesizers merging in a unique musical blend.Opening up to the voices of many different people, separated by languages but united by the sea and the music, Nu Genea's hometown, Napoli, becomes a true place of encounter.You can hear this all along. In "Gelbi", a gorgeously deep and propulsive Ney flute plunges into murky waters of the melancholic Tunisian dialect sung by Marzouk Mejri. In "Marechia'", unbridled happiness and sun ooze from the delicate vocals of Célia Kameni and create an acrobatic bridge between French and Neapolitan language. In "Straniero", your soul is arrested from the moment the slow spell-binding mandolin ignites the hypnotic patterns recorded by the legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. In "Bar Mediterraneo", the title track, bittersweet guitar’s riffs, analog waves and choirs are overwhelming the song giving you what you would like to hear on a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast.Nu Genea couldn't afford to overlook their firmly anchored roots into the Neapolitan culture and its dialect with "Tienaté", where the power of neapolitan language (interpreted by Fabiana Martone) supports those quarter-tone strings and the uncessant folk-disco groove that spreads to the entire song. In "Praja Magia", repetitive mandolin riffs lead the song, giving space to a choral yet tight vocal line that speaks of Varcaturo, a village close to Napoli. In "Rire", a volley of poetic, deceptively laidback, lyrical fury interpreted by Sicilian Marco Castello intimately combines with a highly musical, multi-textured instrumental backbone and the swoon of a chanson in its heart. In "La Crisi'', the lyrics of a Raffaele Viviani’s poem from 1930 have been adapted to a laidback jazz-funk groove in full NG style. In "Vesuvio", revaluing the evocative verses and powerful mantra of Vesuvio, Nu Genea re-adapted to the dancefloor a folk song by the working-class band E’ Zezi from Pomigliano D'Arco, combining the voices of a school choir with Jupiter-6 arpeggios and bold percussions.Bar Mediterraneo is the place where people constantly return to transform curiosity into participation, tradition into sharing, unfamiliar into familiar. When travellers come through its “doors”, carrying their treasures of words and emotions, they aren’t strangers any more. They take part in a shared experience, enriching themselves and others by leading to unexpected musical journeys.

New Orleans-based African-American producer/composer, IFÉ feeds Afro-Caribbean hand percussion through digital synthesizers and drum machines as he delivers explosive lyrics tackling life, death and the world we live in today to create a 21st century soundsystem experience on 0000+000 - the follow up to IFÉ's acclaimed 2017 debut LP IIII+IIII.

Who Are We ?, le premier album d’Al-Qasar, est la musique d'un monde en mutation. Leur “arabian fuzz”, comme le groupe l'appelle, est une vision électrique d'une musique aux racines profondes. Al-Qasar est né dans le quartier de Barbès à Paris, explique le leader du groupe, Thomas Attar Bellier. Ce dernier rêvait de lancer un projet qui soit en phase avec le quotidien des habitants des grandes villes internationales, quelque chose de diversifié, avec un regard neuf et contemporain sur ces sociétés. Les musiciens viennent de France, du Maroc, d’Algérie, d’Egypte et des États-Unis. En 2020, ils sortent un EP acclamé par la critique, Miraj, enregistré au Caire. Le travail sur l'album Who Are We ? commence en décembre 2020. Basse, batterie et percussions traditionnelles créent un groove irrésistible sur lequel saz et guitares électriques se tordent, avec la voix extatique du chanteur marocain Jaouad El Garouge, imprégnée de son éducation Gnawa, qui s'inspire de l'histoire pour mieux regarder vers l’avenir. Le son de l’album est une célébration psychédélique faite pour danser. Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, PJ Harvey) a mixé le disque, et Dave Collins (lauréat d'un Grammy) l'a masterisé. Jello Biafra, des Dead Kennedys, s'est naturellement joint à "Ya Malak", où sa voix inimitable récite une traduction du poète révolutionnaire égyptien Ahmed Fouad Negm. Mais Biafra n'est pas le seul héros punk à apparaître sur l'album. Lee Ranaldo de Sonic Youth pose ses textures de guitares inquiétantes sur les deux premiers morceaux. Ses drones embrassent le groove du bendir marocain pour un résultat magique. On retrouve la célèbre chanteuse égyptienne Hend Elrawy qui apporte sa voix sur "Mal Wa Jamal", dont les paroles en arabe évoquent une vision féminine et humble de la prostitution et de ses conséquences. Comme la plupart des chansons de l'album, la conscience sociale des paroles est mise en images. "Hobek Twrat" peut être considéré comme une chanson d'amour, avec son ouverture au saz électrique et la voix de la soudanaise (basée à New York) Alsarah (Alsarah & The Nubatones). En réalité, Alsarah s'y élève contre le coup d'État dans son pays d'origine. "Barbès Barbès" est un hommage au quartier parisien où Al-Qasar s'est formé. Mehdi Haddab (Speed Caravan) qui joue occasionnellement avec le groupe y ajoute sa virtuosité à l'oud. Who Are We ? est un album profond et exaltant. Son intensité ne faiblit jamais, grâce à une musique qui puise dans les racines hypnotiques de la transe nord-africaine et des gammes arabes et garde l’énergie et le frisson du rock ’n' roll. C’est du folklore moderne, un reflet de la société interculturelle. Les continents entrent en collision et le résultat est magique. Qui sont-ils ? La réponse est là, sur la pochette de l’album. Regardez dans le miroir. Ils sont nous. Ils sont ici et maintenant. Et ils sont demain.

Kaito Winse est originaire d’une famille de griots musiciens issus du Burkina Faso. Il est véritablement le messager de leurs traditions. Son premier album en solo, Kaladounia (‘Ici le monde’), s’inscrit dans cette idée de perpétuation et de transmission, entre tradition et spiritualité (et chant d’amour, J’aime t’adorer seul morceau chanté en français). Il a capturé sur enregistrement divers chants adressés aux ancêtres ou aux nouveaux-nés ou encore en prise directe avec la terre et en communication avec la nature, des chants soutenus par le tambour, l’archet et des flûtes traditionnels, d’une voix très touchante, particulière et puissante… Tout ici respire l’authenticité et la sincérité.KaladouniaKaito Winse

The Accra-born pianist and frontman, ROB, only released a few albums in small quantities, yet two of them are among the most sought-after records from 70’s Africa. This was the first.So what do we know? After learning his craft in Benin and playing with the likes of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, ROB returned to Accra to write his own material and find a sound.Hooked on the driving funk and raw soul of stars such as James Brown and Otis Redding, he would often imitate his heroes on his father’s piano during school holidays.The title track sets the pace with a JBs-like rhythm, ROB almost shamanic with his sparse yet commanding vocal. The organ and wahwah guitar spin us out before those imperious horns bring us back in.And what better way to close this set than with ‘More’, swept up in a call and response between Rob and his backing singers as a ‘Blow Your Head’ synth flares and the brass blasts. Good times guaranteed.As the man himself says, “Funky music is in my blood. What you hear is the coming out of my mind.” No one sounds like Rob, because there is no one like Rob.Replica original artwork. All songs licensed from Essiebons, except 'More' licensed courtesy of Analog Africa.

1970’s best-kept Bossa Nova secret. Surrounded by mystery for nearly 50 years due to its obscurity, this is one of the most honest, personal and unpretentious albums of it's genre.A selection of 12 exquisitely crafted songs supported by measured, subtle arrangements. The list of musicians born or raised in the Tijuca district of Rio de Janeiro is long and illustrious and includes names that have shaped Brazilian music: Tom Jobim, Roberto Carlos, Tim Maia, Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben or Erasmo Carlos – to mention but a few.We can now add to that list another name: Werther. In 1970, a man by that name recorded an album unique in its personality, its honesty, and its lack of pretense. In a time when Bossa Nova had become a global phenomenon and its main characters were already household names in Brazil, Werther assembled a collection of songs that uncannily – almost naively – remind us of the time when Bossa Nova was just a group of youngsters making music. His songs are about simple things: bohemian life, the sea, love.Despite Werther and his friends being only in their teens, without any previous experience recording music, those working behind the scenes were not equally amateur. Producer Peter Keller had already worked with Aloysio De Oliveira in the quintessential Bossa Nova label Elenco, and was also an initial partner in Roberto Quartin’s cult label Forma.Studio owner Bill Horne was a very loved character in the Rio jazz scene who had regularly taken part in the legendary meetings in Nara Leão’s apartment and befriended some of Brazil’s most respected musicians. Some of these musicians were, for example, Naná Vasconcelos and Edison Machado, who provided small contributions to Werther’s album.