International Recommendations July 2016

Review: Sidiku is an impressive gentleman. A Ghanaian athlete turned musician with over 16 albums to his name he shook his country's music industry up as the chairman of the Ghanaian Copyright Society and now president of the Musicians Union of Ghana and the vice president of International Federation Of Musicians. He can also lay down a mean hook; "Anokwar (Truth)" is a firing slice of late 70s synth-infused afrofunk while "Music" comes a little later in the 80s with its rapid synth boogie groove and big Fanti chants. Righteous.

Review: Afro 45's / Mr Bongo show no signs of stopping their tireless run of form and, 7" after 7", they just keep on producing the goods. There's yet more '70s goodness with this new little scorcher: the A-side is 1973's "Tessassategn Eko" by Bahta Gebre Hiwot, a pensive Ethiopian pop hit for all sorts of music fans to enjoy, but "Ayalqem Tedqem" by Alemayehu Eshete on the B-side is where it's at... just listen to that bass and you'll instantly recognize this wonderful little cover.

Review: The superbly coined Names You Can Trust do it again, digging out cuts from the Rolando Bruno Y Su Orchestra Midi archive for a much-needed remaster and debut vinyl release. The prolific Rolando Bruno hails from Buenos Aires and following a stint in punk act Los Peyotes, decided to refocus attentions on the Afro-Peruvian Psicodelico movement that's been buzzing throughout South America under the name Rolando Bruno Y Su Orchestra Midi, armed with just an electric guitar and self-made backing tracks. Both tracks here were originally released digitally back in 2011, but Bruno's charming brand of lysergic-laced cumbia/garage rock hybridism is fully deserving of the vinyl format afforded by Names You Can Trust.

Review: New York City label Ostinato Records make their impressive debut with this compilation of Haitian Jazz and Electric Folklore spanning two decades from the sixties onwards. Allegedly compiled from an array of private collections and radio archives in Brooklyn and several digging trips throughout Haiti, this 20-track selection offers an intriguing overview of the country's musical diversity in this period. Musical innovation is matched by percussive potency as Ostinato tell the story of a "vibrant laboratory of colliding influences" in the best way possible; with some truly delightful music! You can totally see "Pele Rein" by Les Loups Noirs getting played by Floating Points down Brilliant Corners. They also include a 20 page liner note booklet with vintage photographs mined across Haiti and its vast diaspora, an essay by a scholar of traditional Haitian Vodou rhythms at the School of Arts in Port au Prince, a history of the Haitian sound, and interviews with key figures of the forgotten scene.

Review: A snapshot of South America's most northern country's richest period - when oil money was rife and the arts were being invested in - Soul Jazz have dug deep to uncover an whole body of work that's remained largely unheard outside of the country. Jazzy, progressive, funky and soulful approaches all tied up with cosmic studio haze and blazed with Latin heat we float from the organic, big band swing of Aldemaro Romero to the electronic boogie groove and slide guitars of Ofrenda Vytas Brenner and back again via pure prog sci-fi of Angel Rada and beyond. A one-of-a-kind collection.

Review: Another superb and intricately detailed document from Strut's dedicated archivists, Sunburst's short but hugely prolific activity between '73 and '76 is captured here in all its melting pot glory. Not just their one and only album but all 45s and unreleased recordings too. With six members from across the continent, the fusion, ideas and energy is palpable... Especially on full-screen tracks such as "Kamungulwe" where blues, rock and Tanzanian folk bubble and pop to a climax and "Alhamdullilah" stomps with a sweaty theatrical rock while "Ave Africa" finds the perfect merging point between Afrobeat and jazz. The band's live pedigree is also full screen with that rawness to the recordings that feels like they're in the same room. Addictively rich.

Review: The Afro 45's / Mr Bongo lineage has produced some of the hottest, most sizzling funk reissues from around the globe, and this tasty two-header from Mahmoud Ahmed - who has appeared heavily on Portland's monumental Mississippi label - and Girma Beyene, two greats of the African soul / funk heritage. Ahmed's "Aynotche Terabu" is backed by the Equators Band, and the man's voice rides like crispy waves over the dusty percussion and charging trumpets of the outfit; Beyene appears with a less moody but equally brilliant jazz-leaning piece named "Ene Negn Bay Manesh", bringing through the spirot of greats such as Mulatu and the rest of the African luminaries.