Sohan Wilson
Love is The Key

After a few other successful projects, Franck Biyong, French-Cameroonian Afrobeat composer, guitar player and singer is back on Hot Casa with a hot futuristic Afro-Brazilian club anthem.The similarities and filiations between traditional West-African drumming and Afro-Brazilian religious musical rites are many: under colonial rule African people and African slaves outwardly practiced Christianity but secretly prayed to their own God, Gods, or Ancestor spirits. So we aimed at keeping the gritty urban menacing sound and poetry of Afrobeat with the percussive mass rumble of Batucada and poignant beauty of Carioca. We then got in touch with Cristina Violle, the first lady of “Samba de Roda” in Paris who graced us with a startling inspired and heartfelt melody. The first completed version of the song then briefly went on alternative radio, we also made plans to release a vinyl version, but for one way or another we shelved the project, without thinking we would get back to it again…until a few months ago.We went back to the studio last summer and started ironing the song again from scratch. That same initial spirit and energy caught hold of us again from the day we started and we worked relentlessly to create a balanced but experimental track, showcasing rootsy sound, pop instrumentation, tight world beat drumming, song structure, jazzy horns, spacey synthesizers, choral-like vocal harmonies with call and response figurative vocals.We now proudly present this brand new record; Like our predecessors years ago, we subconsciously did our best to keep alive a longtime tradition of cultural tradition of African Artistic Renaissance, pushing further musical themes of contemporary African sound. To be continued…

**** DIZONORD DEADSTOCK ****Dizonord team discovered DJ Moppy’s label Animal Right Records back in 2016 on a Detroit Threads’ shelf. ARR-001 was previously released in 2016 and is a beautiful mini LP for all broken beats lovers and Theo Parrish fans. Moppy's solo debut album features various styles of electronic music such as house, downtempo and hip hop.

Musica Macondo unearths eight contemporary Afro Brazilian tracks on compilation Brasil Novo, disseminating the rich and percussive heritage of black Brazil and Samba De Coco. Selected by DJs Tahira (Sao Paulo) and Tim Garcia (London), the diversity and positivity of Brazil shines, featuring elements of samba, candomble, batuques, jazz, folk and beyond, designed with the esoteric dancefloor in mind.UK label Musica Macondo place their focus on contemporary Brazilian and African diaspora on Brasil Novo, an eight track compilation of discovery, snare and tamborim heavy, showcasing both celebrated and unfamiliar artists south of the equator from the cities of Recife, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo.With the aim of presenting and thus preserving these moments in music - some tracks like Dona Celia's O Bar and Toró Instrumental's Dunas never been released before - DJs and co-curators Tahira (Sao Paulo) and Tim Garcia (London) dig deep into the troves, avoiding mainstream Brazilian popular music cliches, and also giving a sense of what fuels their dancefloors and radio sets. It was their joint passion for record collecting, Djing and 'the dance' which not surprisingly, brought these two leading figures within their respective scenes and cities together. The selection also includes tracks by Grupo Bongar, Renata Rosa and women's Afro Bloco, Ilú Obá De Min.DJ Tahira is a massive Brazilian music fan and has been on a research journey for a number of years, dedicated to the preservation and archiving of music made or influenced by black and indigenous Brazilians. Based out of Sao Paulo he has a particular interest in the history of Samba de Coco, a folkloric musical form that was very popular in, (and probably originated from), the north east of Brazil, by slaves and indiginous people from working class backgrounds who came together, making a rhythmical mesh of sounds dating back hundreds of years and allowing them to carve a unique cultural identity. Ignored or disregarded as inferior by Brazil's predominantly white faced recording industry, there are few existing original recordings of this music from the twentieth century, relying instead on oral tradition and carnivals like those in Recife or Pernambuco. In recent times there has been a flux of contemporary proponents who mix Samba de Coco with other contemporary Brazilian musical forms. Brasil Novo features both the roots, and more divergent fusions.Perhaps the best example of the Samba De Coco of old is from Dona Celia Coquista or Dona Celia do Coco as some people called her. She was a singer from Pernambuco who released only one album Nasci Com Dois Dentes in 2007 despite being an enormously important proponent of Samba De Coco for many years. She sadly passed 4 years later in 2011. The track O Bar features a plethora of local and native percussion instruments and a call and answer harmony of uplifting choir, a cacophony of positivity. Other contemporary artists featured, who mix Samba De Coco in their repertoire whilst reinventing Brazilian folkloric music, are Renata Rosa and Grupo Bongar. The former is a female singer, songwriter and rabeca player with roots from the north east of Brazil. Grupo Bongar, well known in Brazil and internationally, combines all manners of Brazilian folk, axé and samba and also runs a centre for percussion aimed at galvanising musicians from disadvantaged backgrounds.Another all female act on the Brasil Novo line up are Afro Bloco group Ilú Obá De Min, who have been part of Sao Paulo carnaval for many years. As well as making swinging, percussion based tunes, they support the empowerment of black women through workshops and promote all aspects of Afro Brazilian culture. Perhaps the outlier of the album, and one that borrows a sound from that Herbie Hancock electronic jazz era of the ‘80s are the now defunct Toró Instrumental, whose song Dunas is a live version, full of Brazilian percussion, disco-tinged, previously unreleased and is a sure-fire party starter.In the current cultural impasse that Brazil is experiencing, with artists and musicians experiencing the withdrawal of funding and services and with concerts and clubs yet to get back to pre-pandemic levels, it's never been so important to give visibility to contemporary creativity. This compilation not only gives a needy international platform to new artists, it enables an archive of Afro Brazilian culture that in some cases is disappearing. It’s also a fine example of resistance and positivity, against the odds.

Sometimes there’s a huge talent out there and you desperately want the whole universe to discover it. That’s pretty much the story of Parisian label Chuwanaga with young French artist Koji Ono, composer and producer of these four precisely crafted gems, recording everything by himself. Brilliantly mixed by Greita from Disques Flegon, his first EP Incognito is the product of a lot of influences, from Metro Area vibes to the original Britfunk sound. With an inner sense of elegance in the arrangements - something we may link to his Japanese heritage? - The whole EP brings musicality back on the dancefloor. We believe this could be the beginning of a great story for this talented musician, Koji Ono emerging from the incognito shadow to the whole light of the world. Don’t miss out!

** Available exclusively at The Pusher **For it’s 10th album, Blundetto drops his first soundtrack on LP, an ode to road trips and 70’s scores. VTC is a Canal + mini series and features Golshifteh Farahani as Nora, the main character. This soundtrack is the most « urban » and « electronic » work from Blundetto to date. 33 mins of funk grooves, hypnotic atmospheres and psychedelic landscapes. This is the first release of Blundetto’s new label: Les Rythmes Ruban.

Former Steppah Huntah’ member, Missoless has collaborated and worked in the past with Nu-Tropic and also made remix for 4Hero to name just a few. Now making music as solo artist, she teams up for this project with singer Stan Smith (Tokyo Dawn Records) to re-build this forgotten unique Broken vibe. Daz-I-Kue (from Bugz in the Attic) & Lay Far talented Russian producer also collaborated and made 2 nice remixes. You will find here a blend of Hip-Hop / Broken-beat / Nu-Jazz flavors to rock the floor.