DJ Buna
Back To The Roots Vol. 2

Nkumba System, new project led by guitarist Guillo Cros (Romperayo) provides a vibrant fusion of catchy percussions, Afro-Colombian songs and Cameroonian guitar picking style linking Central Africa to the Caribbean! Nkumba System is about to fill the dancefloors with debut album ¡Bailalo Duro!, recorded between Bogotá and Paris.On the imaginary highway of Guillo Cros, makossa crosses paths with cumbia, Zairean rumba combines with that of Cuba and last but not least, currulao melts into Malian desert blues. Cros' journeys led him to meet the Cameroonian singer Mama Ohandja, alongside whom he trained for several years. Thereafter, he resided in Bogotá from 2014 to 2019, collaborated with Pedro Ojeda in the band Romperayo and “Los Propios Bateros” (7” NYCT). His current project Nkumba System was born in 2018, inside Colombia's effervescent tropical music scene. The original line-up includes bassist Jhon Socha (Romperayo, la Makina del Karibe), singer-percussionist Leonel Merchan (La Phónoclórica) and Kike Narvaez on drums. Several singles were released on local labels Tambora Records and Palenque Records, preceeding the arrival of Cameroonian guitarist Simba Daniel Evousa in the band. The drummer Pedro Ojeda, travelling companion in Romperayo, is invited on the track “Mujer hermana”, as well as the Malian singer Mamani Keita on “Paisano”. The album is mixed in Amsterdam by sprawling musician Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta, Conjunto Papa Upa, Music With Soul), in his studio Barracão Sound, and comes as a Limited Pressing.

Just as a film or painting does, recorded music proposes a space in three dimensions, it may not be permanent and it could be said to be illusory, but to us, in the moment, it is there.Sunstroke were Ben Bollaert and Etienne Delaruye, both were obsessed with the burgeoning possibilities of electronic music it made sense that they collaborate in the studio. The resulting experiments culminated in the 1985 release of Nothing's Wrong in Paradise. The record was conceived as a soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist - a sophisticated meeting of post-Berlin-school dreaming, Yen-records hi-tech calm and Impressionist Café music ennui. What makes it most compelling though, is that even while it conjures a seemingly perfect world, something around the edges lets you know that all might not be as it seems. Maybe there is nothing wrong in paradise. Or maybe that’s just wallpapering over the cracks. The rough edges and regret of everyday life cannot help but intrude. Once you have spent some time with it, the whole record starts to seem bathed in a dim half-light, suggesting utopia glimpsed through a smudged lens.Just like the ethereal space in their music Sunstroke only existed for a moment, a second LP was planned but never materialised, Delaruye returned to theatre music and Bollaert opened a successful synthesiser store and was active in the New Beat scene. Briefly they created a paradise and pointed out its temporary nature, all at the same time.Remastered from the Master tapes.

No one had been through those doors in years. Unchanged, seemingly untouched, just a Guard watching over it, one wondered whether the place would ever see the light of day again. Built in the 70s by Scotch, there were only twenty such places in the entire world. Twenty studios, all identical. Most had undergone a digital makeover in the 80s, but not this one; situated in Lomé, this studio had stayed true to its original form. Silent and uninhabited but waiting for one thing, and one thing only: for the sacred fire to be lit once again. That of the Togolese Recording Office, is studio OTODI for those in the know. Through thick layers of dust, the console was vibrating still, impatient to be turned on and spurt out the sound so unique to analog. That sound is what Peter Solo and his band Vaudou Game came to seek out. The original vibrations of Lomé’s sound, resonating within the studio space, an undercurrent pulsing within the walls, the floor, and the entire atmosphere. A presence at once electrical and mystical sourced through the amps that had never really gone cold, despite the deep sleep that they had been forced into. In taking over the studio’s 3000 square feet, enough to house a full orchestra, Vaudou Game had the space necessary to conjure the spirits of voodoo, those very spirits who watch over men and nature, and with whom Peter converses every day. For the most authentic of frequencies to fully imbibe this third album, Peter Solo entrusted the rhythmic section to a Togolese bass and drum duo, putting the groove in the expert hands of those versed in feeling and a type of musicianship that you can’t learn in any school. This was also a way to put OTODI on the path of a more heavily hued funk sound, the backbone of which maintains flexibility and agility when moving over to highlife, straightens out when enhanced with frequent guest Roger Damawuzan’s James Brown type screams, and softens when making the way for strings. Snaking and undulating when a chorus of Togolese women takes over, guiding it towards a slow, hypnotic trance. Up until now, Vaudou Game had maintained their connection to Togo from their base in France. This time, recording the entire album in Lomé at OTODI with local musicians, Peter Solo drew the voodoo fluid directly from the source, once again using only Togolese scales to make his guitar sing, his strings acting as channels between listeners and deities…

Following the recent acclaimed release of his “Space” LP, on which Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart transformed himself into Patchworks Galactic Project for a fantastic musical trip, Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new 2 tracks remix EP.On the A side, rising UK producer NY*AK provides a blowing version of “Surrounded by the Gobblins”. What do the letters stand for? Why the asterisk?” you ask. The origin of the asterisk has something to do with donating dates of birth on family trees, from back in the medieval times. In music, an asterisk denotes when a sustain pedal should be lifted. NY – New York? AK – Alaska? Is it something to do with the three stooges? Nyak nyak nyak… It leaves the mind thirsty for answers... In reality Andrew Scott, the man behind NY*AK; banged his computer keyboard in frustration one day – and out came NY*AK. If that’s taken the shine off it a little, we’re not worried. Listen to any of Andrews tracks and we guarantee you’ll be drawn straight back in, but this time – deeper.For the B Side, underground House producer Kool Vibe also delivers a brilliant rendition of “Gobblins Are Gone”. Producer & owner of KV Records (Paris), record collector since 1993, and definitely part of the new Deep House music scene that is emerging from France at the moment, Laurent, aka Kool Vibe, was born in Paris in 1970. Kool Vibe's music reflects the best of the 90s House Music sound that he manages to love so much. In 2011 and 2012, his first releases have been cult tracks out on “My Love Is Underground” and “Traxx Underground” imprints.“Must congratulate you. I can't remember the last time I sat and listened to an album from first note to last…” – (Patrick Adams about “Space” LP)

Hypnotic Beats and Melodies to put you in a Trance. Formed in 2015, gaining the reputation of "The new Middle Eastern music pioneers". Blue Desert by Yossi Fine & Ben Aylon is transcending musical borders. This album is a mix of Dabke music with fresh Dub, Gnawa and Trance directly from the hills of Jerusalem, to the dunes of the Sahara. All, In a bass heavy 4X4 drive. The music of the Blue Desert is based on the regional music styles. The repetitive hypnotic melodies, burning rhythms and endless virtuosity takes the crowd into the deep dunes and oasis of the Blue Desert.Yossi Fine, Bass master producer, one of the most well known musicians and producers in the world today. Grammy nominated, Produced over 40 albums around the world, reaching 20 gold and multi-platinum albums. Yossi has produced, recorded and played with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Gil Evans Orchestra, Vieux Farka Toure and many more. Yossi plays bass and a special guitar he built, playing traditional songs and hits from the blue desert. Ben Aylon is defined as a boarder-breaking drummer and percussionist, best known for his unique "New-African Drumming" style and cutting edge hybrid drumming techniques. Inspired by the deep Senegalese Wolof drumming, Ben creates explosive-burning rhythms with a sound of an entire tribe of drummers using African and modern drums. Ben Recorded and played with: Bombino, Doudou Ndiaye Rose, Awadi, Khaira Arby and many more. Completing the band's sound is Sharon Mansur on Synth-Bass and Keyboards, the princess of the Middle-Eastern keyboards. Sharon is at the forefront of the emerging new Middle....

Soundclash or romance? Androo versus Bony Fly have composed six tracks finely balanced between the care given to sound experimentation and the explosive ardor of the dancefloor. Love Affair EP was born from this particular research, the fruit of a common passion for dub music, dancehall and its infinite variations. Radical and popular, the EP carries within it this generous and spontaneous quest for dance, naturally provoking body movements. It is also combined with a particular attention to sound textures, subtle and harmonious, whose multiple references (to jazz in particular) testify to an overflowing curiosity.