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CD
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BJR 020CD
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$16.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/28/2023
Bongo Joe Records return to the scorching Kabyle rock of Abranis, the pioneering Algerian band that blended traditional Berber music with western rock, folk, disco, and funk, all the while proudly celebrating their Kabyle heritage. Amazigh Freedom Rock is a comprehensive look into their discography, from the garage-rock experimentations of their early days to their lushly orchestrated North African fusion masterpieces of the 1980s. The Abranis story begins in the mid-sixties, when Shamy El Baz and Karim Abdenou crossed paths in one of Paris's bohemian neighborhoods. Both were Kabyle, the Berber people from Algeria's northern regions, both loved rock music, and both were passionate about fostering a modern Algerian sound, as inspired by Kabyle rhythms and melodies as it was by western rock. The two musicians founded Les Abranis in 1967. Together they experimented by mixing Kabyle vocals and melodies with garage and psych-rock but as the '70s progressed they increasingly moved away from the garage and psychedelia of their early days and began to interpret their Kabyle repertoire in more open and creative ways melting prog rock, jazz, and some early electronic influences. Over 11 electrifying tracks, Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 highlights their legacy as the underground kings of Kabyle rock.
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LP
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BJR 020LP
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$28.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/28/2023
LP version. Includes insert. Bongo Joe Records return to the scorching Kabyle rock of Abranis, the pioneering Algerian band that blended traditional Berber music with western rock, folk, disco, and funk, all the while proudly celebrating their Kabyle heritage. Amazigh Freedom Rock is a comprehensive look into their discography, from the garage-rock experimentations of their early days to their lushly orchestrated North African fusion masterpieces of the 1980s. The Abranis story begins in the mid-sixties, when Shamy El Baz and Karim Abdenou crossed paths in one of Paris's bohemian neighborhoods. Both were Kabyle, the Berber people from Algeria's northern regions, both loved rock music, and both were passionate about fostering a modern Algerian sound, as inspired by Kabyle rhythms and melodies as it was by western rock. The two musicians founded Les Abranis in 1967. Together they experimented by mixing Kabyle vocals and melodies with garage and psych-rock but as the '70s progressed they increasingly moved away from the garage and psychedelia of their early days and began to interpret their Kabyle repertoire in more open and creative ways melting prog rock, jazz, and some early electronic influences. Over 11 electrifying tracks, Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 highlights their legacy as the underground kings of Kabyle rock.
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BJRA 001LP
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Bongo Joe Records announce the first official reissue of L'Éclair acclaimed first album Cruise Control, originally released in 2017. Almost impossible to find a fair price, this album is the roots of L'Éclair well known poly-groove vibe. Back in the days, the guys were obsessed by Afrobeat, funk, and psychedelic music. Recorded live by Vincent Hänggi, Cruise Control has a totally unique sound. With this, you'll understand everything you missed about the Geneva based crew! Released originally on Rock This Town, Bongo Joe Records have worked directly with L'Éclair to repress this gem. If you already missed it once, don't sleep this time. 45rpm.
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BJR 083CD
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Bongo Joe Records announce the release of Yalla Miku's debut album. It is a new way of combining African, European, electronic, acoustic and electric music and cultures. The project was launched by Cyril Cyril duo, then joined by Simone Aubert and Vincent Bertholet from Hyperculte and three musicians with migrant backgrounds: the Moroccan Anouar Baouna, the Eritrean Samuel Ades, and the Algerian Ali Bouchaki. For its initiators, the idea was not to appropriate a non-European heritage and to interpret it in the company of musicians from these countries. They opted for a more radical approach: to propose a base of compositions on which the migrant musicians then worked with their instruments, which range from the derbouka to the guembri via the krar, the Eritrean lyre. The album, nourished by these stage performances, was recorded in autumn 2021. The result is full of vibrations, unusual sounds and life experiences. Sung in Arabic, Tigrigna, and French, the lyrics glide over throbbing rhythms, borrowing from gnawa, krautrock, and electro trance. Their eponymous debut album sounds like a call to travel beyond the barriers of sound, a call to a horizon without a visa.
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LP
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BJR 083LP
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$31.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 3/31/2023
LP version. Deluxe silkscreened cover. Bongo Joe Records announce the release of Yalla Miku's debut album. It is a new way of combining African, European, electronic, acoustic and electric music and cultures. The project was launched by Cyril Cyril duo, then joined by Simone Aubert and Vincent Bertholet from Hyperculte and three musicians with migrant backgrounds: the Moroccan Anouar Baouna, the Eritrean Samuel Ades, and the Algerian Ali Bouchaki. For its initiators, the idea was not to appropriate a non-European heritage and to interpret it in the company of musicians from these countries. They opted for a more radical approach: to propose a base of compositions on which the migrant musicians then worked with their instruments, which range from the derbouka to the guembri via the krar, the Eritrean lyre. The album, nourished by these stage performances, was recorded in autumn 2021. The result is full of vibrations, unusual sounds and life experiences. Sung in Arabic, Tigrigna, and French, the lyrics glide over throbbing rhythms, borrowing from gnawa, krautrock, and electro trance. Their eponymous debut album sounds like a call to travel beyond the barriers of sound, a call to a horizon without a visa.
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BJR 091CD
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Armed with a thrift-store synth, bizarre wit, and arresting vocals, the intergenerational, all-female micro-choir Alice release their second album L'Oiseau Magnifique. Hailing from Geneva, Alice's music subverts French and Occitan folk music to create a playful and poignant blend of intricate harmony and storytelling lyricism -- a unique sound that is deep yet deceptively minimal. Formed in 2018, Alice is the brainchild of artists Lisa Harder, Yvonne Harder, and Sarah André. Alice combines art-pop, folk song vocals and synth experiments to create a unique sound of their own that is captured on their mammoth 23 track album, L'Oiseau Magnifique (The magnificent bird). The group draws on their experience of intuitive singing at home and with friends and family, as well as Yvonne and Lisa's history of performance in choirs and Sarah's storytelling career as an author of graphic novels. With mother and daughter Yvonne and Lisa playing the keyboard in unison and all three of them singing along with intuitively harmonized words, Alice's music produces a choral polyphony from just three voices, while sharp lyrics reflect on universal emotions and the poignant moments of their everyday lives alike.
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BJR 091LP
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LP version. Armed with a thrift-store synth, bizarre wit, and arresting vocals, the intergenerational, all-female micro-choir Alice release their second album L'Oiseau Magnifique. Hailing from Geneva, Alice's music subverts French and Occitan folk music to create a playful and poignant blend of intricate harmony and storytelling lyricism -- a unique sound that is deep yet deceptively minimal. Formed in 2018, Alice is the brainchild of artists Lisa Harder, Yvonne Harder, and Sarah André. Alice combines art-pop, folk song vocals and synth experiments to create a unique sound of their own that is captured on their mammoth 23 track album, L'Oiseau Magnifique (The magnificent bird). The group draws on their experience of intuitive singing at home and with friends and family, as well as Yvonne and Lisa's history of performance in choirs and Sarah's storytelling career as an author of graphic novels. With mother and daughter Yvonne and Lisa playing the keyboard in unison and all three of them singing along with intuitively harmonized words, Alice's music produces a choral polyphony from just three voices, while sharp lyrics reflect on universal emotions and the poignant moments of their everyday lives alike.
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BJR 025LP
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2018 release. Altın Gün offer an exciting mix of Turkish folk, psychedelia, funk, and rock. After performing in Istanbul with Jacco Gardner, bassist Jasper Verhulst became fascinated by the Turkish sound of the '70s. At that time, artists like Selda, Barış Manço, and Erkin Koray combined traditional music with western rock influences. Along with bandmates Ben Rider (guitar) and Nic Mauskovic (drums), Verhulst searched for Turkish musicians to revive this sound. They found Merve Dasdemir (vocals) and Erdinc Yildiz Ecevit (vocals, saz, keys) through Facebook. Jungle by Nigaht's energetic percussionist Gino Groeneveld joined the group and the band was complete. Altın Gün play songs from the aforementioned artists from the '70s and their lesser-known contemporaries and also make their own arrangements of Turkish traditionals. This way, different worlds meet and form a refreshing danceable sound.
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BJR 084LP
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LP version. Silkscreened cover. La Tène's long, hypnotic, wordless pieces are built from traditional folk instrumentation, wild percussion and blurred, subtle electronic embellishments, and feel as ancient and earthy as those millennia-old artifacts -- with all the metal, wood, dedication and craftsmanship they entailed. As on their previous release Abandonnée/Maleja, a double set running to over 80 minutes, Cyril Bondi, Alexis Degrenier, and Laurent Peter expand to seven members in total. Cohorts Jacques Puech (cabrette -- a small bagpipe associated with the Auvergne region of France), Louis Jacques (cabrette, 23" bagpipe), Guilhem Lacroux (12-string guitar), and Jérémie Sauvage (bass) each return to add color, layers, and intrigue. Ecorcha/Taillée was recorded in a barn converted into a ballroom and cultural center which exists to promote the folk music of region Auvergne. Both "L'Ecorcha" (eighteen and a half minutes long) and "La Taillée" (just under a quarter of an hour, brevity by this group's standards) were recorded live and what you hear is a single take, with no editing after the fact. "L'Ecorcha" goes into space with simple, minimal tools. Beginning with a single, doomy chord circling in perpetuity and a metallic shaker by way of rhythm, a drone of unspecified provenance is joined a little under halfway through by Alexis's hurdy-gurdy, adding bucolic buoyancy while Laurent uses the wooden surface of his harmonium as an extra percussive source. "La Taillée" is spikier, danceable even thanks to Cyril's insistent drumming and the harmonium and hurdy-gurdy moving in a glorious lockstep. If you were to think of the relationship between Lou Reed's guitar and John Cale's violin while taking in "La Taillée", you wouldn't be OTT by any means. Inspirations, soundalikes and kindred spirits are elusive and fleeting in the case of La Tène. There are a couple specific to Ecorcha/Taillée, both brought to the table by Alexis: a Christian song titled "La Passion", collected in 1883 by French folklorist Félix Arnaudin, and a reggaeton hit single from 2022, "Saoko" by Spanish star Rosalía. "Taillée" adapts its crunchy central riff in La Tène's own image. It's that link between the past and the future that also rings out in the music of La Tène.
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BJR 062CD
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2023 repress. Les Disques Bongo Joe presents Club Coco, a summery outernational Latin and Afro rooted music compilation curated by Coco María. An attempt to give back something to music lovers around the world and print on an object a piece of the essence of the community that has been gathering around her weekly radio show at Worldwide FM. Coco María is a DJ and radio host whose musical selection transmits the energy of the Caribbean, Brazil, and the rest of Latin America through records full of samba, jazz, charanga, and cumbia, whilst embracing an internationalist vibe that can also include the most eclectic influences. Her great music taste, charming personality, and unpretentious and intimate way of speaking makes her radio shows intimate and personal. Coco María was starting to extend her musical endeavors beyond her DJ and radio sets by throwing a series of parties called "Club Coco" at Berlin's "Sameheads" venue. This is where Club Coco, the album that you are about to listen to, comes into action. This LP gathers some of the inescapable artists that have been part of Coco María's shows. The list includes Nico Mauskovic, La Perla, Meridian Brothers y Grupo Renacimiento, Graham Mushnik, La Redada, Alex Figueira & A. Bechan, Frente Cumbiero, Les Pythons de la Fournaise, Romperayo, Malphino, Max Weissenfeldt, and even Coco María herself. The album stands out by the way it transmits an internationalist identity via Latin music and other Afro rooted influences. In many ways the tracks of the album showcase how these artists use music to reconcile both their pride for Latin American and Afro culture as well as their interest in being part of the cosmopolitanism of big European cities. Thus, each track adds a particular detail into building a perfect soundtrack for a community that is always traveling back and forwards between both regions, always looking for songs that explore the furthest frontiers of tropical music while staying true to the roots of their genres. With Club Coco, Coco María made a further step -- after hosting a club night in the beginning, then getting her weekly show on WWFM -- to create a sound-world of her own. Look, she brought such a variety of artists with such different backgrounds on a single record and the outstanding result is: you hear all the way through that unique Club Coco trademark vibe.
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LP
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BJR 062LP
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LP version. 2023 repress. Les Disques Bongo Joe presents Club Coco, a summery outernational Latin and Afro rooted music compilation curated by Coco María. An attempt to give back something to music lovers around the world and print on an object a piece of the essence of the community that has been gathering around her weekly radio show at Worldwide FM. Coco María is a DJ and radio host whose musical selection transmits the energy of the Caribbean, Brazil, and the rest of Latin America through records full of samba, jazz, charanga, and cumbia, whilst embracing an internationalist vibe that can also include the most eclectic influences. Her great music taste, charming personality, and unpretentious and intimate way of speaking makes her radio shows intimate and personal. Coco María was starting to extend her musical endeavors beyond her DJ and radio sets by throwing a series of parties called "Club Coco" at Berlin's "Sameheads" venue. This is where Club Coco, the album that you are about to listen to, comes into action. This LP gathers some of the inescapable artists that have been part of Coco María's shows. The list includes Nico Mauskovic, La Perla, Meridian Brothers y Grupo Renacimiento, Graham Mushnik, La Redada, Alex Figueira & A. Bechan, Frente Cumbiero, Les Pythons de la Fournaise, Romperayo, Malphino, Max Weissenfeldt, and even Coco María herself. The album stands out by the way it transmits an internationalist identity via Latin music and other Afro rooted influences. In many ways the tracks of the album showcase how these artists use music to reconcile both their pride for Latin American and Afro culture as well as their interest in being part of the cosmopolitanism of big European cities. Thus, each track adds a particular detail into building a perfect soundtrack for a community that is always traveling back and forwards between both regions, always looking for songs that explore the furthest frontiers of tropical music while staying true to the roots of their genres. With Club Coco, Coco María made a further step -- after hosting a club night in the beginning, then getting her weekly show on WWFM -- to create a sound-world of her own. Look, she brought such a variety of artists with such different backgrounds on a single record and the outstanding result is: you hear all the way through that unique Club Coco trademark vibe.
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LP
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BJR 007LP
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Alain Péters is one of the best-kept secrets in the music scene of the Indian Ocean and beyond. His music is unique: a blend of Creole blues, Maloya, and international folk, it discretely takes hold of you and never leaves you. Péters travelled through the '70s and the '80s like a shooting star, alone or with a band, with his Sahelian lute, his reel-to-reel tape recorder, firewater, and ill-fated genius. He died in 1995, aged 43. Poet, musician, singer and melody-maker, he left behind a handful of sublime songs which are gathered here for the first time on vinyl. Full of dazzling beauty and sparkling darkness, his songs express the yearning homesickness of the Creoles' highly sensitive wandering soul, at the crossroads of African, Indian and European cultures. "Réunion" (literally "the gathering") is aptly named and over the course of his uncertain career, Péters continuously embodied the soul of this culturally hybrid land with a fusion of African instruments, Indian mysticism and European poetry.
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12"
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BJR 12003EP
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Following on from the first edition released earlier this year, Les Disques Bongo Joe announce Ayiti Kongo Dub 2 by Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers. Following on from 2020's acclaimed album Vodou Ale, Chouk Bwa turn up the heat for this exhilarating trip into their bush of ghosts by introducing a new stripped-down line-up to fire up the dancefloor, based exclusively on the drums and rhythms of the Haitian kongo rite and deep electronic dub expansions by their trusted Belgian counterparts, The Ångströmers. As Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms meet bass-weight dub electronics, the two-part EP has documented the group experimenting with a stripped back form which focuses on the dimension of trance. Opening with a ceremonial chant and designed to induce dancefloor delirium, the first track taken from the EP is the raw, high-octane, primordial techno of "Zemedo".
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BJR 079CD
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Outernational pop group Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek unveil the second and final part of their double-album and collect both parts here on CD. Once again, their subtle and groovy Anatolian psych folk sound matches the powerful quality of the songs often led by Yıldırım's sublime vocals and bağlama (Turkish lute). With Dost 2, the band have broadened their songwriting horizons and refined their idiosyncratic arrangement skills. Most of Dost 2's material was composed by the band, with two notable tracks composed by guitarist flautist Antonin Voyant whose melodic work brings the music to a non-nostalgic, yet deep and meaningful place. The lyrics were penned by Derya Yıldırım in collaboration with Berlin based writer Duygu Ağal, adding another string to Grup Şimşek's bow. Here they captured a lively, unique piece of interpretation which connects to the meaning of "Dost" as the text inserted inside explains: "Dost is a friend, a comrade, a brother, a sister and even more than that. Dost is the connection to keep this life and world meaningful". Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek bring sounds, people, and emotions together.
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7"
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BJR 45023EP
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Cansu Ak, Tolga Horasanlı, and Mehmet Koray Erol came together in 2019 to produce their own music with creating the band "oldu o zaman". Since they gathered as a band, two songs written, composed, and arranged by them have been released by Avrupa Müzik. After that, the band decided to make their mutual dream which is covering and arranging Turkish traditional well-known folk songs with psychedelic and electronic elements to create a unique sound with their own touch. There was a psychedelic music trend in '70s used in traditional Anatolian folk songs. Oldu o Zaman rearranged famous tavern song "Sigarası Yaldızlı" and a well-known Turkish gipsy song "Mastika" by using this trend in electronic form.
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BJR 078LP
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LP version. With his third album, The Big Swim, on Les Disque Bongo Joe, Augenwasser ventures once again into the paths of synth wave exploration with a pop feel. Still laced with the folk textures of his early days, he nevertheless develops a dance approach that can at times be akin to melancholic drone. His music takes you to an imaginary, dark club, lulled by a haunting rhythm, surrounded by the fumes of the night, where it is possible to indulge in that quiet voice that has already confessed that it is too late but will never stop repeating its soft, cold poetry. "You'll realize one sad morning/some things change without a warning." In the same way that we realize as a child that things are bigger than they seem, so we discover the music of Augenwasser. A simple and disturbing melody, beautiful and sincere, declined to excess, which grows with each track, as a stream turns into a lake, a music that builds a world of broken papers and enchanted ideas.
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BJR 084CD
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La Tène's long, hypnotic, wordless pieces are built from traditional folk instrumentation, wild percussion and blurred, subtle electronic embellishments, and feel as ancient and earthy as those millennia-old artifacts -- with all the metal, wood, dedication and craftsmanship they entailed. As on their previous release Abandonnée/Maleja, a double set running to over 80 minutes, Cyril Bondi, Alexis Degrenier, and Laurent Peter expand to seven members in total. Cohorts Jacques Puech (cabrette -- a small bagpipe associated with the Auvergne region of France), Louis Jacques (cabrette, 23" bagpipe), Guilhem Lacroux (12-string guitar), and Jérémie Sauvage (bass) each return to add color, layers, and intrigue. Ecorcha/Taillée was recorded in a barn converted into a ballroom and cultural center which exists to promote the folk music of region Auvergne. Both "L'Ecorcha" (eighteen and a half minutes long) and "La Taillée" (just under a quarter of an hour, brevity by this group's standards) were recorded live and what you hear is a single take, with no editing after the fact. "L'Ecorcha" goes into space with simple, minimal tools. Beginning with a single, doomy chord circling in perpetuity and a metallic shaker by way of rhythm, a drone of unspecified provenance is joined a little under halfway through by Alexis's hurdy-gurdy, adding bucolic buoyancy while Laurent uses the wooden surface of his harmonium as an extra percussive source. "La Taillée" is spikier, danceable even thanks to Cyril's insistent drumming and the harmonium and hurdy-gurdy moving in a glorious lockstep. If you were to think of the relationship between Lou Reed's guitar and John Cale's violin while taking in "La Taillée", you wouldn't be OTT by any means. Inspirations, soundalikes and kindred spirits are elusive and fleeting in the case of La Tène. There are a couple specific to Ecorcha/Taillée, both brought to the table by Alexis: a Christian song titled "La Passion", collected in 1883 by French folklorist Félix Arnaudin, and a reggaeton hit single from 2022, "Saoko" by Spanish star Rosalía. "Taillée" adapts its crunchy central riff in La Tène's own image. It's that link between the past and the future that also rings out in the music of La Tène.
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BJR 078CD
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With his third album, The Big Swim, on Les Disque Bongo Joe, Augenwasser ventures once again into the paths of synth wave exploration with a pop feel. Still laced with the folk textures of his early days, he nevertheless develops a dance approach that can at times be akin to melancholic drone. His music takes you to an imaginary, dark club, lulled by a haunting rhythm, surrounded by the fumes of the night, where it is possible to indulge in that quiet voice that has already confessed that it is too late but will never stop repeating its soft, cold poetry. "You'll realize one sad morning/some things change without a warning." In the same way that we realize as a child that things are bigger than they seem, so we discover the music of Augenwasser. A simple and disturbing melody, beautiful and sincere, declined to excess, which grows with each track, as a stream turns into a lake, a music that builds a world of broken papers and enchanted ideas.
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BJR 077LP
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LP version. Brother and sister, Citron Citron is the new revelation of the Geneva underground scene. Chagrin Bleu explores the melancholy of the night and the joy of a flight under the sun. Songs with transcendent refrains, and synthetic laments with romantic melodies, carried by groove box-like rhythms. An album on the borders of chamber pop, medieval chants, and ambient. The lyrics are at times poetic, angry or dreamy. The first sketches of the album were drawn during the first confinement when time was slowing down. The songs were then recorded in a DIY way by the band in their studio in Geneva during the year 2021. The first sessions were recorded on tape with a Tascam 688, then expanded and edited on computer. Some additional recordings were made with the help of sound engineer Yavor Lilov (L'Éclair) and some guests: Fhunyue Gao on theremin, Sébastien Bui (L'Éclair) for some synth parts. The album was then worked on and mixed with Jacco Gardner in his Antwerp studio. His analog world allowed the sound of the album to grow and deepen. With his echoes and tape machines, the mix could be approached in an organic and evolutionary way.
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BJR 067LP
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After a recent 7" single release, Bongo Joe Records follow the debut album from Nyati Mayi & The Astral Synth Transmitters. Nyati Mayi, a Belgo-Congolese multi-instrumentalist, singer, and improv dancer has joined up with DJ and producer Sofa Elsewhere. After a performance at this year's BBC Radio 3 After Dark Festival the duo have a busy live summer in Europe including a show at the Best Kept Secret Festival.
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BJR 060CD
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Pedro Lima was certainly the most iconic singer from Sao Tomé Island. Born in 1944, his career began at teenage, with his faithful band Os Leonenses, who were mostly members of his family and shared most of his musical life; and lasted until his death on January 31st, 2019. Until the very end, he kept performing big events all around the country, and was among the very few singers and bands from Sao Tomé & Principe that recorded in Luanda Angola for N'Gola and Merengue labels in the '70s, and in Lisbon for the essential IEFE imprint in the '80s. Respected father of 27 children from four different wives, people named him "A voz do povo de Sao Tomé", the people's voice of the island, as he always made very clear his political views on internal affairs and backed since day one the revolutionary party that took power after the independence obtained from Portugal on July 12th, 1975. A powerful and free soul, expressing through his beautifully soft and deep voice range, the concerns of the poor, in this often-troubled country. His funerals were the biggest ever organized on the island, and were paid for by ex-president Pinto da Costa, gathering thousands to accompany him to his last home. His music is wonderfully rich and delicate, though quite minimalistic in arrangements, revealing the subtle melodies of the islands' harmonic and backing vocals traditions, laid on either incredibly energetic Puxa rhythms, or the sweetness of sensual Rumbas. Continuing their work on Sao Tomé and Principe with curator DJ Tom B., Les Disques Bongo Joe announce the release of Recordar É Viver: Antologia Vol. 1, the first volume of a retrospective of Pedro Lima's work. You'll find here some rare and unreleased tracks from the '80s when he was at the top of his game. For fans of: África Negra, Ebo Taylor, William Onyeabor.
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BJR 082CD
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Amsterdam based Mauskovic Dance Band make madcap music intent on expanding musical universes. Powered by elastic rhythms and some potent dub wizardry, the five-piece are synonymous with flipping global music traditions and creating new, sound-system stylized, synth-powered, dancefloor experiments. Whilst their 2019 debut album on Soundway Records offered a frenetic mix, imbued by the Colombian champeta, Ghanaian highlife, and spaced-out disco, their album Buckaroo Bank, released on Swiss label Bongo Joe Records, feeds off the industrial sounds of New York City, post punk, and early electronic explorers. At the very center of the project is the dub, the Mauskovic echo chamber, guided by their universal hero Lee Scratch Perry and made possible by their studio friend Kasper Frenkel who provided the tools this new Mauskovic riddim philosophy. A proper family band (four of them are related), and fronted by Nico Mauskovic who is also part of Zamrock touring band W.I.T.C.H., the group have released various singles since their debut album including on Berlin label Dekmantel and most recently, on experimental Swiss label Bongo Joe, their perfect home for Buckaroo Bank.
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BJR 082LP
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LP version. Amsterdam based Mauskovic Dance Band make madcap music intent on expanding musical universes. Powered by elastic rhythms and some potent dub wizardry, the five-piece are synonymous with flipping global music traditions and creating new, sound-system stylized, synth-powered, dancefloor experiments. Whilst their 2019 debut album on Soundway Records offered a frenetic mix, imbued by the Colombian champeta, Ghanaian highlife, and spaced-out disco, their album Buckaroo Bank, released on Swiss label Bongo Joe Records, feeds off the industrial sounds of New York City, post punk, and early electronic explorers. At the very center of the project is the dub, the Mauskovic echo chamber, guided by their universal hero Lee Scratch Perry and made possible by their studio friend Kasper Frenkel who provided the tools this new Mauskovic riddim philosophy. A proper family band (four of them are related), and fronted by Nico Mauskovic who is also part of Zamrock touring band W.I.T.C.H., the group have released various singles since their debut album including on Berlin label Dekmantel and most recently, on experimental Swiss label Bongo Joe, their perfect home for Buckaroo Bank.
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LP
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BJR 079LP
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LP version. Derya Yıldırım and Grup Şimşek are back with their third album Dost 2, the second of a two-part series following 2021's highly acclaimed Dost 1 (BJR 065LP). The eight-track release sees Turkish singer, bağlama player and multi-instrumentalist Derya Yıldırım and her international band of brothers and sisters continue their psychedelic journey, meandering through Anatolian folk music and poetry with their electrifying grooves, while also delving into their own lives and personal experiences. While rooted in Anatolian tradition, Grup Şimşek (which translates into "Ocean Lightning and the Thunderbolts", a play on Derya's surname "Yıldırım", which means lightning in Turkish) draws on a boundless cosmos of sounds and builds on the contribution of each band member. Despite being multilingual, Yıldırım exclusively sings in Turkish. Graham Mushnik (organ, synthesizers, and clavinet player) and Antonin Voyant (guitar, bass, and flute) are both members of London/France-based collective Catapulte Records and played in l'Orchestre du Montplaisant, a quartet known for its cinematic, retro atmospheres -- a clear influence on Grup Şimsek's sprawling, vintage-tinged compositions. The band marries 1960s and '70s Anatolian influences with a contemporary approach to composition and rhythm, thanks in large part to the contribution of drummer, percussionist, composer, and marimba player Greta Eacott. With a background in experimental and contemporary music, Eacott "thinks about essential things like sound and time within music and space, and contributed this whole mindset to Grup Şimsekm," says Yıldırım. Şimşek's original compositions dominate Dost 2's tracklist, with the lyrics on four of the tracks penned by Derya Yıldırım in collaboration with Berlin-based writer Duygu Ağal. Guitar and organ curl around each other on opener "Gümüş", which unfolds and swells as Yıldırım's powerful voice takes off before giving way to an evocative guitar solo. "Meraklı Gönül" deals with memory and loss, feelings that permeate Yıldırım's vocals as they float on a mellow bed of delicate percussions, phased guitars, and winding synth lines; "Mola" is an understated but incredibly powerful bağlama composition, where moments of silence are able to stir up emotions as intensely as the music itself; seconds later the tension is broken by the funky bassline on the irresistibly catchy "Bal". The sorrowful atmosphere on "Odam Kireç Tutmuyor" mirrors the heartbreak of the song's two protagonists. Based on a traditional love song, the track ends with a cry of "Oy Leminê", a Kurdish expression that conveys a feeling of pain, hope, and unfulfilled hopes, artfully captured by a wistful flute line. The third cover on the album is the soul stirring "Ayşe Halam Arıyor" sung by Derya's aunt Ayşe Yıldırım. For fans of: Altin Gün, Satellites, Sababa 5, Mogollar, Baba Zula.
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CD
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BJR 077CD
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Brother and sister, Citron Citron is the new revelation of the Geneva underground scene. Chagrin Bleu explores the melancholy of the night and the joy of a flight under the sun. Songs with transcendent refrains, and synthetic laments with romantic melodies, carried by groove box-like rhythms. An album on the borders of chamber pop, medieval chants, and ambient. The lyrics are at times poetic, angry or dreamy. The first sketches of the album were drawn during the first confinement when time was slowing down. The songs were then recorded in a DIY way by the band in their studio in Geneva during the year 2021. The first sessions were recorded on tape with a Tascam 688, then expanded and edited on computer. Some additional recordings were made with the help of sound engineer Yavor Lilov (L'Éclair) and some guests: Fhunyue Gao on theremin, Sébastien Bui (L'Éclair) for some synth parts. The album was then worked on and mixed with Jacco Gardner in his Antwerp studio. His analog world allowed the sound of the album to grow and deepen. With his echoes and tape machines, the mix could be approached in an organic and evolutionary way.
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