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Remixed by KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole, "African Thriller" is the first single from the African star's new album Branches of the Same Tree, which will be released in early 2015 on Cumbancha.
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"African Thriller", the first single from African music star Rocky Dawuni's forthcoming album Branches of the Same Tree, has been launched today worldwide. The single announces the Ghanaian star's new signing to Cumbancha, which will be releasing Rocky Dawuni's new album in early 2015. Dawuni will be appearing LIVE on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic today at 11am PST to publicly launch the single. Live streaming is available worldwide at kcrw.com. A new music video for the track will be premiered later this summer.
Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca are currently on tour bringing their danceable blend of African and Latin music to cities around the US and Canada, click here for a current list of tour dates.
"With fantastic musicianship and harmonies that enthrall, La Rumba SoYo sounds like a street party you have to dance your way through. Bright horns, fantastic bass lines, amazing percussion, and melodies that linger for days La Rumba SoYo has it all." - POP! Stereo Review
"Rumba SoYo" is a Top 10 Latin Summer Song of 2014 - Billboard
La Rumba SoYo, the new album from Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, is a multinational undertaking that was recorded on three continents and in four countries (US, Canada, France and Angola). It took Lemvo three years to complete and sees him diving even deeper into his Angolan roots for inspiration. Cumbancha will release the album in North America on June 24, 2014 and in Europe and the rest of the world this fall.
With his band Makina Loca, the Los Angeles-based singer produces an appealing blend of African and Cuban music that has earned him a worldwide following. Lemvo's early recordings drew mainly from Congolese rumba and soukous mixed with Cubanson and salsa. His 1998 hit "Mambo Yo Yo," which appeared on the first of two albums he released on Putumayo, can be heard to this day pouring out of taxicabs and on salsa club dance floors in Cartagena, New York, Tokyo, Paris and beyond.
"Ayó starts with a lilting farewell to Palacio, and eases into rousing, soulful songs driven by guitars and the distinctive rhythms of the Garifuna hand-drums, with strong vocals and a dash of dub and funk." * * * * " - The Guardian
The Garifuna Collective are about to start their 2014 European tour. This summer will see The Garifuna Collective bringing their phenomenal live show on an extensive tour across the continent, performing at many of Europe's top festivals. Their first European tour since the release of their critically-acclaimed debut album, Ayó, The Garifuna Collective tour offers an exciting summer for fans of exceptional and culturally rich music.
March 13, 2014 - Cumbancha is pleased to announce that it will be releasing the next album from Afro-Latin superstar Ricardo Lemvo. The new album is entitled La Rumba SoYo and features Lemvo and his band Makina Loca's trademark blend of African and Latin grooves that has earned him a wide global following since he first started filling dance floors in the 1990s. La Rumba SoYo will be released in the United States and Canada on June 10, 2014 and will roll out to other territories around the world shortly thereafter.
Africa’s most inspirational band celebrates ten years since its first recording with its finest album to date. Libation’s “around-the-campfire” intimacy, honest soulfulness, and technical prowess reveal how far Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars have come while remaining true to their roots. Produced by Chris Velan and mixed by Iestyn Polson, known for his work with David Gray, Patti Smith, and David Bowie, Libation embodies the contagious joy, optimism in the face of struggle and love for their fellow man that has earned Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars a devoted following across the globe.
"It's as easy to fall in love with these guys as it was with the Buena Vista Social Club.” Newsweek
“Their music emanates a life-affirming positivity.” BBC
“They still have something to teach the world.” Paste
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"Bold, Melodic, Post-Samba Joyride"
To the US This March and April
www.luisamaita.com
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Listen to Da Lata - Um Amor A Mais Feat. Luisa Maita
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The collaboration between a rapper/beatboxer/singer-songwriter from Syracuse, NY and an electrifying African kora sensation from Guinea pushes genre boundaries and earns raves. Driscoll and Kouyate blend hip-hop, spoken word, funk, and soulful, accessible rock with Afrobeat, reggae and irrepressible African grooves.
"A boundary-trampling high-octane hybrid in which the lightning fast electrified licks of
Kouyate are matched by the explosive energy of Driscoll's rapid fire rhyming."
- Songlines
"A gloriously accessible collision of styles. It's an unlikely collaboration that works, magnificently."
- The Guardian
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"African Thriller" embodies Rocky Dawuni's unique "Afro-Roots" sound, a funky blend of soul, pop, Afrobeat and reggae grooves that have made him a household name in his native Ghana and earned him a wide following across the globe. Jeremy Sole, a DJ, producer and host on the taste-defining Los Angeles radio station KCRW, remixed the single version of "African Thriller". Sole has previously remixed tracks for Femi Kuti, David Bowie, Thievery Corporation, and Quantic, among others.
La Rumba Soy Yo is a multinational undertaking that was recorded in three continents and four countries (US, Canada, France, Angola). It took Ricardo Lemvo three years to complete and sees him looking back to his Angolan roots for inspiration. Three of the songs were written in collaboration with Angolan artists (Calo Pascoal, Kyaku Kyadaff, Adao Filipe) and the styles featured include Cuban and African rumba and soukous, Angolan kizomba and semba and Cuban son and salsa. The title track offers an upbeat and irresistible tropical hook that will certainly be one of the party anthems of this summer and many years to come.
Africa’s most inspirational band celebrates ten years together with its finest album to date. Libation’s “around-the-campfire” intimacy, honest soulfulness, and technical prowess reveal how far the group has come while remaining true to its roots. Produced by Chris Velan and mixed by Iestyn Polson, known for his work with David Gray, Patti Smith, and David Bowie, Libation embodies the contagious joy, optimism in the face of struggle and love for their fellow man that has earned the All Stars a devoted following across the globe.