The offerings comprise an array of percussion-driven experiments, Saharan-style psychedelia and digital roots reggae sounds.
All the releases are available for streaming on East African Records’ Spotify playlist.
Tutabaale by Maganda Shakul & Nilotika Cultural Ensemble
Tutabaale is a solo project by Maganda Shakul who is a member of the Nilotika Cultural Ensemble, the collective that performs the instrumentals on this release. Nilotika’s album Nyabingi Resurrection was pressed to vinyl and playlisted widely, including on Don Letts’ Culture Clash Radio on BBC 6.
The Tutabaale EP – out 9 June – is an organic mix of Ugandan sounds, incorporating traditional instrumentals, hip hop, Afro-house, electronic beats and experimental fusions. This release will appeal to fans of new experimental African music and equally to a more traditional African music audience.
Advance singles include ‘Apio’ and ‘KLA, UG’, which display the more traditional and melodic side of Maganda Shakul. They welcome listeners to Maganda’s birthplace, Kampala, with the sounds of a fiddle and percussion, processed with plenty of dub-style reverb and delay.
At the other end of the spectrum, ‘Kaliiba’ is a heavy percussion dance track which will mix well in a hard Afro-house set, using all organic instruments, but arranged and programmed with an electronic aesthetic. ‘Bisubizo’, meanwhile, is a deep, minimal hip hop fast-chat in Maganda’s native Luganda, mixing trap bass and digital drums with traditional percussion to produce hard, deep and highly original, traditional music for the contemporary African ghetto.
Stream Tutabaale from 9 June here.
End of the Line by Alifchief
‘End of the Line’ is an intense, psychedelic guitar rock workout, a tribute to Saharan blues from Alifchief. It is the latest single from his forthcoming Eh Banange! EP, which drops on 28 July.
Alichief is a guitar maestro from Brunei, pushing his unique style of psychedelic rock and blues influenced by his native Asian sounds and the polyrhythmic sounds of Uganda, where he has been based for several years. His first EP, Boda Boda (2020), was pressed to vinyl and favourably reviewed, including by the prestigious Arts Desk magazine, and playlisted on Apple Music’s Sho’t Left in 140 territories. His first album Nusantarafrika (2021) was heavily playlisted on the radio worldwide, earning hundreds of positive reviews and playlist placements.
Stream ‘End of the Line’ here.
Give Me Strength by Silton Busulwa, Nuttyboi and Fucha DJ Moocha
‘Give Me Strength’ is a roots reggae song with a digital dub production from a veteran of the UK drum & bass scene, DJ Moocha. African Rastafarian vibes from Silton Busulwa are spiced up with Nuttyboi’s hard raggamuffin vocals in a classic Jamaican-style duet.
Moocha’s bass-heavy production makes this one for big sound systems. A bass & breaks remix is in the pipeline for the club DJs.
Stream ‘Give Me Strength’ here.
