Mac Gregor
In Abidjan

Hot Casa's latest deluxe reissue should delight all those who enjoy Afro-funk fusion from the early 1980s. It comes from Togolese artist Itadi K Bonney and is thoroughly obscure even by Afro reissue standards (if you can find an original copy for sale, it will cost you the best part of L900). Bonney and his backing band recorded and released it in 1983, filling the album with rich political soul, William Onyeabor style Moog motifs and thrillingly loose fusions of U.S funk, boogie and contemporaneous African dancefloor styles. This edition not only comes with an insert containing a rare interview with the now sadly departed singer, but also two previously unreleased tracks. In other words, it should be an essential purchase.

The Ethio Jazz album by Mulatu Astatqé is a jewel of the modern Ethiopian music and a mythical album, since the beginning of Ethiopian music reissues. An incredibly groovy Ethiopian record, originally from 1969-1972. Amazing orchestral 'Ethio-groove' filled with US soul, jazz, sometimes Latin and the deepest Eastern rhythms, even including some great nasty and dirty fuzz guitars. A true gem of Ethiopian modern instrumental music, which illustrates perfectly this symbiosis of strong rhythms and quality arrangements of subtle yet deep Ethiopian melodies. A must for all '60s/'70s collectors!

2022 Repress - Don't sleep!Reissue from 1991, Egyptian cover version of Suzanne Vega - Toms Diner by Simone, Egyptian singer and actress.Originally only released on CD, now remastered for vinyl and pressed on 12" maxi format. Featuring 2 original tracks - "Mabsouta" and "Al Eih" including a bonus beat edit of "Rekka" by Castro. "Mabsouta" is a game changing Arabic cover version of a track that stayed in a generation's childhood memories - Tom's Dinner by Suzanne Vega. Simone's beautiful voice in Arabic brings an entirely new meaning to what might have been a track you couldn't hear anymore, highly refreshing!

Sons of Ethiopia by Admas, the 1984 Ethiopian synth treasure - reissued !Frederiksberg Records is proud to announce the first ever vinyl / digital reissue of Admas’ “Sons of Ethiopia”, the privately pressed album from 1984. Fully licensed from Admas, released with their support, the album includes restored sound and art. The extensively researched booklet features unseen photographs and interviews with the band.Sons of Ethiopia is a mostly instrumental album, rich with global influences. It is one of the few recordings to be produced outside Ethiopia in the early 1980s. It is a key document of the Washington DC exile scene. The core members of Admas – Tewodros ‘Teddy’ Aklilu, Henock Temesgen, and Abegasu Shiota – had previously played in a group called Gasha, one of the few local Ethiopian bands. Admas was born from Gasha, as an outlet for their more experimental instincts.Emerging from the community of Ethiopian exiles who fled the brutality of the Derg – the military dictatorship that had deposed Haile Selassie – the album was the sound of a new generation. The members of Admas were not musicians from the ‘golden age’: they were children of the terror of the Derg time. Their music formed during an era of state-sponsored neighbourhood bands and a propaganda-tinged traditional music scene, where the weekends were sound-tracked by the remaining hotel groups of a bygone Imperial world.Admas took Ethiopian popular music into wholly new territory. Having established a residency at the Red Sea restaurant in the early 1980s, the Admas players were steeped in the polyglot musical culture of the American capital. The diverse sonic influences of the city filter into the music, making the album a radically modern work of Ethiopian fusion.Mulatu, Girma Beyene and their peers in 1960s Addis Ababa had created an Ethiopian pop sound by using rhythms from Latin music, soul and jazz. Admas threw their net wider still, adding highlife, electro, go-go, samba, and roots reggae to the mix.