Kampala, Uganda-rooted arts institution and tireless popularizers of contemporary African music, Nyege Nyege, have announced two new releases on both of their in-house labels.
Electro Acholi Kaboom from Northern Uganda will be out via Nyege Nyege Tapes on September 12; the double LP (not a tape!) showcases the mid-aughts birth of a dance scene that reinterpreted the country’s traditional Acholi courtship songs. During times of civil war, resourceful producers turned to Fruity Loops to imitate the sounds of expensive-to-rent Larakaraka bands and create custom-made love jams for Ugandan newlyweds. Their productions quickly migrated from wedding halls to nightclubs, and a selection of some “hard-to-find classics of the genre” forms this 15-track compilation.
The second release (guess what: this one’s a tape) comes through HAKUNA KULALA, an imprint that focuses on the East African and Congolese electronic underground. Mushoro is the new EP by Congo-based Kampala exile Ray Sapienz, and it will be released on August 22. Full of mechanical, deconstructed Soukous and Kalindula, the album “breaks down traditional Congolese pop music into its constituent elements of dramatic vocals, fluid bass chords and dark and slowed-down […] synth melodies.”
In related news, the 5th edition of Nyege Nyege’s festival will take place on September 5 - 8 at Nile Discovery Beach (Source of the Nile) in Jinja, Uganda. Besides performers from the two labels’ roster and graduates of Nyege Nyege’s arts residency program, the line-up will feature over 300 artists coming from 30 countries, with a heavy focus on Asia and the African Diaspora.
Check out fragments of the upcoming releases, artwork, and tracklistings below:
Electro Acholi Kaboom from Northern Uganda tracklisting:
01. Lady Grace Atim - Adoko Gwok
02. Baby Davlin - Can Lim
03. Opiyo Twongweno - Kolo (Dog Mix)
04. Jahria Okwera - Awinyo Bila
05. Pro Lagwee - Rwot Moo
06. Pan Afrique - Angee Kobo : Rasta Cobra Okot Rework
07. Ojegele - Nyaka Twon Coo
08. Brother Q & City Boy - Can Deg Ming
09. Opiyo Twongweno - Gang Deyo
10. Bosmic Otim - Bandera pa kaka
11. Tabu Buzy Body - Kolo Wece
12. Zing Zang - Gang Oling
13. Jeff Korondo - Tum pa Ocii
14. Lakoc Jojo - Apiyo Nyara
15. Otim Alpha - Nyom pa Denish
Mushoro tracklisting:
01. Mushoro
02. Ngando
03. Dancehall Pigmé
04. Anti Machine
05. Nzela Mabulu
06. Entaintenment