Collection: Products

Featuring: Coby Sey, Mica Levi and Mark Pell (Good Sad Happy Bad / Micachu & The Shapes) ‘Affectionately’ is the debut album by London based songwriter and musician Raisa K. With self produced instrumentals supporting Raisa’s signature vocal performance, the record delves into the intricate emotional cycles of relationships with heartfelt sincerity. Melodies appear simple and direct, while the themes explored present a great level of complexity. Whether about trust, kindness, doubt, frustration, annoyance, regret, honesty, insecurity, loneliness or friendship, each of the album’s twelve songs lie somewhere in between a diary and a letter.‘Affectionately’ is almost entirely produced on Raisa’s laptop and written in her home in London, as well as finding small pockets of time on trains and buses, during breaks at work, during the kids' nap-times, at the playground, in the park. The production's backbone is formed by a synthesiser sample, weaving together a range of recordings and sonic textures. This creates a consistent expression where diverse electronic styles merge with Raisa's crisp, candid vocals in unique and personal songwriting. Some listeners might recognise Raisa’s voice and musical language from records by the band Good Sad Happy Bad, which she is a part of. While ‘Affectionately’ certainly moves in its own space, a kinship with fellow London artists is also present, as the record includes a feature with Coby Sey as well as instrumental contributions from long-time collaborators Marc Pell and Mica Levi.

Jo Bisso

Gatefold Sleeve M’Bamina – African Roll (1975) The story of an album born between Africa, Italy, and the nightclub culture of the 1970s In the heart of 1970s Italy — a country undergoing profound social change and a music scene just beginning to open itself to distant sounds and cultures — an extraordinary, almost improbable story took shape. It is the story of a group of young African musicians who found their way to Europe, of a Turin nightclub that became a crossroads for communities and experimenters, and of an album which, released in small numbers and largely unnoticed at the time, is now considered a rare jewel of Afro-fusion. The band called themselves M’Bamina — an ensemble of musicians from Congo, Cameroon, and Benin, who arrived in Italy in the early Seventies. Settling between northern Italy and the Pavia area, they began performing in small clubs and community events, bringing with them a vibrant rhythmic heritage: African polyrhythms, call-and-response vocals, funk-infused bass lines, and Caribbean or Afro-Latin colours absorbed along their musical journeys. Their raw, contagious energy on stage quickly drew attention.

Formed in Soweto by vocalist and bassist Tata “TNT” Sibeko, guitarist Robert “Doc” Mthalane and percussionist Oupa Segwai. Kabasa recorded a trio of powerful albums in early-80s Johannesburg. Having been part of the iconic Afro-rock band Harari, Mthalane and Segwai decamped to team up with Sibeko for Kabasa’s eponymous debut in 1980.

Philippe Cohen Solal feat A Kidjo - Afro Bolero

Afro Dub

Moar is an alias from French DJ and producer Jerome Potin, who has been gifting us groove-laden edit gear and his own original productions for decades now. His commitment to funk can never be in doubt, and so it goes on this drop for his 45 Loves label. It's a more recent venture which has carried a vast array of edits from the man's archives, championing less obvious grooves from hidden corners of Afrobeat, high life and elsewhere. The A-side offering on here is a slickly looped up strutter with a little filter house flair, while the B-side is a smoky, submerged affair for those subtler moments in a party.