Today’s guest post comes from the people of  Ye Ye Fever, so without delay, over to them!

It’s been a whole year since the first Ye Ye Fever & we’ve loved every minute of it, i still remember that beautiful moment at the Green Door opening night party when you all went crazy to Pepe Kalle – pon moun paka bouge whilst waiting for Cold Pumas to grace the stage…it was at that moment that the fabled Ye Ye moto was born, the moto which has united everyone underneath Brighton station so many times into a one glorious, albeit slightly overheated african dance party, so for the last time this year join us as we sing together ‘lights down low // vibes up high’

Ye Ye faves  Awesome tapes from Africa, the much respected blog, and now shiney new record label, have rightfully seen fit to reissue this beautifully stripped back hypnotic 1982 masterpiece from Nâ Hawa Doumbia. These four sprawling, minimal & repetitive didadi soundscapes provide the perfect plane for Nâ Hawa’s mesmerisingly imperfect voice. we need not know the true meaning of her words to be able to catch the vibe that this is the urgent voice of youthful frustation. real.

Awesome tapes from africa are doing things properly and will be widely available, working on 50/50 artist/label split. snap em up from your local record store.

Nâ Hawa Doumbia – Kungo Sogoni

Taken from Nâ Hawa Doumbia : la grande cantatrice malienne vol.3

From what I have gleamed about Osaymore Joseph he recorded a lot in Nigeria & a thread of social conscience & activism purveys his work.

However it was not lyrical meaning or any particular message that made this one of my favourite African records. The higher percussion parts create rolling hypnotic loops, right at the forefront of the mix. The wonky half-step of the kick & snare gives an irresistible swing & drive to the beat.

A touch of Funk occasionally peeks through (the little ‘Huh’s that jump off with the rhythm in the breakdown at 4:45). The band’s horn lines are powerful enough to have a strut to them but this is touched with melancholy, I think owing to their tendency to conclude riffs moving down the scale rather than up. There’s such tight rhythmic interplay going on between all the melody instruments & then with the vocals too. They flit in & out of doing call & response things & one big, complex groove.

The flute jams & cool sudden ending really float my boat. Bit of a crackly intro on this one :)

Osayomore Joseph & The Creative 7 – Unmarried Mothers

Want more?

Well, there is….

Ye Ye Fever’s end of year party

HIGHLIFE & SOUKOUS TO AFROBEAT & KWASSA KWASSA

Dec 9th - 11pm-4am - £free – The Green Door Store, Brighton

Music to make you sweat -
‘LIGHTS DOWN LOW // VIBES UP HIGH’

And if you cannot attend we’ll have a special Ye Ye podcast tomorrow on this very blog.