There's clearly a ground swell happening around African music right now. If you had told us fifteen years ago that not only would musicians like Tony Allen and Mulatu Astatke be performing to enthusiastic crowds worldwide, but that we would be fortunate enough to release brand new material from them on Strut, we might not have believed you. But somehow that seems to be the way it has worked out, and it is with pleasure that we announce that Ghana's Ebo Taylor is joining the ranks of legendary African musicians releasing new material with Strut. Love And Death (his first international solo release in over 20 years!) was recorded with the German outfit Afrobeat Academy, a Berlin-based collective featuring members of Poets Of Rhythm, Kabu Kabu (Jimi Tenor collaborators) and Ghanaian legends Marijata.  It's an incredible recording; evidence that Taylor is still smouldering, and we're honored to present it to you.  Love And Death will be out this Fall, with Taylor hitting the road with Afrobeat Academy towards the end of the year. 

The love we've received on our Walter Gibbons retrospective has been pretty amazing, from a full piece in the Wall Street Journal, to a "Best New Reissue" on Pitchfork, to all the feedback we've been receiving on Twitter, Facebook, etc.  In the same spirit of celebration of Gibbons' life, Danny Krivit & Tony Smith, both also DJ legends in their own right, took some time out to share some of their favorite memories of Walter with us.  Very interesting stuff, including gems like the fact that it took some of the subjects of Gibbons' remix work some time to warm up to his style.  Check it out, and look for Jungle Music out next week, and you can look forward to a new Edits record from Danny Krivit in the very near future!

Some pretty big news for you, dear fans of African music. Okayplayer has launched a sister site called Okayafrica, dedicated to the latest in African music & culture. It's a pretty exciting development, and says a lot about the cultural renaissance going on in Africa right now. What's more, we here at Strut will be a regular contributor to the site, bringing you a look at the music we're feeling, interviews with artists, DJ charts & much more. To kick things off we decided to get together a list of favorite African tunes (new and old) that we associate with summer. We had a lot of fun putting it together, and are looking forward to sharing more music with you.

Strut's Top 10 African Cuts To Soundtrack Your Summer

It is with great excitement that we announce that we'll be continuing our relationship with one of NYC's godfather DJs, Danny Krivit. A Mr. K edit is a special thing, a piece of art. I still hear tracks from the first Mr. K Edits edition popping up in DJ sets in the city on a practically monthly basis. The man just has the magic touch. And with tracks from The Jackson 5, Patrice Rushen, Fatback Band, Chairmen of the Board & others getting the treatment, you know these are going to have some staying power. Look for Edits By Mr. K Vol. 2 everywhere on September 14th, and if you're in NYC, come party with us at the legendary 718 Sessions at Santo's Party House on September 12th.

Strut conclude their essential three-part excursion into the archives of South African music... Volume 3 is a long overdue retrospective of the rich jazz scene happening in South Africa! The album features many of the recognized South African jazz greats like saxophonist Dudu Pukwana and drummer Early Mabuza, the potent soul jazz grooves of The Heshoo Beshoo Group and The Drive and some of the many artists creating unique fusions like Philip Tabane's Malombo mixing African drums and hand percussion with guitar, vocal and flute. This is important music, a defiant statement in the face of unimaginable cultural repression.

This whole business of setting up collaborative projects with two artists whose work you respect is pretty exciting. We were so blown away by the results of The Heliocentrics' work with Mulatu Astatke that when the chance came up for them to make a record with Lloyd Miller, we couldn't let it get by. For those not knowing, Dr. Lloyd Miller is a legendary musician & ethno-musicologist with a deep love and respect for jazz and middle eastern music. His music has been compiled recently by discerning folks such as Jazzman & Now Again, and in fact a recent exchange between Lloyd and Now Again's Egon recently made the rounds on the internet, thanks to Miller's frank condemnation of popular culture. He may be outspoken, but his words come from a place respect for the music he takes so seriously.  We're extremley pleased to be able to set up a project with musicians who compliment each other so nicely.  Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics will be out July 20th.

Ain't these great times we live in? Not only is the more amazing obscure music being released, but listening to it is easier than ever. Our friends @ Spinner have been really supportive of our music, and it's a win for you, as it means you can stream whole releases to see what they're all about. Though with this one, you'll probably only need half a listen to decide whether it's for you or not. I mean, heavy South African funk, soul & psych from the 60's & 70's! What more do you need to know? Stream Next Stop...Soweto 2 all week at Spinner. Volume 3, featuring rare South African jazz, will be out in June.