Hailing from Asaba, Delta state, Nigeria, singer Azuka Anthony Moweta has excelled for years as a composer, a lead, and a backup singer. With great Live performance skills. His music is rooted in his culture, heritage and love for humanity.
His style of music could be best described as Ekobe music, fused with Igbo Highlife, rendered with his Asaba accent which give his music a distinct feel different from what we’ve heard around before now. Ekobe music as a style of music that incoperates Igbo musical instruments such as Pot (Udu), Long Gong (Ogene), Maracas (Ichaka), wood block (Okpokoro), Native drum (Igba) and other conventional musical instruments accompanied with chants. It is a style of music that represents a people, their struggles and lifestyle. It is an embodiment of culture and heritage through sounds and melodies. Ekobe music is as old as the Igbo race but has remained untapped. Azuka took it upon himself to distinctively project Ekobe music globally, fusing it with Highlife.
From Owerri, Nigeria, the legendary Igbo Highlife band Oriental Brothers International Band was formed back in 1973 by singer Sir Warrior, and great guitar player Kabaka. In 2023 they celebrated their 50 years of career with their first released album in 20 years! known for their powerful lyrics (whether it be of proverbs, or custom lyrics dedicated to particular people), and deft instrumental work, Oriental Brothers’ unique blend of highlife, merengue, and makossa style songs has been of a great influence to the African music lovers for decades, and one of the corner stones of the Champeta musical movement in Colombia.
Colombian labels Galletas Calientes Records and Palenque Records strike back with the third volume of their acclaimed AfroColombia Remix series; a series envisioned to bring you revisited modern classics from two musical worlds: African and Colombian sounds reimagined through the lens of contemporary electronic music.
This volume not only celebrates Palenque Records 20 years+ of activism; it also marks the 20th anniversary of French-Colombian label Galletas Calientes Records, and stands as an homage to the memory of deceased, maestro of Caribbean psychedelic grooves Abelardo Carbono.
Abelardo Carbonó was born in 1948 in Ciénaga, a small village between Santa Marta and Cartagena, located in the department of Magdalena, Colombia. Abelardo was a renowned singer, performer, and composer of tropical music. His home has always been filled with music, and it was in Barranquilla, where he moved at the age of ten, that his fingers fell in love with the guitar strings, teaching himself how to play.
In 1978, with his band Abharca, he created “Shallcarri,” the spark that lit his musical path. However, it wasn’t until he joined his brothers Jafeth and Abel that the magic was unleashed. Their unparalleled creativity produced “A otro perro con ese hueso,” a statement of style that would resonate in the minds and ears of many. The albums “Guana Tangula” and “La Negra del Negrerio” were released in the early 1980s, showcasing his experimental side and his ability to blend Afro-Caribbean roots with psychedelia.
More than a musician, Carbono was a storyteller. Each note and chord revealed the richness and diversity of the Caribbean, uniting traditional rhythms with the psychedelic vibrations in his mind.
This collection of “remixes” or “reworks” were brought to you by carefully picked producers and musicians from all over the world, known for their ability to respectfully celebrate the essence of the original songs while introducing new, irresistible grooves:: North-American producers Captain Planet and Uproot Andy; Venezuelan, multitalented percussionist and composer Caribombo, and French disco-funk master Bruno “Patchwork” aka Voilaaa.
Just like the previous volumes, the artwork was hand-painted by Barranquilla-based William Gutiérrez Peñaloza, one of the most renown and respected “Pico” artists, whose urban and vibrant art showcases the popular culture of the Colombian Caribbean, where he’s been distinctively painting sound systems since the beginning of the 90s.
William has also been teaching for many years, and is now a professor at the faculty where he got his master’s degree in fine arts.
