#ugandan music

[bluetapes]

blue forty-four: Catarrh Nisin vs. 6v9id / Swordman Kitala

Headwrecking industrial Japanese grime on the A side, soul-uplifting Ugandan dancehall on the other.

In some ways blue forty-four is an atypical release for us, but probably in other, more important ways, it isn't.

Swordman Kitala's contributions are more pop than his work for labels like Hakuna Kulala, but still full of edge, and fully idiosyncratic due to that instantly recognisable and roughshod out of pocket flow.

The collaborations between Catarrh Nisin and 6v9id are just huge - dense, crushing, claustrophobic sonic attacks. Everything grime should be in the 2020s.

[twistedappletree]

ẃun ẃupara ki leb munu ba,

think of me in the white man’s language

lutuwa, lutuwa—

my people, my people

lutuwa, ẃun ẃuwek lueny.

my people, stop fighting.

[noneedtofearorhope]

In the parlance of neoliberal multiculturalism, to feel “seen” and “heard” is considered an unalloyed good. But what does it mean to feel seen or heard in a surveillance state hellbent on your erasure? Ugandan artist, DJ, and drag queen Authentically Plastic, an organizer of ANTI-MASS alongside Nsasi and Turkana, has played a pivotal role in shaping the queer music scene in Kampala, facing police crackdowns and surveillance in response to that scene’s mere existence. Debuting on Nyege Nyege’s Hakuna Kulala imprint with Raw Space, the self-described quasi-Marxist embeds their poststructural musings into their noisy electronics.

As their moniker suggests, Authentically Plastic is all-too-familiar with contradiction. In pre-colonial Uganda, the presence of people who flouted Western gender binaries was a pretense for aggressive and violent colonization; today, conservative Ugandan lawmakers almost succeeded in canceling this year’s Nyege Nyege Festival for “promoting homosexuality” and other “un-African things.” Even as public scrutiny has led to raids on LGBTQ spaces in Kampala, the international renown of Nyege Nyege has saved the festival this year from cancellation. In a similar vein, Raw Space is an exploration of sonic contradiction—how do you find freedom in the quantized, repetitive form of electronic dance music? How do you navigate a music career as an African artist around Western institutions that are “more than happy to appropriate at all costs”?

Authentically Plastic answers the former with polymeter, and lots of it. Rather than do away with pulse altogether, they use this musical parallax effect to flout metrical readability. “Spine Jolt” begins with a lurching kick pattern on the 4×4 grid, around which float overlapping clouds of percussion. “Buul a’Nyich,” on the other hand, uses polymeter to a more disorienting effect, like a car tire that appears to be spinning backward..

This is not to say that rawness or intensity is absent. Authentically Plastic makes ample use of “rupture and discontinuity, those horrendous acts of (Black) Aesthetic Terrorism.” It’s present in the teeth-rattling distortion in the aptly-named opening track “Aesthetic Terrorism,” the omnipresent noise that occasionally coalesces into anguished cries in “Sakata.” Their use of abrasive sonic detritus and fugitive rhythm go hand in hand in resisting the slickness of European-style business techno. Kampala may be a “Smooth Space of Blackness,” but the libidinous friction of Raw Space has plenty of room for the rough.

[cavedwellermusic]

Ancient Astronauts – Cypher Kabaka (2024)

Yari looks at Cypher Kabaka, the collaborative album between German hip hop group Ancient Astronauts and Ugandan artist collective BA Cypher Kabaka, released June 27th, 2024, on Switchstance Recordings.

This latest release by Ancient Astronauts, a hip hop group from Germany, is a collab with BA Cypher Kabaka, a diverse collective of MCs, graffiti artists, DJs and breakdancers representing a variety of indigenous cultures of Uganda. The mic skills on display here are excellent, and across the album each MC brings something a little different to the table. Ancient Astronauts have knocked it out of the park with this album, and I know I’ll be continuing to listen to this one well into the future. Read the full review and listen to the album at the link below:

[heritage-harmony-records]

NEW SINGLE OUT NOW!!!

Nkwata Mpola is now available on the HHR YouTube channel. This is the new single from Ugandan afrobeats artist The Carlos Mendy and was released on September 8th. His debut album Feelings will be released on HHR in the future.

[rapnationent-africanews]

#ripaka #SouthAfrica

[punkeropercyjackson]

If you compare Percy Jackson to Peter Parker instead of Hobie Brown or Gwen Stacy,i'm just gonna assume you were a Hadrian Potternizer kid i.e you're pre-dispositioned to mischaracterize Percy and won't let it go

[mias-playground]

Ugandan singer-songwriter Aine Bintu

[bluetapes]

Stuff we did in 2022. BLUE FORTY-FOUR: CATARRH NISIN / SWORDMAN KITALA 

Physics-defying industrial-ambient-grime from Japan and infectious digital dancehall from Uganda Check it out here: https://bluetapes.bandcamp.com/album/blue-forty-four

[boikatcakeafrica]

Boika T Cake image. Work hard. I know it is a bit difficult but try more and more than staying in comfortable zone😒😏

[hicginewsagency]

Ronald Mayinja Hits it Beyond Capacity - Serena Hotel Live

[mafia1tornado]

Bakwagala Olina, Mafia1Tornado_Audio! 2024

[supersupersounds]

Swordman Kitala & Village Cuts - Digida

Pure dancefloor fire, full of Kitala's charismatic charm on the mic. -Kris

[trilzmedia]

Karma Ivien signs Nince Henry

#TRilzNews | Karma Ivien signs Nince Henry

News coming in is that Karma Ivien has signed musician and song writer Nince Henry in a deal that goes into immediate effect from March 11. “You know what it is. It’s time for music! New management! KAMA IVIEN Management,” Nince Henry posted. The last time Karma Ivien real name Ivan Lubega appeared in the news was last year after he sued Pallaso for what he terms as a breach of…

[simba-bonfamille-lyons]

Waloyo Yamoni "We Overcome the Wind" -- Christopher Tin