East African Records shares new music from Uganda

The singles comprise an amapiano-style bass roller from the UK’s NX Panther and Uganda’s Amani Greene, rhythm from dub/house supremo Razoof and percussionist Erick Kigongo, and sublime, yearning melodies combining a traditional Ugandan harp and electric guitar.

All the releases are available for streaming on East African Records’ Spotify playlist.

Jashu by NX Panther and Amani Greene

Feel the bass with ‘Jashu’, an amapiano style club roller, combining the vocal talents of UK’s NX Panther and slick production of Uganda’s Amani Greene.

A truly international production, ‘Jashu’ came about when NX visited her ancestral land of Uganda in 2022 and started jamming with Amani at East African Records studio. They were both taken in by the amapiano sound that was taking over the airwaves in Uganda and UK and ‘Jashu’ was the result.

NX Panther is a London-based hip hop Artist with Ugandan-Indian heritage. Her laidback street-poetic style is equally at home on tough drill beats and sultry electric harmonies. She released her debut EP Black Forest Ghetto with Decadent Monopoly group in 2018 and her second EP titled You May Have Been Wondering Where I’ve Been in 2021 under her self-founded label Tava Records, spotlighting the African and Asian diasporas.

Amani Greene, on the other hand, is a Tanzanian producer based in Kampala, Uganda. Currently resident beatmaker at East African Records, he has recorded for some of Uganda’s top artists including Recho Rey, Kvan, Mugaba, GNL Zamba, Bebe Cool and Mun G. His style varies across Afrobeats, roots reggae, hip hop and dancehall.

Stream Jashu here.

Morombo by Razoof and Erick Kigongo

‘Morombo’ is the direct, primal expression of one of the finest percussionists in East Africa - the unknown but immensely talented Erick Kigongo from Uganda.

In the studio, Razoof kept the production to a minimum: not messing with the original sounds, but just layering the different drums, keeping them perfectly synchronised and adding subtle tones to augment the vibes. The result is a powerful set of purely rhythmic tracks that subtly change and morph throughout.

The album serves as a mind-liberating companion to workflow or meditation, a killer set of DJ tools for Afro-House/Afro-Tech/Dub DJs, and as an ethnographic record of Ugandan drumming at its finest. An extraordinary and unique album.

Just after its release, Razoof received a message from Tropical House superstar Pablo Fierro asking to buy out the album. Download and spin it now, before it gets swallowed up by clubland.

Stream Morombo here.

Adungu Blues by Alifchief and Charles Obina

A melodic and hypnotic duel between the adungu (Ugandan harp) of Charles Obina and electric guitar of Alifchief, ‘Adungu Blues’ is African blues at its finest. It is taken from the forthcoming Eh Banage! EP, set for release on 29 July, which exercises Alifchief’s full range from Sahara blues to classic rock to jazz-funk.

Alichief is a guitar maestro from Brunei, pushing his unique style of psychedelic rock and blues, influenced by his native Asian sounds and the polyrhythmic sounds of Uganda, where he has been based for several years. His 2020 Boda Boda EP was pressed to vinyl and favourably reviewed by Arts Desk magazine, which compared his playing to Santana. His 2021 album Nusantarafrika was heavily playlisted on the radio worldwide, earning hundreds of positive reviews and accolades.

Stream Adungu Blues here.