I have found my first Afropop favorite. To even call it afropop might not be exact, but I have a lack of another more suiting genre. The Very Best is Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit and they’ve caught a LOT of attention. Without promotional assistance or financial support, the collection of well-known pop, dance, afro and indie tracks remixed by Radioclit featuring Mwamwaya’s singing charted more than 300,000 downloads and was hailed by tastemakers including Pitchfork, FADER, and Gorilla vs. Bear among many others.
Their album Warm Heart of Africa is astounding. I first heard a remix of their song “Julia” and had to hear more. Then, while listening to the album I thought, “Wow, that title track sounds a lot like Vampire Weekend.” Well, YEAH! You know why? Because it features VW’s frontman Ezra Koenig, that’s why! THEN, when I heard “Kamphopo” I thought to myself, “Wow, that is the same melody that Architecture in Helsinki used for their song “Heart It Races” on their album Places Like This.” Well, YEAH! Because it IS the same! The album also features M.I.A. in “Rain Dance”.
(Hit up THIS website to hear some different kick-ass mixes of “Julia” and title track “Warm Heart of Africa” — including my favorite, a remix done for The Very Best BY Architecture In Helsinki.)
Especially with the weather finally warming up, you have GOT to listen to this album if you haven’t already. Even though you can’t understand most of the words, it’s one of the happiest things I’ve ever heard! It’s a summer playlist MUST this year. Here’s what Pitchfork had to say:
Warm Heart of Africa pictures a glittering web of connectivity where national and cultural boundaries dissolve. People care about socio-cultural chin-stroking; music does not. This record simply wants to be heard, by whomever will listen and enjoy. There’s no cynical play for authenticity, no implication that Afropop is somehow piously cordoned off from Western music. It’s a true global-pop album, and a hopeful template for things to come.
Musically Amusing 