Ata Kak - Time Bomb (Documentary)

Ata Kak - Time Bomb
RBMA

The truly remarkable, heartwarming tale of Ata Kak, brought to life in this RBMA documentary. The story of Ata Kak has some parallels with Sugarman, the South African folk musician whose music became a massive hit among young Americans 30 years after its recording and completey unbeknownst to the artist.

Ata Kak is a Ghanian villager who happened to make one album, at home in the early 90s. Some years later it was discovered by pure chance by African music collector Brian Shimkovitz, who was struck by how infectious, giddy and idiosyncratic the sounds were. He had never heard anything like it, and thus began a decade long search to find the artist responsible.

This is the story of how that all unfolded, and it will make you feel very, very happy.

Do not mug yourself by watching the doc and not then listening to the album in all its glory!

You can buy the album in a range of formats here (USA) or here (UK)

Habibi Funk Mix 008 - Late 80s/early 90s Algerian Tapes

Habibi Funk Mix 008
Just Cheb Hasni (Late 80s/early 90s Algerian Tapes)

Here's something a little way different... the exceptional Arabic music foragers Habibi Funk have released the 8th instalment of their mix series, and it's as interesting a tale as it is sonic experience. In fact, having done so much homework themselves, I'll just let them explain the rationale behind this latest mix below. What I can tell you is it's an immaculately presented mix of 80s and 90s Algerian tapes solely featuring the late, assassinated Cheb Hasni. Cheb was, apparently, a phenomenally popular Algerian popstar, murdered by Islamic extremists. 

If you're not already following Habibi Funk you realy need to - get to know them here 

Notes on Habibi Funk Mix 008 from Habibi Funk themselves:

"Usually our focus with Habibi Funk (الترجمة العربية أسفله) is not music from the 1990s and we tend to focus on more obscure releases (not always though, e.g. Al Massrieen or Ahmed Malek are well known in their countries of origin). Cheb Hasni is an exeption to this. The music is very 1990s and he is to this day a major star, his not very active and most likely not official FB page has more then three-million likes. I know very few artists that did so many songs that I deeply love. Keep in mind Hasni was incredibly productive. In his short live he recorded around 100 albums so there is a plethora of songs to choose from and my passion goes especially towards the ones he did in the years before he got murdered. It’s rai, but it’s the type of rai sentimental that also fused the production astethic of early hip hop and house to a very unique fusion. His lyrics were often fairly explizit dealing with everything from love, sex, alcohol, divorce, a mix that made him a prime aim for the non progressive forces in Algerian society of the time.

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of his assassination by Islamists who had threatened to kill him throughout the most time of his career. Especially since Cheb Hasni was murdered for what he stood for as a musician we feel it’s even more important to keep his legacy alive and spread his name, even amongst those who might not know him outside of the Arab world so it felt right to dedicate Habibi Funk Mix #8“ solely to him. The selection is a very personal one and might not reflect what were his most popular ones but it’s the songs I love the most..."