Various / Kenya Special

Volume Two: Selected East African Recordings from the 70ies & 80ies

Soundway
26.95 €
Backorder
Tax included, Shipping not included
To many outside of East Africa, the Kenya Special Soundway compilation released in 2013 was their introduction to the full spectrum of the musical landscape of 1970s and ‘80s Kenya. The promotion of Kenyan music on an international level from the mid-eighties onwards had often been within a narrative of ‘otherness’, where releases were marketed as world music, focusing on a few genres with clearly defined sounds, such as benga and Swahili rumba. Kenya Special did more or less the opposite by highlighting songs and bands that couldn’t easily be categorized. Many of the featured songs seemed to bend the rules, break away from existing genres and sometimes borrow from foreign music trends. Whereas the world music campaigns of the 1980s were moderately successful in drawing in young audiences, the more recent wave of reissues has caught on with a demographic that’s one or two generations younger than those listeners that were originally interested in the music that was recorded in Kenya from the 1960s to the 1980s. The approach to musical rediscovery that is behind Kenya Special has its origins in a youthful movement of vinyl collecting (and to some extent club culture), which has, in the past decade and a half, carved out its own niche alongside the established music industry. Despite the renewed interest in music from Kenya’s past, finding these tracks and their rights holders hasn’t become any easier. Only a handful of music archives around the world harbour collections of Kenyan music, and just a few private collectors in Kenya and abroad have been sharing catalogue info online or privately. One of the problems with East African music of this era is that much of it was originally released only on 45 rpm, seven-inch vinyl singles, many of which were only ever produced in tiny runs of a few hundred. 45s with their thin, paper sleeves do not age as well as LPs and are often far more susceptible to the elements. The compilers of Kenya Special 2 have gone to great lengths to disclose a small part of what is slowly being accepted as an essential element of East Africa’s cultural heritage: the history of recorded popular music. We hope you enjoy it.

Share Article

Details

Genre

Afro Beat

Release Date

18.10.2016

Cat No

SNDWLP084

No Tracklist Available

Asia
LP
Various
23.95 €
Ayo Ke Disco:Boogie, Pop & Funk From The South China Se Soundway
Add To Cart
World
LP
Various
23.95 €
Ayo Ke Disco:Boogie, Pop & Funk From The South China Se Soundway
Afro Funk
icon/play-white
12“
Oluko Imo
18.95 €
Oduduwa Soundway
Add To Cart
Afro Music
12“
icon/play-white
Oluko Imo
18.95 €
Oduduwa Soundway
Afro Disco
12“
Papillon
16.95 €
Moulongo Soundway
Backorder
Afro Music
12“
Papillon
16.95 €
Moulongo Soundway
Afro Music
3-LP
Various
31.95 €
Ghana Special Vol. 2 Soundway
Add To Cart
Afro Music
3-LP
Various
31.95 €
Ghana Special Vol. 2 Soundway
Afro Disco
icon/play-white
EP
Sai Galaxy
19.95 €
Okere EP Soundway
Add To Cart
Afro Music
EP
icon/play-white
Sai Galaxy
19.95 €
Okere EP Soundway
Electronica
icon/play-white
LP
Circus Underwater
24.95 €
Circus Underwater Soundway
Add To Cart
Electronica
LP
icon/play-white
Circus Underwater
24.95 €
Circus Underwater Soundway
Disco
icon/play-white
2-LP
Various
27.95 €
Surinam Funk Force Rush Hour
Backorder
Disco
2-LP
icon/play-white
Various
27.95 €
Surinam Funk Force Rush Hour
Reggae / Dub
2-LP
Various
37.95 €
Studio One Story Soul Jazz
Backorder
Reggae / Dub
2-LP
Various
37.95 €
Studio One Story Soul Jazz
Kraut Rock
icon/play-white
LP
Ash Ra Tempel
32.95 €
Ash Ra Tempel Mg.Art
Backorder
Electronica
LP
icon/play-white
Ash Ra Tempel
32.95 €
Ash Ra Tempel Mg.Art
HipHop
icon/play-white
LP
Earl Sweatshirt
32.95 €
SICK! Atlantic
Add To Cart
HipHop / Rap
LP
icon/play-white
Earl Sweatshirt
32.95 €
SICK! Atlantic
Free Jazz
icon/play-white
2-LP Box
Pharoah Sanders
57.95 €
Pharoah (DELUXE Ltd Edition 2lp Boxset) Luaka Bop
Add To Cart
Jazz
2-LP Box
icon/play-white
Pharoah Sanders
57.95 €
Pharoah (DELUXE Ltd Edition 2lp Boxset) Luaka Bop
Funk
icon/play-white
12"
The Pinch
15.95 €
Shot Out Peoples Potential Unlimited
Backorder
Funk/Soul
12"
icon/play-white
The Pinch
15.95 €
Shot Out Peoples Potential Unlimited