FPE US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Gbefabi was recorded on a hot night in a gospel music studio in Accra's New Town district. Ghanaian trombonist Elikplim Kofi and American guitarist Nathaniel Braddock, who first met in 2017, reunited and were joined by percussionists Nii Addotey Brown and Daniel Tettey Black for these sessions which blend traditional and avant-garde sounds while merging folkloric instruments with free improvisation. The music is influenced by Ghana's diverse modern soundscapes so feels both local and cosmopolitan. The musicians' diverse backgrounds bring a rare, spiritual energy to this most standout record.

Review: Black is the first record from saxophone player D.A. Mekonnen under the Dragonchild alias. He is someone who is always thinking in cosmic terms and this sonic exploration draws on that with inspiration taken from Black visionaries Haile Gerima, an Ethiopian filmmaker, nonconformist American artist Lonnie Holley, and American activist and author Adrienne Maree Brown. All four of the one-sided albums are designed to be played simultaneously and are made in tribute to the great Alice Coltrane whose influence looms large. It is a ferocious and meditative album unlike any other you will hear this year.