Soundway Records

It’s been 2 years since the release of ’s self-titled debut album 🎉 Recorded across the UK, Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey, the album brought together artists from each of these regions, alongside the legendary Asha Puthli.

Bahrain-born UK based Mazen Almaskati and Vish Mhatre started as a DJ duo in 2018. Growing up in the same neighbourhood, they bonded over a shared love of indie, electronic and SWANA music, digging for rare cuts and burning mix CDs for friends became a way to share their musical discoveries. Around the same time, they began making music and playing in bands, drawing inspiration music from around the world.

Mazen and Vish sought to create live and original interpretations of sonics from their culture and cultures that inspire them – transforming their influences into something fresh and innovative. The album is a vibrant celebration of Arabic heritage and multiculturalism, blending the rich musical traditions of the SWANA and MENA regions with breakbeat, disco, Raï, house music and Turkish psychedelia.

Something special is coming from Dar Disku soon 🖤Stay tuned.

Artwork: munireng
Director: Kaan Walsh Kaan Walsh

It was on Wondem, Dexter Story second album for Soundway Records from 2015, that he began to explore East African traditions, bringing his contemporary, multifaceted approach to the music of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya.

Following production duties on Ethio-Jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke Strut Records first studio album in 10 years, Story has drawn on the spiritual and communal principles of T’Som for his latest album for Soundway.

Produced by Carlos Niño, T’Som blends the music of East Africa with L.A. soul and jazz in an open love letter to the communities and artists who shaped him.

The list of artists includes both his L.A. family and the broader East African diaspora. “This new record represents where I am on the journey,” Story says. “So here I am expressing all that I have been through with many of the same people I have worked with over the years. These are all my people, and I am grateful. You can hear my life in the record, and I pray I have made my folks and the ancestors proud.”

For my latest feature for Bandcamp I talked to Dexter about his life in music - from joining the cross generational LA collective Build An Ark to travelling across East Africa from where the inspiration for T’Som and his series of albums on Soundway came.

Dexter then picks out some of those records that have inspired him.

Featuring

dwight trible
kamasi washington
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
Archive of Phil Ranelin
Adam Rudolph
Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra
Jimetta Rose
georgia anne muldrow
Kibrom Birhane
Sudan Archives
Analog Africa
habibi funk - حبيبي فنك
𝑰𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑲𝑶 𝑨𝑶𝑩𝑨
Mike

The NTS Kaiso Power Show is available to listen to now 🇹🇹🔊

Selected by The Wajang Diskotheque, the compilers of ‘Kaiso Power: Sound Revolution In Trinidad 1970-1980’.
The tracklist explores the music of 1970s Trinidad as an archive of the shift in consciousness that followed the Black Power Movement. Expect gems from iconic Trinidadian musicians including Andre Tanker, Michael Boothman, Clive Zanda, Ella Andall and Lancelot Layne, alongside poetry from Delano Abdul Malik Decoteau and drumming from Mansa Musa, who were both incarcerated as instigators of the 1970s protests.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival has never been just about the party. Beneath the colour and celebration is a long history of anti-colonial resistance, dating back to the 1830s and the end of enslavement. Music has remained at the heart of movements for self-determination and nation-building, giving rise to globally significant sounds including steelpan, calypso, soca, chutney and rapso.

‘Kaiso Power: Sound Revolution In Trinidad 1970-1980’ is available on vinyl via the Soundway store and selected retailers, and on all streaming platforms.

The second single from Antiyano Progresivo: Musical Experiments from the Former Dutch Caribbean, 1968-1986 is out today.

Los Honda - Nunca Volverás 🇨🇼🇻🇪🔊 Available now on streaming platforms.

Curaçao beat band Los Honda bring the energy on their garage rock track ‘Nunca Volverás’, delivering fuzzy guitar twangs, distorted instruments and a catchy chorus sung in Spanish.

The title translates to ‘You Will Never Return’. Gaining popularity on the island, before moving to Caracas to amplify their career as boy band and dominate the city’s show business.

The vinyl LP and full album are officially out on October 9th💥 Link in bio to pre-order now! Compiled by Rozaly and Jumanne.

Harrie Verstappen (1940, Curaçao) is an artistic photographer who has documented ordinary life and friends in his home village, Kura Piedra during the last 70’s. This photo series of Kura Piedra has never really seen daylight, this is the first time these pictures are made public. Verstappen also had an international career when he left the island for some exploring years in Japan and Europe, being besties with Yoyoi Kusama+ and profoundly documenting her life during the 60’s and 70s.

Photo credits: Harrie Verstappen.

Rizomagic are bringing their Psychotropicolombian Futurism to Montréal!

Catch the Bogotá-based duo at for their first-ever North American performance, playing songs from their new album ‘Cumbión Planetario’ live alongside Poirier on Wednesday 2nd, September.

Cumbión Planetario fuses cumbia, ambient textures, electronic experiments and traditional Latin rhythms into a futuristic sound.

🎟️ Link in bio to grab your tickets!

Dexter Story returns with new music.

His full album ‘T’som’ is officially out on October 30th alongside the vinyl LP.

The album title T’som, pronounced “sawm”, translates to fasting in Tigrinya, Amharic, and Arabic. Across different communities, this spiritual practice is rooted in fasting, prayer, discipline, self-reflection and letting go.

Guided by this tradition, Dexter Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go.

The album features collaborations with Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Carlos Niño, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Jimetta Rose, Kibrom Birhane and more.

The first single from the album is out today ❤️
‘Mama’ featuring Sudan Archives and kamasi washington.

Link in bio to listen and pre-order + presave ‘T’som’ 🔗

Dexter Story returns with new music.

The full album ‘T’som’ is officially out on October 30th alongside the vinyl LP.

The album title T’som, pronounced “sawm”, translates to fasting in Tigrinya, Amharic, and Arabic. Across different communities, this spiritual practice is rooted in fasting, prayer, discipline, self-reflection and letting go.

Guided by this tradition, Dexter Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go.

The album features collaborations with Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Carlos Niño, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Jimetta Rose, Kibrom Birhane and more.

The first single from the album is out today ❤️ ‘Mama’ featuring Sudan Archives and kamasi washington.

Link in bio to listen and pre-order + presave ‘T’som’ 🔗
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☀️Soundway Records Summer Sale has landed!

Save up to 40% off selected vinyl across the Soundway catalogue, until 31st August.

Included in the sale:

* K. Frimpong and His Cubano Fiestas - Blue Album
* Roland Brival - Créole Gypsy
* Body Beat: Soca-Dub and Electronic Calypso (1979 - 98)
* Kiki Gyan - 24 Hours in a Disco 1978 - 82
* Road Fever: New Generation Carnival Riddims from St. Lucia and Dominica
* Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974 - 88)

Plus many more on the Web store.