Exclusive vinyl-only EP by the world-psych-funk ensemble; original artwork by Kevin Lyons, screenprinted by Anti Designs. Download a free MP3 now!

For all intents and purposes, Karl Hector might as well be another nom-de-plume of Jay Whitefield (producer and guitarist for the Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers) who, along with Thomas Myland and Zdenko Curlija, founded Karl Hector and The Malcouns in the early 2000s. Alongside Bo Baral, other members of the Poets of Rhythm and crack Munich-based session musicians, Whitefield, Myland and Curlija crafted nearly twenty tracks for their debut, Sahara Swing, an album that swung with influences from across the African diaspora.

The trio are release a series of vinyl-only EPs – Tamanrasset was the first; Ngunga Yeti Fofa is the second – that will culminate in their second album. Ngunga Yeti Fofa’s five songs demonstrate The Malcouns’ deft handling of musics from both Eastern and Western Africa alongside Western psychedelia, jazz and funk; the title track- a swinging horn-lead highlife jam that would sound perfect next to the Ghanaian classics by the likes of K.Frimpong and Ebo Taylor- is a great representation. If you don’t believe us, download it for free, below.

We’ve yet to set a street date for this EP, but our Now-Again Deluxe subscribers are be able to download this release now.

Download: “Ngunga Yeti Fofa”
Subscribe Now: https://drip.fm/nowagain

Late last year we mentioned that WITCH’s Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda and Musi-O-Tunya founder Rikki Ililonga were readying to journey from Lusaka to Rennes to perform Zamrock live with Karl HEctor & The Malcouns at France’s Transmusicales Festival. Well the show went off – and it went off well. So well, in fact, that Jagari and Rikki are again traveling to France to perform at Espace Fraternite – Magic Mirror (Aubervilliers) – again with Karl Hector and crew.

So we’re showing you some rehearsal photos, shot by Denis Pernath at the Hector rehearsal space in Munich, and offering two downloads from the Transmusicales Festival below.

Download: Rikki Ililonga with Karl Hector & The Malcouns: Dark Sunrise (Live at Transmusicales 2013)
Download: Rikki Ililonga with Karl Hector & The Malcouns: Munzi Wa Kangwanda (Live at Transmusicales 2013)

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Original Raw Soul III, previously only available on CD, is now available as a limited edition 2LP and bonus 7″ packaged in a hand silk-screened chipboard sleeve. Limited to 500 pieces.

So many people asked us why Original Raw Soul III - the compendium featuring the collected recordings of the Poets of Rhythm/Whitefield Brothers/Karl Hector & The Malcouns collective and their multitude of side-projects – wasn’t available on vinyl that we took the remaining 500 copies of our Transgressors 7″, got our man Lewis Heriz to do some new artwork, and made 500 hand silkscreened jackets for the newly cut double album.

Get ‘em while they last!

And, if you need a reminder of how great the music is on this album, remember – we gave away the TRansgressors’ “Money For Born Money For Die” earlier this year – we’ve reactivated that link, below.

Download: Transgressors “Money For Born Money For Die.”

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Yes, it’s hard for us to believe as well – the Paris DJs crew just launched their second Now-Again mix in one week: this time “Soul Sauvage D’Afrique” by Jay Whitefield aka Karl Hector. It’s an incredible mix and follows up Jay’s 2011 mix – “Jazz Modal Du Monde,” one of the most downloaded Paris DJs mixes – quite well.

Download: Karl Hector “Soul Sauvage D’Afrique” on Paris DJs.
More Information/tracklist: Karl Hector on Paris DJs

The collective that includes the Poets of Rhythm, Whitefield Brothers and Karl Hector & The Malcouns present a series of rare funk, jazz, soul and world-psych singles compiled as an album. Out NOW – worldwide.

It’s been nearly fifteen years since the vinyl-only releases by the various ensembles helmed by Jay and Max Whitefield – also known as the Whitefield Brothers and the nucleus of the revered Poets of Rhythm – were collated onto an Original Raw Soul album. The last – 1997’s More Original Raw Soul – largely contained the duo’s heavy funk and soul… well before the aughts’ Deep Funk revival that one could argue began with these two German siblings’ earliest recordings.

Fitting, then, that this – Original Raw Soul III – looks back at recordings dating back over twenty years but never once sounds dated or dull. There’s the garage funk of the early Poets incarnation the Bus People Express; the deep jazz of vocalist Bajka gigging with a Max Whitefield ensemble; the pan-African psych-jazz of the Whitefield Brothers. And that’s just three of the ensembles contained within. Original Raw Soul III’s sixteen tracks that span the gamut of forty years of musical innovation, recorded over the past twenty years, and presented anew today.

Contains two previously unreleased songs by The Transgressors, which also released on a 7” in conjunction with this album. Download one – the garagey funk number “Money For Born Money For Die” – below.

Buy: Original Raw Soul III
Download: Transgressors “Money For Born Money For Die.”