*pictured: Afrorack at Nyege Nyege Festival 2019
Amidst the bombastic flurry that has been Nyege Nyege Festival, subdivision and record label, Nyege Nyege Tapes, has released an absolutely massive compilation of music to accompany and commemorate the achievement of the momentous online event.
Bringing together 46 different artists from across the African continent, diaspora, as well as friends and allies from all over the globe, L’Esprit de Nyege 2020 covers an incredible range of genres, including baile, kuduro, gqom, mahraganat, techno, experimental ambient, trap, post-club dance music, footwork, African modular experimentations, and countless other genres on the bleeding edge of contemporary music.
It’s hard to talk about highlights from such an extensive project, which warrants a full listen through. Particular standouts for us, however, include Nairobe rapper Boutross’ trap anthem ‘Story llianza’; YUNIS’ earth shaking mahraganat on ‘Hajar Al-Sha’yan; MC Kadilida’s breakneck ‘Amsha Dude’; and EQ WHY’s futuristic electro tune ‘Ride’.
Just to reiterate, the album is only available for one month, so make sure to pick it up from Bandcamp before it’s gone. Proceeds from L’Esprit de Nyege 2020 will be split evenly, with 50% going towards the costs of the festival and the projects of Nyege Nyege’s artists in residence, with the other 50% being shared between all the artists featured on the compilation.
In a statement on Bandcamp, Nyege Nyege had this to say about L’Esprit de Nyege 2020:
“Music has always been at the heart and soul of Nyege Nyege, and we wanted to encompass the spirit of this year and of our line up and our 2020 edition of our annual festival into an essential collection of exclusive music from artists on this year's program from across the continent and the wider African diaspora.
Just like our festival, it will remain a testament to the resilience, talent and vision of the artists who joined us in the sixth edition of Nyege Nyege.”
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