Outhere Records

It has now been 10 years of exploring urban Africa. Countless trips to the urban centers of Africa, including not only Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Dakar, or Jozi but also remote places such as Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, or Lusaka in Zambia. Soon we felt that the unknown side of Africa was not its exotic traditions but the booming urban scenes on the continent. How come not a single kwaito star from South Africa had an album out internationally? How come the international music market ignored the most popular music styles Africa was dancing to: Kwaito, Bongoflava, Hiplife, Afrohouse, Coupé Décalé... you name it. There was work to do. Work that took us to meet Jo'burg's kwaito cats, into the Bongoflava world of Dar es Salaam, the jungle of Lagos' Ajegunle where stars like 2Face were born, or the Hiplife scene of Accra. We celebrated Urban Africa with concerts and tour projects featuring the likes of Mzekezeke, Bongo Muffin, D'Banj, Pee Froiss, Daara J, African China, and many others. Putting out compilations that introduced urban styles such as Bongo Flava, Afrohouse, Senegalese rap, and Naija hip-hop to an audience outside of Europe. The new urban music world was growing in Africa – but the rest of the world was just waking up to this new sound. We ended up sitting in a stretch limo at the end of the '90s, driving down Champs-Élysées with Magic System. They had just dropped their major hit "Premier Gaou." In London, at the Stratford Rex, 2Face took the stage playing his first show outside of Nigeria. The journey of Outhere Records took a new direction in 2006. It happened in a pizza restaurant in Bamako. Bassekou Kouyate gave a relaxed early evening gig together with the likes of Kassemady, Lassana Diabate, and other stars of Malian music – together with West African music scholar Lucy Duran, it was decided on the spot to record the international debut album of Bamako's king of the ngoni. The result was 'Segu Blue,' an album that became one of the world music successes of 2007. With three albums under his belt, Bassekou Kouyate and his band have played everywhere from Mexico to Japan, to New York's Central Park, Carnegie Hall, or the Royal Festival Hall. The band has collected numerous awards, a Grammy nomination, and has appeared twice on BBC's Jools Holland show.