Matasuna Schallplatten & CDs

Review: David Hanke has only just started releasing music under the Dem Juju Poets moniker, and already he's managed to instil a very clear direction in terms of sound aesthetic and creative direction. This new two-tracker for the emergent Matasuna label is full of joie de vivre, with the opening tune "Barabara" managing to blend the best elements of funk, high-life, afrobeat, and generally coming up with a tune that's just so damn easy to dance to. "People's Republic", the flipside track, is a horn-led groover, another slice of worldly funk back by a bumpy, positive tribalistic tone that we instantly associate to the dance floor. Excellent stuff - let's keep it coming!

Review: David Hanke is a man known for his wild and illustrious array of aliases. Through the years, he's appeared under the names Black Soyls, Madball Scientists, Mankoora and Rengades Of Jazz, among many others. Dem Juju Poets is his latest creation and, needless to say, it is perhaps his most accomplished and mature project to date. We don't want to take anything away from his previous productions but there's just something utterly fluid about this latest reincarnation. Matasuna is the new label to launch this new Liberated Thoughts LP, and we're sure this will go down a storm with all the jazz-funk crew, particularly the followers of Giles Peterson's DJ sound. Hanke's approach is playful and diverse, branching out into all sorts of jazzy vibrations that are tied together by funky, off-kilter outernational vibes. Plenty of breaks, bass bumps, and party moves for all sorts of vinyl playaz - oh boy, check those horns on the masterful "People's Republic"!