ZIK ZAK

Description

After more than three years of work, ZIK ZAK is a true African musical odyssey, bringing together some of the most promising talents from ten countries of the mother continent. The common thread of this remarkable diversity of artists is the German production duo ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS, who integrate the voices of African singers into their distinctive sound universe, the "Boom Dub". Drawing from Hip Hop, Dancehall, Roots Reggae, Bass Music, Soul, Electronica and Breakbeat, the production combines live instruments and musical influences from across Africa and its diaspora. The concept linking all these tracks is ZIK ZAK ("Zig-Zag" in English), tracing each artist's journey between tragedies and successes, compromise and integrity, in a context of global inequalities and relentless capitalism. This album responds to the urgency of better understanding the daily struggle for survival of artists and musicians from the Global South. Each artist brings a unique voice through their sometimes chaotic path in the contemporary African landscape, revealing a new perspective from a different city, country, religion or ideology. That is the essence of ZIK ZAK. It is easy to forget how much harder it is for artists to survive outside the relative comfort of the world's wealthiest regions. In Africa, the employment rate is extremely low and the welfare state virtually non-existent, so most artists live in permanent precariousness, with no safety net when the music industry does not pay for their work. Yet the dominant African music industry often presents us with a capitalist fantasy, staging a "bling-bling" lifestyle of luxury cars, swimming pools and hypersexualized models. The artists on ZIK ZAK reject this absurd myth and instead offer authentic messages from their daily reality, demonstrating in a single album more talent, creativity and authenticity than many overproduced commercial productions. In ZIK ZAK, special attention is paid to the intense and vibrant scene of Uganda, where local and hybrid forms of Afrobeats and Dancehall have evolved on the margins of the more well-known globalized products from Nigeria or Jamaica. ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS established a base and partnership with the local studio East African Records, allowing them to deeply explore the talent pool of Kampala, the Ugandan capital. Furthermore, they forged friendships and musical collaborations with artists from countries such as Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Togo, Guinea and Senegal, in many cases meeting the artists in person. DOGU, DJ of ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS, completed two tours in East Africa with artists from the album, spreading the spirit of ZIK ZAK through festivals and clubs.