The Very Best Mixtape

I discovered The Very Best by way of Vampire Weekend. Of course. Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit's collaboration has been marked by their ability to remix popular songs with an Afropop influence. Their remix of Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is absolutely awesome. They released a mixtape this year that is available for free. It's worth checking out. If nothing else you have to feel the Lion King artwork. Pitchfork gave their debut mixtape an 8.6 (if you're keeping track, they gave 808s and Heartbreak a 7.6).

"In short, they've created just about the most listenable and flat-out enjoyable record of the year-- and one that happens to dovetail nicely with the urgency for and overdue embrace of morally guided globalism. . . this century's renewed Western interest in the music of Africa, the Middle East, South America, China, and elsewhere seems largely free of the condescending and touristic tones that it carried in the 1980s. Instead of searching for a supposed antidote for MTV and synth-pop and whatever else got authenticity watchdogs up in arms a quarter-century ago, now it seems as if people are exploring increasing amounts of non-Western music simply because they have increased access to it and are enjoying the hell out of it."

The origin of their collaboration has a great story too...

Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu in Malawi, East Africa. He grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands such as Masaka Band. He was a good friend of the legendary Evison Matafale and they played together for several years before he was killed in Malawi police custody in 2003.

In 1999 Esau Mwamwaya moved to London, England has until recently run a second-hand furniture store in Clapton, East London.

Esau's shop was on the same street as Radioclit's old studio, and after the Radioclit boy's bought a bike from Esau they invited him to one of their house warming parties They made friends and started working on music together. Two years later and the project has gotten it's name The Very Best. An album is finished (due 2009).

Click HERE to download The Very Best Mixtape