Philophon compilation out December

Philophon is a very cool little label started in 2014 by drummer Max Weissenfeldt (Poets of Rhythm, Whitefiled Brothers), releasing a handful of 7" singles.

He'd had the idea for a label for some time, and says " Only my move from Munich to Berlin brought the decisive turn. I joined the gamelan group of the Indonesian composer Gutama Soegijo, and it was at that time that a space was set up in his spacious studio and offered for sublease.

"Here I had found a place where I could build something. Soon I started working with Stibbo Spitzmüller as a technician to do the first recording experiments. At that time, I was also in Ghana a lot and started singing about our stuff - including Roy X aka Jimmy Taylor, the youngest son of highlife legend Ebo Taylor. During my travels through Ghana, I also discovered the kologo virtuoso Guy One and the Frafra Gospel King Alogte Oho. Back in Berlin, I had wonderful recordings of these three talents in my pocket - the desire to release them was great."


"Bitteschön, Philophon!" presents a best of selection taken from the so far fifteen 7" releases by the Berlin-based label Philophon. Greats as Jimi Tenor, Alemayehu Eshete and Hailu Mergia as well as new discoveries such as Guy One, Alogte Oho and Y-Bayani echo on "Bitteschön" the wide spectrum of the Philophon catalogue.

Philophon puts its emphasis on authentic local styles - from heavy grooving Ethio-Jazz coming out of Addis Abeba to cheerful Frafra-Gospel, as it is celebrated in Bolgatanga/Northern Ghana. Most recordings took place where the music is located - and that's the recipe for Philophon's productions: go to the source and dive into the real.

Out Dec 7th on LP/CD/digital