Brooklyn Vegan — Ocote Soul Sounds (Martin from Antibalas, left) Mondo Mundo Festival, put on by the booking agency of the same name, is happening at Hiro Ballrom Saturday, January 9th. Ocote Soul Sounds, the world jazz/soul-funk group with Adrian Quesada of Grupo... more info

Rollo & Grady — On Monday, January 11th, Now and Again Records is offering an exclusive pre-sale of their Fela Kuti-inspired anthology Black Man’s Cry on Stones Throw’s website. You’ll be able to buy the album digitally, in hardbound 20-page boo... more info

By the time Fela Ransome-Kuti changed his name to Anikulapohe who carries death in his pouchhe had already built a fence around his house in Nigeria and declared it an independent state: The Kalakuta Republic. His records began to sell in the million... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — by Andrew Frisicano DOWNLOAD: Charlie Hunter - High Pockets and a Fanny Pack (MP3) Charlie [Hunter] has wrapped up the recording of his next record titled 'Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid.' The lineup... more info

Altsounds — The nine piece Norwegian jazz-rock-experimental behemoth that is Jaga Jazzist return to the fray with their stunning new album, “One Armed Bandit”. All galloping rhythms, and grandiloquent reach, main man Lars Horntveth describes t... more info

Guardian Music — Turner prize-winning artist and film-maker, who won a Bafta for debut feature Hunger, will direct and write a movie about the Afrobeat creator and Nigerian activistBritish artist-turned-director Steve McQueen has signed up to direct a biopic of Fela ... more info

Rolling Stone — • News Ticker: Fela Kuti, Blink-182 • Springsteen Receives Kennedy Center Honors • Rihanna Sings With Shy Ronnie on SNL • Pumpkins Unveil “A Song for a Son” • Lil Wayne Unleashes “Da Da Da” • Weezer’s Cuomo Injured in Tour Bus A... more info

Rolling Stone — Fela, a biopic about African music great Fela Kuti, has found its director in Steve McQueen, who helmed Hunger, Variety reports. The film is not related to the recent Broadway musical Fela!. An unauthorized film about Blink-182 called Blink is also i... more info

The Playlist — You know what gets us through the endless remake, sequel and superhero news? Stories like this. As we reported at the start of the year, Focus Features have picked up the rights to Michael Veal's book "Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical I... more info

Guardian Music — From working with Malian musicians to scoring an opera, the former Blur singer has emerged as a true pop renaissance manWhen Blur first emerged, Damon Albarn seemed to me little more than a quirky songwriter among Britpop's grey and repetitious ranks... more info