Putumayo to Release African Party

Get the party started with this fun-filled collection of songs from South Africa to the Ivory Coast

Putumayo is pleased to announce the release of African Party on April 29th. Featuring many of Africa’s greatest artists, this CD collection also celebrates the company’s 15th Anniversary. African music is among the world’s most captivating and no one will be able to resist moving their feet to this danceable collection.

African Party is the latest installment in the Putumayo journey. In 1991, founder Dan Storper was strolling through Golden Gate Park when he was transfixed by the uplifting sounds of the African group Kotoja. This experience inspired Dan to launch Putumayo World Music as a platform to introduce people to the joyous international sounds that moved him on that day. “I’ll never forget the moment when I came across people of all ages and backgrounds dancing to this exciting African band. Their music was the essence of what has become the Putumayo World Music slogan ‘guaranteed to make you feel good.’ It’s exciting that we’re now celebrating 15 years in existence, 15 offices opened around the world and more than 20 million CDs sold. I couldn’t imagine a more appropriate CD than African Party as a celebration of the music that inspired me to start the company.”

African Party features the inspirational band Kotoja and Oliver Mtukudzi, who released several popular albums on the Putumayo label. Newcomers Chiwoniso from Zimbabwe and Mapumba from the Congo are featured not only on African Party but also on Putumayo Kids’ latest offering, African Dreamland, which will also be released on April 29th.

A portion of Putumayo’s proceeds from the sale of African Party will be donated to HopeHIV in support of their efforts to strengthen the capacity of children and their communities to deal with the impact of HIV/AIDS. Since it began in April, 1993, Putumayo World Music’s charitable contributions have exceeded $1 million.

Dan Storper, Ken Okolulo (the founder of Kotoja) and Mapumba will be available for interviews. For more information on this, the 15th Anniversary celebration and other Putumayo releases, visit www.putumayo.com