Senegal Afrobeat

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A not-so-secret hub of rhythmic pioneers

The way musical styles travel through Africa with each community adding their own twist is one of the most organic forms of musical innovation. Senegal is a not-so-secret hub of pioneering instruments and resulting rhythms. This pack celebrates the Senegalese spin on the Afrobeat style, offering versatile samples that can be used in any type of production.

Afrobeat has influenced everything from the lush environments of Brian Eno to the pop music of Talking Heads, from the indie rock sounds of TV on the Radio to countless hip hop acts both in terms of rhythmic inspiration and sampling original Afrobeat records. We hope this modern take on the legendary style inspires you to try something new.

Companion Packs

Senegal Sessions

Splice Sessions is a new label from Splice. With bi-annual editions, we’ll take listeners on an expedition through the sonic stories of regions that have had and continue to ...

West African Meditations

This Splice Sessions release offers a unique and uplifting take on meditative sounds. Recorded and produced at La Boutique Studios Dakar by Pape Armand Boye, this collection ...

Afro House

Created by producer ISS 814, this pack explores the fusion of western house music with Afrobeat. He layered traditional percussion and West African instrumentation like the b...

Afrolove

This pack is a deep dive into the romantic side of Afrobeat, created by Ivory Coast born producer, Fantastic with additional production by ISS814. Geared for those looking to...

Senegalese Reggae

Produced by Pape Armand Boye at La Boutique Studios in Dakar, this pack brings together some of the top African reggae players to showcase the Senegalese spin on the genre. P...

Senegalese Makossa

Recorded at La Boutique Studio in Dakar and produced by Pape Armand Boye, this pack is a deep dive into the infectious style of makossa. Originated in Cameroon, these bright,...

Modern Afrobeat with ISS 814

Iss 814 returns with his fourth Splice Sessions pack, this time putting the Senegalese twist on the modern Afrobeat and Afropop sounds that have taken Nigeria and the world b...

Senegalese Dub

Produced by Pape Armand Boye at La Boutique Studios in Dakar, this pack brings together some of the top African reggae and dub players to showcase the Senegalese spin on the ...

Senegalese Zouk

Earning its French Antillean Créole name from nightlong dance parties on the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, zouk music blends a variety of Caribbean, African, and Nort...

West African Voices

Recorded at Laboutique Studios Dakar, Senegalese singers Tidiane Batjily and Marietou Kouyate laid down improvised vocals in the style of Malian traditional folk (of the coun...

Senegalese Soukous

Soukous is a style of African popular music characterized by syncopated rhythms and intricate contrasting guitar melodies. It originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ...

Afro Cuban

Cuba has a long history of influencing the music and culture of West Africa. It dates back from the 18th Century slave trade to the 1920s when record companies began marketin...

Fula Flute with Amadou Ba

Flutist Amadou Ba joined the Splice Originals team at LaBoutique Studio in Dakar, Senegal to lay down flute sounds in the style of the Fulani people. The tambin or Fula flute...

Senegalese Percussion

Recorded at LaBoutique Studios Dakar, Griot percussionists Khadim Gueye and Awa Balla (known as Abba, artistically) performed in the sabar, Afrobeat, mbalax, and traditional ...

Afro Guitar with Malick Diouf

For this installment of Sessions recorded at Laboutique Studio in Dakar, Malick Diouf laid down guitar tracks in the styles of Afrobeat, mbalax, Afropop, dancehall, folk, and...

Senegalese Serum with Wagane Faye

Wagane Faye—a prominent keyboardist for many of Dakar’s mbalax and Afrobeat bands—joined us at Laboutique Studios Dakar to record ample MIDI in the styles of mbalax, Afrobeat...

Afro Psychedelia

Afro Psychedelia is a subgenre of music that was exported from African culture, remixed in the West, then re-imported back to Africa, where it was taken to a whole new level....

Dakar Street Percussion

This edition of Sessions was recorded on location in Dakar with producer and recording artist, Iss 814 in an effort to capture the sounds of Dakar’s nature and city life. We ...

Ngoni with Django Diabate

For this installment of Splice Sessions, Django Diabate joined the Sessions team at Laboutique Studios Dakar to play the stunning ngoni. This intricate instrument has appeare...

Balafon with Sidy Koita

This edition of Splice Sessions was recorded at Laboutique Studios Dakar with Sidy Koita, a world-renown balafonist who plays with the Orchestre National du Sénégal and many ...

Kora with Edouard Manga

This second instrumental pack in Splice Sessions: Senegal features the kora, a strikingly beautiful lute-bridge harp instrument synonymous with the culture of West Africa. Th...

Congolese Drums with Andre Toungamani

Congolese Drums with Andre Toungamani is the third installment of Senegal Sessions and the first instrumental pack in the series. This groovy pack focuses on creating sounds ...

Studio LaBoutique Dakar

The latest installment in Splice Sessions, Studio La Boutique Dakar, was recorded and produced by Pape Armand Boye at his studio in Ngor, Dakar. East meets west, world travel...

West African Visions

This release is part two of a two-part series (following West African Meditations) featuring folk instrumentation and free-flowing musical passages commonly used in West Afri...

Senegal Genesis

Splice Sessions: Senegal Genesis is a journey through the origins of African music from Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Played by masters of percussion who grew up in ...

Senegal Origins

In Splice Sessions: Senegal Origins, producer Pape Armand Boye and a group of West Africa’s top musicians further explore the earliest African music. Learn the sounds of the ...

African Horns

Recorded at Laboutique Studios in Dakar and produced by Pape Armand Boye with African horns as the focal point, this pack is a well-rounded collection of West African sounds ...

Deep Percussion

This pack was recorded at Laboutique Studios Dakar and produced and engineered by Pape Armand Boye. It contains loops recorded by master percussionist Thio Mbaye and Xadim Mb...

West African Female Vocals

Producer Pape Armand Boye shares: Scriptures recount that at the very beginning, there was the Word. Every society and every time has had its “word”. Many in Africa believe i...