african
Les Yeux Orange – Togosava [G+003]
Parisian party starters Les Yeux Orange continue to develop their Good Plus body of work with three more obscure digs. A predominant Afro theme presides throughout as we’re massaged by the kwaito smoothness of “Avidiyo” where synth marimbas ignite instant Balearic feels, Yanga Mbiwaa struts with much more of direct Nigerian disco funk feel with its big sing-along chorus and strong sense of drive. Finally “Autoradio” provides a more contemporary almost Italo-like take on Afrofunk with some expert trippiness buried deep in the synths and arrangement.
Black Bones – Black Bones 2 [BLACKBONES002]
The Black Bones boys have more than one trick up their sleeves, as another back-breaking digging session has unearthed some sacred remains, ready for modern scientific re-animation. ‘Sonny’ retools a Highlife classic into a splendidly sun-soaked Summer beauty. On the flip ‘XTC’ takes a more Cosmic route to dancefloor abandon, while ‘Roller’ is a barn-storming Discoid jam that wraps up another damn fine EP.
Sorry Bamba – Du Mali [ASVN045]
One of the most pivotal figures in the history of Malian music is Sorry Bamba. His work spans five decades and his music bridges the gap between Mali’s cultural traditions and new the music which arose from the musical cross overs which occurred in Mali’s post-Colonial period. Bamba was born in 1938 in Mopti. This is dissected by both the Niger and Bani rivers and known for its rich cultural diversity. Bamba’s father was a distinguished veteran of Emperor Samory Toure’s military and a nobleman in Malian society, however, this meant young Sorry was forbidden to make music, as under the nation’s caste system, music was an art form reserved for the Griots.
Denis Mpunga & Paul K – Criola Remixed [MFM023]
Having thrilled dusty-fingered crate diggers with a reissue of Denis Mpunga and Paul K’s impossible-to-find mid-’80s cassette album Criola – an unusual but rather fine combination of post-punk and traditional Congolese music – Music from Memory has decided to give some of the tracks the remix treatment. As you’d expect, there’s many more hits than misses. Dutch rising star Dazion delivers a wonderfully cosmic revision of “Intermezzo B” full of fluttering new age synth lines and drum machine polyrhythms, while Tolouse Low Trax turns “Veronika” into a woozy and dreamy chunk of dub-flecked, loved-up downtempo bliss. Late night dancefloor thrills are provided by Interstellar Funk’s intergalactic tribal techno take on “Intermezzo 2” and Prins Emmanuel’s tactile take on “KWEI!”, which sits somewhere between dub disco, boogie and proto-house.
VA – Pop Makossa: The Invasive Dance Beat Of Cameroon 1976-1984 [AACD083]
Now Analog Africa returns to put the record straight. Pop-Makossa shines a light on a glorious but largely overlooked period in the story of Cameroonian makossa, when local musicians began to replace funk and highlife influences with the rubbery bass of classic disco and the sparkling synth flourishes and drum machines of electrofunk. The resultant compilation, which apparently took eight years to produce, is packed full of brilliant cuts, from the heavily-electronic jauntiness of Pasteur Lappe’s “Sanaga Calypso” and horn-totin’ Highlife-disco of Emmaniel Kahe and Jeanette Kemogne’s “Ye Medjuie”, to the dense, organ-laden wig out that is Clement Djimogne’s “Africa”.
The Pop Makossa adventure started in 2009, when Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb first travelled to Cameroon to make an initial assessment of the country’s musical situation. He returned with enough tracks for an explosive compilation highlighting the period when funk and disco sounds began to infiltrate the Makossa style popular throughout Cameroon.
Perdu / Afrobot – 04AM [04AM]
The 04AM A-side contains two South-African 80’s Bubblegum tracks, revamped by young DJ and producer Perdu. He provided the tracks with delicate intros and rearranged them with new percussion, synths and deeper basslines. On the flip Afrobot delivers two kind of New Beat cuts, making the originals more abstract by some heavy chopping, reducing the amount of samples used, and adding disco breaks to the track Jungle.
NST Cophie’s – Bian Kou [KALITA12001]
Kalita Records announce their first release, the three choice cuts from NST Cophie’s 1980 private press Ivory Coast Afro-disco album ‘Mon’Da Center’. After moving to Paris in 1976 and having played with other well-known bands such as N’Bamina, Osibisa, and with numerous artists including Jimmy Hyacinthe and Papa Wemba, ‘Mon’Da Center’ was Ernest’s first solo album. Pretty much unknown except to the most hardened of diggers, ‘Bian Kou’, ‘E Clolo’ and ‘Mioukouna’ are guaranteed to set any dance floor alight, with hypnotic Afro-disco grooves, killer drums and angelic female vocals.
VA – Ethiopiques Box [HS164VL]
If you’ve been digging the brilliant Ethiopiques series of compilations, which shine a light on the lesser-known Ethiopian music scene of the 1960s and ’70s, you’ll love this lavishly produced box set. Put together by series founder Francis Falceto, the box boasts fresh pressings of six impossible-to-find 7″ singles and a booklet containing extensive liner notes. The musical treats come thick and fast, quickly jumping between evocative Ethiopian jazz, unique fusions of rhythm and blues and traditional East African styles, Hammond-heavy groovers and exotic dancefloor workouts that defy easy categorization. Includes tracks from great Ethiopian artists like : Mulatu Astatke, Girma Beyene, Mahmoud Hamed, Getatchew Mekuria, Tilahun Gessesse.
Pasteur Lappe – Na Man Pass Man [ASVN015]
Following on from the Pasteur Lappe compilation ”African Funk Experimentals” LP, we are really pleased to be re-visiting Pasteur with a repress of his second album from 1979, ”Na Man Pass Man”. The story begins in the 60s with a charming 19 year old Nicolas ”Pasteur” Lappe becoming a sensation on Radio Adele in Douala, Cameroun. He goes on to become the editor of the Douala Gazette newspaper and become friends with other African music stars such as Tala AM, J Moboule and Fela Kuti. He also works tirelessly promoting new and upcoming local Cameroonian talent. After moving to Paris, a stint in journalism school and publishing a book of poems ”Chansons Negres” he finally settles into a new life of music in Paris. His second album ”Na Man Pass Man” is made in 1979 with the backing band and production collective called the Zulu Gang, which include Douglas Mbida (who went on to release several top flight albums himself) and Jacob Desvariaux (who went on to form Kassav). The album is full of diverse sounds; from driving funk, sweeping disco grooves, syrupy ballads, reggae, Jackson-five-esque pop to finger-lickin’ soul. At its core though is the custom ”Sekele” groove… a movement to encompass the dance, grooves and vibes from his native Douala.
Denis Mpunga & Paul K – Criola [MFM019]
The last Music From Memory is a mini LP of works by Denis Mpunga and Paul K. Combining elements of traditional African music with experimental electronics, the Belgian/Congolese duo released only a handful of tracks, scattered across a few rare LP and cassette compilations that were put out in the mid eighties by obscure european labels . This release also includes a few previously unreleased songs that were found on the original master tapes.
Black Bones – Black Bones 1 [BLACKBONES001]
Black Bones’ debut release is really something. From the Daphni-esque full throttle Afro A Side, to a duo of lost classics on the flip, this one’s a keeper…
VA – Synthesize The Soul: Astro Atlantic Hypnotica From The Cape Verde Islands 1973-1988 [OST002]
In the 1980s, that feeling transpired across Lisbon, Paris, Rotterdam, and Boston, as one the largest waves of migration from a single country, propelled by political instability and economic uncertainty, sent thousands of Cape Verdeans to the West’s cities. Through 18 diverse tracks, this compilation reveals how immigration from the Cape Verde Islands to Europe and the United States gave us an alternate history of the electronic music that dominated hearts and minds across the world in the late 1990s. But the story doesn’t start in a major Western cultural hub, rather in the small cluster of islands 400 miles off the Senegalese coast, and offers an unparalleled insight into the longterm cultural splendor catalyzed by migration.
Dazion – Don`t Get Me Wrong EP [SC006]
Young Dutch producer Cris Kuhlen releases his debut EP under the name Dazion, with 4 productions featuring the vocals of Ebu Gaye Mada and Ljubiša Arsenovic (Paya). Afro influenced grooves on A side cut “Be A Man” while the afro vocals continue on B side offering “Dancing In The future” but musically it is ’80s style Balearica, while”Rigola” is a lo-slung synhthpop ditty.
South African Jazz selected & compiled by Antal
VA – Africa Airways Three: The Afro Psych Excursion 1972-1984 [ASVN030]
The Africa Seven label might not have been around for very long, but the London-Paris dynasty has certainly established itself as a no.1 outlet for rare, unhinged world music. This is Africa Airways Volume 3: The Afro-Psych Excursion, a gorgeous compilation spanning the years 1972 to 1984, and it clearly offers some of the most magnetic tunes that they label has put out thus far. There isn’t a mediocre song in here and, as the saying goes, it’s all-killer-no-filler; take African Black’s “Nzango”, for example, a twisted, FX-heavy tribal experiment, or the more soulful highs and lows of tunes like “Zinabu” by Bunzu Soundz. Rough, dusty, completely psyched-out, and inimitable the whole way through; if you’re looking for something that’ll get the heads turning, and the diggers jealous, then this is your LP.
Tilahun Gessesse – Sima! [MRP030]
During the 1970s, Tilahun Gessesse enjoyed a successful career in his native Ethiopia. Blessed with a sublime voice, he specialized in creating popular hybrids of hot American styles – most notably soul and jazz – with traditional Ethiopian styles. Sima!, which is named after one of his most revered 7″ singles, gather together music from numerous releases throughout the 1970s. It boasts numerous gems that see Gessesse combine his bold, snaking vocals with rocking rhythms, modal jazz mysticism, and heart-aching ballads. Given the standards of recording studios in Ethiopia at the time, much of the material is notably lo-fi, sound wise, but in many ways that enhances the intoxicating feel of the music. A killer selection from one of the leading vocalists from the golden age of Ethiopian music, ranging from 1969-1975. If Ethio-funk, soul and pentatonic, Sun Ra-esque moods are your bag, you’ve come to the right place.
Tanzania Soundsystem – Highlife 012 [HGHLF012]
Introducing the next release on Highlife – our secret weapons by the mysterious Tanzania Sound System. If you’ve caught us playing anywhere this year, you’ll have heard at least one of these. Now it’s time to share the goodness…
Sory Bamba Du Mali – Sory Bamba Du Mali [ASVN035]
In 1979 Sorry produced his third LP for the Paris based Sonafric group. Long out of print Africa Seven is pleased to be re-issuing the LP with the authorization of the newly reformed Sonafric group. The re-issue benefits from extensive restoration and re-mastering to a spectral analysis level, bringing and polishing long lost and distorted sounds. The six track masterpiece opens with ”Mayel”. It blends Afro-space grooves, cowbell and swirling organ with psych guitar and punchy horns. ”Kanaga 78” was named after his band of the time. Sounding as fresh (if not more so) in 2016 as it did in 1979 the hypnotic bass, expansive drums, twisting organ and snakelike fuzz-guitar all combine to create a masterpiece of African psychedelia. ”Bayadjourou” closes off Side A of the LP with its pulsating, incessant organ hook-line and driving tom drums while adding in layers of Malian vocal from a female chorus and Sorry himself. Side B opens up with ”Tjamantie Kolo” which is powered by driving conga and drums layered with traditional vocals and distorted picked electric guitar lines. ”N’Nebakaidi” focuses on the song writing skill and delivery of Sorry who delivers a masterful vocal over grooves which somehow manage to sound melancholy but somehow also forlornly uplifting at the same time. The LP closes with ”Nani Nani” which is a brass driven wall of African sound.
EKO – Funky Disco Music [FBNM014]
The latest vinyl slice from Fly by Night Music sees us head to the depths of central Africa via Paris to track down a feast of rare seventies afro funky jams from Cameroonian master musician EKO. We’ve brought FBNM favourite Riccio along for the journey too, who has provided us with a fantastic Rerub coaxing out some modern dancefloor sensibilities and production sparkle. Eko Roosevelt Louis has had a music career spanning over forty years, born the grandson of a Kribi tribal chief, his musical persuasion beginning humbly with his village’s local church before his formal education at the Senegal conservatoire and Paris’ École Normale de Musique. EKO made a number of jazz funk and disco records in the mid seventies during a stint recording and touring in and around France before returning to Cameroon to take over his grandfather’s tribal chieftaincy, a role he still holds today! Alongside this position of office EKO has continued to work with music, performing, teaching and even leading Cameroon’s national orchestra! The tracks we have selected for reissue are all taken from EKO’s third album, Funky Disco Music which was recorded in Paris and released on his own Dragon Phenix imprint. Sung in a combination of English and EKO’s native tongue we’ve lined up a real excursion in feel good afro-jazz, funk and soul made purely for dancing feet and boogying butts.
The Hipodrome Of Music 