New anthology on Afrosynth Records brings together six songs by South African disco star Kamazu, spanning his career from 1986 to 1997: two of his biggest hits, ‘Korobela’ and ‘Indaba Kabani’, two more obscure songs from his catalogue, ‘Victim’ and ‘Why’, and two tracks from his kwaito comeback, ‘Mjukeit’ and ‘Atikatareni’.
Arp Frique returns with a brand new release on his imprint Colorful World Records in collaboration with Rush Hour. A compilation of 12 Cape Verdean gems assembled with the help and knowledge of Americo Brito, there is a very special story behind it. Americo Brito, who features on Arp Frique’s original Nos Magia, is a proud and important member of the Cape Verdean community in Rotterdam. His story reveals the historical connections between radio, vinyl, Cabo Verde and Rotterdam’s international music scene in the 70s and 80s. Cape Verdeans have migrated all over the world, mainly to cities with big harbours, like New York, Boston and Rotterdam (Holland). Rotterdam became one of the main destinations (next to Portugal) on the European mainland. When Americo, like many of his friends and relatives moved to Rotterdam, he quickly became infected with the music virus. Surrounded on a daily basis by Cape Verdean music in Portuguese pensions and small hotels, this was where sailors ingested a dose of “sodade” through the interpretations of their beloved music by the local Cape Verdean artists. Americo took to the stage with his band Djarama in the 70s and 80s. Here he works with Rotterdam local Arp Frique to serve up Cape Verdean music old and new with plenty of traditional Funana and Coladeira sounds next to jams influenced by wave, disco and funk, jazz, reggae and Latin pop.
Cult Berlin club night and label African Acid is the Future returns with the second release in their Ambiance trilogy. Taking listeners into the unique spirit of their club night. For their second release they offer a series of live recordings from the heat of the party itself. The release features two tracks from both Les Filles de Illighadad and Edmony Krater as well as remixes from Dauwd, Maryisonacid and DJ Oil. Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. Best known for their guitar performances, this recording from AAITF finds them at their percussive best on the simply titled “Tende I” and “Tende II”. Edmony Krater is an avant-garde percussionist, singer and trumpet player, as well as a native of Guadeloupe. For his performance, Krater performs a duo of tracks separated by three decades, but united by Caribbean rhythms. “Gwadloup” was originally released in 1988 as part of the album “Edmony Krater Et Zepiss – Tijan Pou Velo,” while “Lagé” is taken from 2018’s album “Edmony Krater– An ka sonjé”
The career of Patience Africa spanned over 40 years. After almost a decade of success on a major label with her Zulu Disco sound, and a few years in the early 80s experimenting with a more soulful sound, the funky synths of the 80’s would force her to stay relevant in the quick changing times. It would be in 1987 that she would sign to the independent Ream Music which with the help of their tight knit in house production team had released hits for upcoming disco artists Makwerhu, Ntombi Ndaba, Sunset, Athena, Percy Kay and more. The label’s success in the traditional market made Patience a perfect fit and could have been their first crossover artist.
Fantastic and rare album by Manu Dibango, the Afro Soul Maestro. These files were recorded in 1971 at Pathé-Marconi studio (Boulogne Billancourt) for professional sound illustration intended for the cinema, television and advertising. The jazzman experimenting with all genres was then beginning to convert solely to what soon to be called “Rare Groove” somewhere between Soul, Jazz and Afro-Funk, with a hint of Latin clave. In 2019, these tunes have not aged and the sound can be considered as “Huge” by many crate-diggers. These recordings were not supposed to reach the club or radio audience, it was more free sessions, a moment during they can open their imagination and test their “Afro something”, like Manu Dibango call it. Theses recording sessions included the best of the french soul scene at this time, Yvan Julien (Trumpet), Slim Pezin (Guitar), Jacques Bolognesi (Trombone), Lucien Dobat (Drums), Emile Boza (Percussions, Manfred (Bass) and the conductor himself at the vibraphone, marimba, saxophone, organ. This album is a wonderful return to the future and should satisfy the need of the Afro-Soul
aficionados.
Comet presents the first release from the new Disco Highlife series, featuring remastered originals by Ghanaian legends Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas and disco reedits by LeonxLeon and Leo Nanjo.
Nação África is the new single by Camarão Orkestra, the most Brazilian of Parisian bands. Sinewy bass and battery pulsating, it’s stitched to the dancefloor that “Nação África” spreads its groove. And it’s with a variety of keyboards and synthesizers that the tight production maintains a level of constant motion, surrounded by the burning riffs of the brass section and Amanda Roldan’s refreshing vocals. Patchworks provide two remixes to close the record.
Cap’tain Créole – formerly known as Trenchtown Meditation – was a band formed in 1984 by Clément, José, Jean-Pierre and Serge. Cap’tain Créole was a pioneering creole-speaking French reggae band with the aim of exploring new musical horizons. With the help of 3 new members – among them a sax player and a trumpet player, both coming from the jazz scene, Cap’tain Créole recorded their unique outing, Ni Bel Jounin.
Belgium based composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist Denis Mpunga formed Eko Kuango in the early ’80s. A unique fusion of African rhythms, jazz, subtle synth arrangements with an eastern flavour; they managed to introduce a strong sense of poetry – both musically and lyrically. The band garnered a reasonable following from numerous concerts played during their career, but remained little known except by a few music aficionados around the globe. Eko Kuango only released 4 tracks in the form of an EP in 1986, the band recorded one year later a studio album with the help of renowned sound engineer Arnould Massart which until now remained totally unreleased. Now with a newfound interest in their work, Libreville Records offers in this edition both the 4 tracks from the original EP and the tracks from the session of the ‘lost’ album.
Since childhood Serge Fabriano bathed in music, between his native Guadeloupe and Paris where he grew up. He attended the music conservatory, learnt how to play bass, played with many musicians and was ultimately angling for a career as a music teacher. During the mid-70’s, he alternated between teaching classes and live gigs, and performed in Germany with a funk band comprised of ex-GIs from the US Army. From 1978 onwards, Serge Fabriano devoted more time to music. He became a musician’s musician, doing studio recordings with rock bands and he also played with members of the Caribbean diaspora. Later the group Fabriano Fuzion was born. The band brought together some of the Caribbean’s most inspired musicians: Martinican-born Mario Canonge on the piano, Alain-Jean Marie on the synth, Labor brothers on saxophones, Claude Vamur on the drums, singer/percussionists Marie-Reine Lamoureux and Marie-Céline Lafontaine, Roger Raspail, Sully Cally and Hector Ficadière on Ka percussions. It is precisely the Gwo Ka – this ancestral “root” music deeply embedded in the heart of the Guadeloupe musician – which constitutes the rhythmic backbone of this first opus. The Gwo Ka, the jazz, the poetry and the spiritual vibe are gathered here to form a splendid album; one of the true masterpieces to emerge from the French West Indies.
The skies are calling and its time to board our trusty jet for the 5th outing of Africa Seven’s premiere class compilation Africa Airways. For volume 5 its time to brace yourselves for 10 slices of Afro boogie goodness. There’s a slightly different feel to the latest instalment of the fantastic “Africa Airways” compilation series. While previous instalments have largely focused on heavy Afro-funk and Afro-soul, this fifth edition showcases material recorded during the disco and boogie era (1976-82). The ten included tracks are superb, with highlights including the fuzzy, Clavinet-driven thrills of “Sweet Sidney (Edit)” by Black Bells Group, the heavy grooves and dancing synth lines of Gyedu Blay Ambolley’s “Highlife”, the spacey Afro-boogie badness of Fotso’s “French Girl” and the flash-fried disco-funk celebration that is Jide Obe’s spacey, Moog-sporting “Too Young”. As the old cliche goes, this is all killer and no filler.
It’s been a fair old while since we last heard from Tropical Jam, the sneaky re-edit imprint from Vakula and Aussie crate digger Daniel Lupica. Surprisingly, this is the duo’s first 10-inch missive of humid, floor-friendly revisions since the summer of 2018. They begin in a suitably sunny mood, offering up an on-point rearrangement of a cheery, sax-laden Afro-synth workout that sounds like it originated in the early 1980s. The A-side also boasts a second bubbly synth workout, possibly of a South African cut from the same period, where jaunty Clavinet lines and male/female vocals rise above a sparse but funky groove. Side B, meanwhile, contains a more Balearic-minded electronic cut rich in lo-fi drum machine beats, dreamy chords, chiming lead lines and glassy-eyed vocal snippets.
Volume Ten of the Mukatsuku label’s Afro Funk & Disco Gems series has two more tracks released for the first time on a 7 inch in their own right. First up is Peter Yamson’s 80’s afro boogie feelgood masterpiece ”Everybody Dance” taken from the Sun On Africa album (mispelt on discogs as Sun Of Africa by the way!) and licenced directly from the artist. Infectious chorus and funk groove with Roy Ayeresque vibes and punchy brass. On the flipside from 1981 we get Get Up Tchamassi from french African group Tala AM which is a funk drenched heavy slap bass boogie mostly instrumental affair with female vocals and great sax playing and catchy rhythm guitar.
Volume 9 of Mukatsuku Afro series kicks off with ‘M’Ongele M’Am’ from Cameroon artist Eko Roosevelt Louis taken from his early 1980’s self-titled album and licenced for this 45 from Nubiphone & Africa Seven. Driving brass funk fuelled afro disco does not really get much better than this. On the flipside Georges Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso gives us us the dance floor bomb ”Deni” taken from his 1978 long player ”Gnanfou Gnanfou” also licenced from Africa Seven and also the first time ever on a single. Punchy brass offset by those hipnotic vocals and funky wah-wah guitar has a deserved place on the flip.
The 27th reissue in Jazzman’s ongoing “Holy Grail Series” comes courtesy of Infinite Spirit Music, an undeniably obscure, one-off project helmed by pianist, producer and arranger Soji Ade. “Live Without Fear” was recorded in 1979 and tops the “wants list” of many spiritual jazz collectors. This time round, the album – which originally ran to an hour over two sides of one LP – has been expanded to a double-album in order to guarantee greater sound quality. It sounds fantastic, and it’s hard not to fall in love with the heady bongos, rich double bass and snaking saxophone of “Children’s Song”, the gentle warmth of “Rasta” and the Afro-fired, tribalistic free-jazz experiments of “Ritual” and “Father Spirit, Mother Love”.
Rich, deep, percussive soulful folk album from master Togolese singer, Akofa Akoussah. The album moves through uptempo afro-folk-funk on ‘Tango’ to deep ballads of ‘Ramer Sans Rame’ and ‘I Tcho Tchass’ and lighter moments on ‘G Blem Di’ and ‘Mitso Aseye’. Akofa’s exceptional songs and soaring vocals are decorated with percussion, guitar lines, subtle backing vocals and horns to create a unique, rich sonic. The album was recorded for release by French label Sonafric in 1976.
Since 2019 the collective of Parisian partygoers, Pardonnez-Nous, have decided to launch their own label. Just like their parties, their goal is to shine a light on dancing music. Constantly looking for new tracks to enlighten the dancefloors, their outings are in line with the vision of deejaying defended by its founders. Finding forgotten pieces that are the geneses of dance music and mixing them with more contemporary sounds. Re-editions, edits, remixes or original productions the label doesn’t just stick to one style but aspires to represent all the music of partying. For its 1st release, the label strike hard and unearthed a quite surprising hidden track by one of the most famous band from the French Islands. La Compagnie Créole: born in 1975, this mythical band known by all the francophones will be remembered by future generations, thanks to all those super hits spread over the course of 23 albums, mixing music from the Antilles, Guyane and popular tunes from the French metropole. A.I.É, was written by Daniel Vangarde in 1987 and in 1988 Larry Levan, produced a remix of this track for the soundtrack of the film Sweet Lies. A mix not released, which remained relatively unknown up to this point. ‘Pardonnez-Nous’ (Excuse us), but here it is.
Lungile Masitha was the short-lived studio name for renowned SA artist Sello ‘Chicco’ Twala, who played with such iconic bands as Harari and Umoja. However, in the mid 80’s his name was under license to one of the major labels and in an effort for self-expression recorded under the name ‘Lungile Masitha’, here he linked up with long term friend Jimmy Mngwandi to co-write and arrange the two tracks ‘Vuyani’ & ‘Makoti’, both sung in his native Tsongan tongue. Vuyani is an upbeat tune that matches Chicco’s unique vocal style with percolating drums and distorted choruses to incredible effect, while Makoti is a mellower blend of floating keys and choruses sung by local kids in an effort to expose “emerging talent”.
Thandi Zulu known as T.Z. Junior was a young girl from Soweto. Original copies of T.Z Junior’s bubblegum-boogie cut “Sugar My Love” are hard to come by outside of the artist’s home country of South Africa. It’s been that way since the single was first released on Roy B Records in 1985, hence this tidy reissue from the on-point Jam Wax label.
Over the course of his seven-year recording career, Jan Schulte has delivered countless revolutionary remixes under the now familiar Wolf Müller alias. Now, Safe Trip has gathered together some of his most celebrated and hard-to-find reworks on Sorry For The Delay: Wolf Müller’s Most Whimsical Remixes.
The Hipodrome Of Music 