CLICK on a map to get to the archived reviews; SCROLL DOWN for latest reviews; Click HERE for Links

NEW WORLD

AFRICA

OLD WORLD (inc Asia, Arabia)

African Discographies

Greetings, Platterbugs!

Updated 1 September 2023

Upcoming and new on Bandcamp

"Jingul" by Ustad Noor Bakhsh: a wonderful, magical live concert on a benju (which apparently was a Japanese children's toy, adapted by Balochs in Pakistan); album comes out Sept 15

Coming soon, new album from Bixiga 70 de Brasil "Vapor"

and also forthcoming, Leon Keita, dance track from Analog Africa

Ska revival! "Coconut Rock" by Soul Revivers feat. Sheila Maurice-Grey & Anoushka Nanguy

feature on Rai reissues from Bongo Joe on Bandcamp

latest South African Jazz reissue from Matsuli Music is "Black Beauty" by Allen Kwela

from Malawi comes "Gule Wakwatu" by Madalitso Band

Sahel Spotlight

(The sub-Sahara is in turmoil, with strife across the entire continent from East to West. From civil war in Sudan to coups in Niger and now Gabon. OK, Ali Bongo stole the election, but a coup will only install a military dictatorship for the foreseeable future. Sure, ask the colonizing French to leave Niger and Mali, but where is a domestic trained force capable of repelling radical insurgents? Replacing UN troops with Wagner mercenaries from Russia is as bad as inviting Boko Haram in. Insh'allah, we have the music to calm our anxious Western ears.)

Here are the latest picks from our resident enthusiast Tony Pitt:

Senegalese percussion album from Pape Samory Seck

Youssou live in Stockholm, 2002

Amarrass Records' second release by a 71st generation kora maestro, recorded live in concert in New Delhi, India on 10 May 2015.
A one man show with Madou Sidiki Diabatè on the kora, percussion, bass and rhythm programming. (Tony says, "Cheesy, but in a good way; may not appeal to all.")

& an oldie but goodie:
Peul music from Northern Senegal by Ngatamaare, former sidemen of Baba Maal

Video

Live percussion jam in Kinshasa: Beta Mbonda performing "Akwede" (via Vincent Kenis)

R. I. P.

Charlie Ndiaye, bass player for Orchestre Baobab

Kalenga Nzanzi "Vivi" singer of Orchestra Les Mangelepa: musical tribute by George Ogwel

Sixto "Sugarman" Rodriguez who was discovered via a brilliant documentary film that traced his massive success in South Africa and undeserved obscurity in the USA

Joseph Makwela, bassist from South Africa, member of Makgona Tsohle Band who backed the Mahotella Queens

Latest Muzikifan Podcasts

(Note: The muzikifan podcasts are hosted
on Soundcloud; please subscribe on their site)

The Porky Train dance party
with music from the Congo,
plus a few surprises

East African Special, featuring music
reissued by the late Doug Paterson,
including Maquis, Golden Sounds,
Moreno, Issa Juma & more

Playing Favorites, with Nguashi Ntimbo,
Mbilia Bel, Gaudi with Nusrat, and music
from Brasil, Cuba, Colombia, Jamaica and Mali

September Song, brings you music of
Congo, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa,
plus a set of jazz

NGOMA: THE SOUL OF CONGO
(3 CD or 3 LP set from Planet Ilunga PI 10)
(Compiled by yours truly)

In 1983 I went to Africa. I safaried through Kenya with my brother and sister-in-law to Tsavo game park, then to Mombasa and Malindi, and on to the magical island of Lamu. The Swahili word for white man is "Mzungu" which literally means "a purposeless wanderer." I was up for more adventure and hooked up with an ex-RAF plane mechanic who was driving an old army truck from Nairobi through Uganda to the Ruwenzori mountains and the Ituri rain forest, planning to look for gorillas and pygmies. We did not find any gorillas but the pygmies found us and we spent a week with the ba-Mbuti at their forest camp.

After that I took another loco wazungu overland trip for four months up the length of the White Nile from Juba, Sudan to Alexandria, Egypt (with a detour to the Red Sea which is how we got lost in the Nubian desert and, fortunately, arrested at gunpoint by the Egyptian Army near Aswan as suspected smugglers). I came back with two things in my blood: malaria and Zairois music. Over the next 40 years I nurtured a passion for African music. I met Fred Hill who had a radio show on local college station KUSF and he introduced me to a lot of great music; eventually I took over his show, broadcasting 2 hours a week from 1990-99. He also started Round World Music with Robert Leaver, which was originally going to be a branch of Stern's, the London record shop. I went to work there part-time to feed my habit and also learned about the music of the rest of the world from the other employees, who were also compulsive obsessives in their own fields. When the radio show ended I was already writing for magazines such as WIRED and Whole Earth Review as well as some websites which were springing up, and so, to keep abreast of the music and retain my copyrights, I started this website.

Knowing how transient the internet can be, I proposed to the owners of half a dozen other similarly informative sites that we pool our resources in one spot, so they would not get lost. I know Brewster Kahle who founded the Internet Archive, and he offered to be our host. But African music website owners are like cats and will not be herded. Doug Paterson died, so his site may disappear, KenTanza Vinyl is now offline, but a massive loss was the sudden death of Flemming Harrev of afrodisc.com in 2020. Three years ago Flemming sent me zips of precious 78s from Ngoma, saying cryptically he did not have time to listen to them. When it dawned on me what he meant, I reached out to a group of friends and others with an interest in the music, including Dr Wolfgang Bender (who had issued two CDs with the popular african music label of Günter Gretz of Ngoma), Stefan Werdekker (who has posted many great Congolese discs on his worldservice blog), Bart Cattaert of Planet Ilunga, Yoshiki Fukasawa (compiler of Early Congo Music 1946-62: First Rumba to Real Rumba), Jonathan Ward (compiler of Opika Pende: Africa at 78rpm), Mike Kieffer (sound engineer who has worked with Mississippi Records, most recently on John Ondolo, Kiko Kids and Bulawayo Blue Yodel releases, and restored Bix Biderbecke) and Alan Brain, Peruvian director of the definitive film about modern Congolese music: The Rumba Kings. I suggested we do something to commemorate Flemming's achievement.

All of these people and their circle of friends jumped in to offer any assistance I might need, and began sending me rips of their priceless Ngoma 78s. I have one album of 78s (ritual music from Haiti) but never got into the shellac habit due to, shall we say, financial constraints. I started listening to the wealth of music, amazed at how breathtaking it was. Not only was Ngoma a ground-breaking label in terms of scope, early in the field, featuring diverse styles as well as folk music from a wide area, they were also really prolific. But due to the trashing of their store during the Mobutu years there was no longer an archive, so what remained was scattered and more likely to be preserved in Western collections. Two things were conspicuously missing: the original version of "Maria Tebbo," and "Ata Ndele," which I will return to. I listened to all of this music that was unfamiliar to my ears. Furthermore, while I could quote you pedigrees of the Franco, Verckys and Nico generation of bands, I knew little about their predecessors, like Trio BOW, comprised of Manuel d'Oliveira, Wendo Kolosoyi and Léon Bukasa [below L to R].

For two years I immersed myself in books (some rare ones founds in the UC Berkeley music library), dissertations and documents: Alan Brain was moving to Morocco so sent me a shelf of reference works which I devoured, including Nimy's priceless Dictionnaire des Immortels de la Musique Congolaise Moderne. I stumbled on citations and scans online including rare newspaper articles as well as "facts" on blogs like mbokamosika which I could not verify independently. But scholarly research is my passion so I persevered, and all the time I was listening to the music, refining my selection, whittling down the final "must-have" 4 hours to 3 CDs of 70 minutes each. And because of my passion for Cuban music, I was able to add dimension to the Kongo-Cuba connection which has intrigued so many researchers. I am not saying my argument is definitive, but it does take into account all the latest theories. I also wanted more context for the songs, so reached out to African fans of the music to transcribe and translate the songs, starting with my dear friend Jerome Ogola in Kenya who is a polymath, linguist, and also a fount of information on Congolese music. When I wanted to pay two collaborators from Congo, I got emails from Western Union asking if I knew them personally, if these were religious donations, if i had been coerced into sending them money, etc, etc!

My first criterion in compiling the sets was to NOT include tracks which were available on other CDs. This included the two Ngoma CDs of Wolfgang Bender on p.a.m. which contain many classics, as well as Yoshiki Fukasawa's more recent box set on El Sur Records Early Congo Music 1946-62, again, loaded with gems (from many labels). There were other compilations too: recently Hisano's bloke put together Congo Revolution, which came out from Soul Jazz in 2019 and included 3 Ngoma tracks. There was another consideration: David Boulakia, a Paris DJ and record-store owner was planning an Ngoma release also. I spoke to him on the phone; we compared lists and I reluctantly agreed not to duplicate his choices, though again they were certainly strong. I did keep one of his selections, "Mono kwame ya nzola" by Tchadé and Beguen Band, a blistering jam which came from Stefan's collection. I had to cut back on Paul Mwanga and Charles Lembe but was glad I had solid selections from them. Another regret was "Canta del Negro" by Tino Baroza, a propulsive number from Tchadé, d'Oliveira and Mariola, but it had also appeared on a (very obscure) Blue Flamingo compilation.

There were still two missing tracks. The original of "Maria Tebbo" (popularized in a remake by Sam Mangwana) was a song called "Marie Tchebo" by Manuel d'Oliveira (later covered by Adou Elenga also). Miraculously both Bart Cat and Mike Kieffer had copies of the original, and we were able to choose one to lead off the compilation. The other song which no previous compiler had managed to find was called "Ata Ndele" (sooner or later). Originally titled "Mokili Ekobaluka" (Ngoma 1366; see label above), Alan Brain acquired a copy from Clement Ossinonde. This song said sooner or later the world will change, and implied the Belgians were going to get kicked out of Congo. The singer Adou Elenga was imprisoned and the song was deleted from the Ngoma catalogue, becoming one of their scarcest titles. Sometimes I included a strong flip-side and pointed out the availability of the other side in one of the previous comps. Now the project is finished and so here is a video about it, and the press release I wrote for Planet Ilunga:

Planet Ilunga presents The Enduring Cultural Heritage of the Congo


Ngoma: the Soul of Congo is a compilation that spans the years from 1948 to 1963 as the Belgian Congo emerged from colonial subjugation into the first flower of Independence. Singers and players came to Congo's capital Léopoldville, from all over Central Africa — from the busy streets of Brazzaville on the opposite shore of the Congo river to the vast plateau of Mbanza Congo in Angola, from the mineral rich areas of Lubumbashi (Elizabethville) in the Deep South to the lively docks of Kisangani (Stanleyville) in the northeast, from the rocky wastes of Mbandaka (Coquilhatville) in the West to the majestic forests of Bukavu (Costermansville) in the East.
Léopoldville became a cauldron of musical syncretism between the African rhythms that arrived with these musicians and the European, Caribbean and Cuban tunes that were popular in the big city. The new sounds were recorded for one of the big five Congo labels: Opika, Loningisa, Esengo, Olympia or Ngoma. Musicians sang their songs in many languages: Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba, Lari and Budja. And to show their urbanity: Espangol, a fractured form of Spanish, heard here in half a dozen selections. And although their lyrics covered many topics such as love, daily life, and the quest for freedom, their main message had no language since it was a musical one: to spread joy and hope.
None of the other Congolese labels better showcased the energy, variety & spirit of this era than the Ngoma label. During its existence, from 1948 until 1971, Ngoma made over 4500 recordings, creating a crucial cultural legacy, recognized as long ago as 1954 when poet Philippe Soupault wrote on behalf of UNESCO to Nikis Cavvadias, owner of Ngoma, thanking him for his work "collecting popular melodies and traditional songs which have caught the attention of the whole world. You've contributed to enlarging the knowledge of humanity."

As the Ngoma label flourished, so too did the first big stars of this new sound: Manuel d'Oliveira from San Salvador (who excelled in the polka piqué rhythm), Antoine Kolosoyi "Wendo'' from Bandundu and Léon Bukasa from Katanga. Cavvadias suggested they form a power trio, called Trio BOW and go on tour. He drove, and the tour lasted 20 months, reaching the borders of Angola and Cameroun. They crossed vast forests and rivers with help from locals who signaled their approach with tamtams or lokoles and then came out in the thousands to welcome the stars and fete them for their musical performances. The three of them are heavily featured in the Ngoma catalogue and in this compilation. They were all charismatic singers and guitarists who knew folk music but also adapted popular music from Cuba (heard on the famous GV records). Ngoma also provided a way for female singers, such as Martha Badibala, to rise to fame and inspire other women to dream of a life beyond taking care of the kids and husband.
Ngoma still recorded traditional folkloric music, such as the songs by old-time accordionist Camille Feruzi and likembe player Antoine Mundanda, but also looked for fresh talent as far away as Brussels where they recorded Camerounian heartthrob Charles Lembe fronting a fierce quartet on some flashy adapted Cuban Guaracha rhythms. Instrumentalists like Antoine Kasongo (clarinet), Albino Kalombo (sax) and Tino Baroza (guitar) also made their mark through the Ngoma recordings.

Adou Elenga's 1954 hit "Ata Ndele," that criticized the white colonists, led to his imprisonment and the song being quickly deleted from the catalogue (long sought after, a rare copy has been found for this collection). Already in 1953 he suggested a "change was gonna come," and slowly but surely it did. Angolan Paul Mwanga, too, was unstinting in his criticism of the colonials, and he was also active with authors' rights associations. Frank Lassan was a singer who brought the romantic style of French crooners to Congolese popular culture, while guitar wizard Manoka De Saïo or "Maitre Colon Gentil" (Genteel Settler) were flamboyant popular figures in the nightclub scene, captured on disc.
Guitar prodigies like Antoine Nedule "Papa Noel" or Mose Se Sengo "Fan Fan" cut their teeth as teenagers in studio bands (Maquina Loca and Jazz Babalou) which had fluid membership. The band names changed rapidly — Jazz Mango, Jazz Venus, Dynamic Jazz, Affeinta Jazz, Mysterieux Jazz, Rumbanella Bande, Beguen Band, Vedette Jazz, La Palma, Negrita Jazz — all of them are heard here. At first the word "jazz" was applied to the Cuban guïro or scraper, but as it came to indicate modern urbanity it was adapted for many band names.

As Nicolas "Dr Nico" Kasanda said, when interviewed by Michel Lonoh:
"Les anciennes réalisations de nos pionniers ont un place particulière chez moi. Ce sont surtout ces gens-là qui ont produit la vraie et la pure musique congolaise. Vous comprenez que nous sommes les produits de civilisations métissées. Pour nous garder Congolais, nous devons sur le plan musical, écouter, comprendre et pénétrer nos anciens pour ensuite les modifier et corriger quelques-unes de leurs erreurs qui résultaient de la primitivité. Personellement j'ai un respect absolu envers tous nos artistes de jadis."
["The early achievements of our pioneers have a special place for me. It is especially these people who produced the true and pure Congolese music. You understand that we are the products of mixed civilizations. To keep us Congolese, we must, on the musical level, listen, understand and penetrate our elders' work to then modify it and correct some of their errors which resulted from primitiveness. Personally I have an absolute respect towards all our artists of yesteryear."]

Now sadly, the Ngoma legacy has been decimated as many of the original recordings were played to bits or otherwise lost to posterity. A step towards preservation of our knowledge of Ngoma was made when Flemming Harrev created a massive discography and history of the label on his afrodisc website. When he died in 2020 the compiler had the idea of assembling a memorial disc in tribute to Flemming Harrev. He stated that afrodisc.com was "a tribute to the creativity and diversity of the performers," and now we have the opportunity of hearing some of the music, beautifully restored.

Dedicated record collectors came together to make this possible. From Morocco, the USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan, these generous fans of the music have pooled their collections for this compilation, assembled and annotated by Alastair Johnston, author of the Discography of Docteur Nico, who runs the popular Muzikifan website from California. This is the first time such a massive sampling of Ngoma recordings has been gathered together. Legendary but unheard songs were tracked down, some emerging from dead stock in a forgotten Tanzanian record store. Experts who have made previous compilations were solicited for their advice and recommendations; liner notes, graduate theses, African periodicals, blogs and documents by authorities such as Jean-Pierre Nimy Nzonga, Gary Stewart, Manda Tchebwa, Sylvain Konko and Michel Lonoh were scoured for clues.
Planet Ilunga, the Brussels-based publisher of this epic collection, has produced a series of recordings dedicated to the history of Congolese popular music from artists like Franco & OK Jazz, Docteur Nico, Orchestre Rock'a Mambo and Joseph Kabasele, "le Grand Kalle" et son African Jazz. Ngoma: the Soul of Congo is their 10th release since the creation of the label in 2013 and their most ambitious project to date. Tracklist of the 3 LP set is here; tracklist of the #CD set is here







The Year in Review, so far

(click on maps at the top of the page to get to continent of choice)

August 2023

Jordi Savall & Oriente Lux is filed under Arabia
Gibraltar Drakus & Roger Bekono are found in Cameroon
Early Electronic Rai 1983-90 is filed in Algeria
Wganda Kenya & Kammpala Grupo, as well as
Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia!!! vol 1 can all be found in Colombia part 3

July 2023

Piconema: East African Hits on the Colombia Coast is filed in Kenya part 3
Flamenkora is filed in Old World misc
Delmark Records' 70th Anniversary Blues anthology is filed under Blues
Elza Saores is in Brasil part 3
Debashish Bhattacharya's latest can be read about in India part 2
Les Sympathetics de Port-Novo Benin's self-titled disc is filed in Benin

June 2023

Malombo Jazz Makers Down Lucky's Way is in South Africa 2
Tanya Ekanayaka from Sri Lanka, is filed under Asian misc
Saoco vol 1 is filed in Puerto Rico
Tabaco 1975-85 can be read about in Venezuela
Afrosound's Carruseles is filed in Colombia part 3

May 2023

East African Highway can be read about in Kenya, Tanzania part 3
Mahlathini and Mahotella Queens Live is filed in South Africa part 2
Praed's Kaf Afrit is filed in Arabia
Inna Baba Coulibaly can be found in Mali part 5
so can Solomane Doumbia's musical journey across sub-Sahara

April 2023

Okwy Osadebe can be read about in Nigeria part 3
Dogo's Dogo du Togo is filed under African miscellany
Fruko Power is filed in Colombia part 3
Andres y sus Estrellas is the latest entry in the Venezuela section
My review of Alain Gomis's film Rewind & Play is filed under Monksville (New World)

March 2023

Asro from Gangbé Brass Band, with Kala Jua and Fama Diabaté is filed in African miscellany
Gao Hong & Kadialy Kouyaté is filed in world miscellany (for want of a better spot)
Alfredo Guiterrez y los Caporales' ¡Así es ... Con salsa! went to Colombia, part 3
Faith i Branko's Duhovi is filed under Gypsy
As Valet's Canne à sucre is filed in Music of the Caribbean
as is Polobi and the Gwo-ka Masters
Vusi Mahlasela, Norman Zulu & Jive Connection can be read about in South Africa, part 2

February 2023

Kimi Djabaté is filed in Guinée
T.P. Orch. Poly-Rythmo are found in Benin
No Nazar's Piano Bazaar is hard to classify, let's try Bollywood 2
Björk's Fossora went to Old World miscellany
Sound of the Soul by Debashish Bhatracharya is filed in India & Pakistan part 2
Ray Perez y sus Kenyas are from Venezuela

January 2023

La Perla are filed under Colombia part 2
Azuka Moweta can be found in Nigeria part 3
Sona Jobarteh is from the Gambia, which has its own section
Vibro Succès are from Central African Republic, so are filed under African miscellany
Farid el Atrache is Egyptian; read about him in Arabia
Mita y su Monte Adentro are found in Peru
Ray Perez is filling up the Venezuelan section almost single-handedly
Moncho y su Banda can also be found in Venezuela
Iftin Band can be read about in the Ethiopia & Somalia section

[BELOW]

PAST TOP TENS BY YEAR

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

MY BEST-SELLING BOOK!

"Essential reference guide to the Congo guitar king" — SONGLINES 64 **** (four stars)
"I do not know anybody who has such immense knowledge of African music. Congratulations." — Gerhard G (a purchaser)

BACK IN PRINT (Second edition, November 2012)


A DISCOGRAPHY OF DOCTEUR NICO
By Alastair Johnston

Poltroon Press, 2012, expanded to 88 pages; list price $19.95.
Available now. Click HERE for details.

LETTERBOX

CURRENT MOON

all of the writing on this site is copyright © 2004-2023 by alastair m. johnston

Your comments are welcome. Or join the discussion on facebook

If you are not already a subscriber, send me an e-mail to be notified of updates, or fill in the box above. Please note none of the music discussed on the site is for sale by me. Also we will not use or share your mailing address for purposes other than the monthly notification of updates. You can reach me at contact[at-sign]muzikifan[dot]com

Creative Commons License
muzikifan by alastair m. johnston is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.muzikifan.com.