The Albarika Story is a great intro to this pioneering label who issued Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, Les Volcans du Benin, Les Sympathics de Porto-Novo and many other favorites (note these are not full-length versions of all the songs but definitely give you the gist)
Video
Bob-a-loup sends us the True History of Africa Negra, in Portuguese. If you are nifty with the cursor you can find a couple of largely unedited songs recorded live in the studio between all the talking, e.g. here is a time-stamped link I've created to the start of "Madeleina meu amor"
R.I.P.
Antoine Monswet Nedule, aka Papa Noël, died Nov 11 aged 83. Legend has it he was busking with a broken guitar on the street in Kinshasa and someone heard him and promised him a guitar and took him to Ngoma studios where Léon Bukasa immediately plugged him into his line-up, the Katanga Kids. In his career Papa Noël played with Rock'a Mambo 1958, Maquina Loca 1959, Cobantou 1960, Vox Africa (many of the latter joined African Jazz, 1963, to replace the departed Nico and Rochereau), Bamboula 1967, Les Bantous, and Kékélé. George Omondi & Jerome Ogola provide background information: "The name Noël he adopted is actually an inversion of his idol's first name, Léon (Bukasa) spelled backward, and not a name he was given because of Christmas day. To weaken African Jazz, Franco facilitated him with instruments to start his own band, Orchestre Bamboula. He assembled future stars like Celi Bitshou, Dupool, Aimé Kiwakana, Wuta Mayi, Bopol, Madilu, etc. Bamboula was selected as the best Orchestra in 1969 and went on to represent Zaire at the First Pan-African Cultural Festival, held in Algiers the same year. In 1974 the band quit over lack of income and Noel assembled a new line-up of hot talent, which he took to Vévé studios: Verckys saw their potential and offered them a deal, including monthly salaries, which they jumped at becoming Orchestre Kiam, leaving Noel on his own. In 1978 he joined OK Jazz, where he supplied the hits 'Zala Sportif,' 'Mobali Malamu' and 'Tangawizi' over the next 6 years."
King Kiki (Kikumbi Mwanza Mpanga) died 14 November in a Dar Es Salam hospital. Jerome Ogola reports: 'Kiki one of the Congolese musical exports to Tanzania came into East Africa in 1971 with orchestra Fauvette of Ndala Kasheba and made Daresalam his home. He was among the star studded Maquis Du Zaire line-up that gave you "Karubandika" among other age-less classics.'
Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, trumpeter of Buena Vista Social Club, formerly of the Estrellas de Areito. He came to notice in 1960 with the Conjunto Rumbavana at the Tropicana Club in Havana and was a founder of Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna. He played on many sessions, particularly those of the Buena Vista set, and had a solo album, backed by them, which featured the music of Arsenio Rodriguez.
Latest Muzikifan Podcasts
(Note: The muzikifan podcasts are hosted on Soundcloud; please subscribe there)
Papa Noel Special: a tribute to the late Congolese guitar maestro
Bring it to Jerome: great music from King Kiki, Massive Attack and much more
Mirrorball features all the new music reviewed below, plus more from King Kiki, Papa Noel and "Guajiro" Mirabal
FESTIVAL DONSO NGONI VOL 1 (remote records/Association Djiguiya-Blo & Instruments4Africa)
The Donso ngoni or hunter's ngoni is one of my favorite musical instruments: it has a slender, guitar-like hollow wooden body (about the size of a cricket bat), covered in animal skin, and six strings with a raspy tone. When I first heard Rokia Traoré in concert she had two ngoni players backing her; then Issa Bayayogo took it to the future with his techno albums. Nevertheless it remains deeply rooted in musical traditions and the karagnan (metal scraper) percussion and chanted choruses take you back to ancient rituals around a crackling fire. You can almost smell the woodsmoke and fermented goat milk coming through the speakers. This album commemorates a gathering of the musicians when ten masters performed at a huge nocturnal festival: each is represented by one outstanding track. As well as being hunter-gatherers, the Donso are guardians of spiritual traditions and their legends and rituals are passed on from one generation to the next. Thus ancient epics and praise songs are preserved across centuries. The names of the musicians are confusingly similar, many of them being members of griot families, but included is one of the best-known, Sékouba Traoré. The Donso brotherhood and its many secret societies predates Islam, but they have added elements of Islamic faith, so Sékouba Traoré sings "Bissimilah," invoking the Muslim God in a cultural bridge. Another Traoré — Modibo — pays tribute to the armed forces. Of course this is a smart move as the military have taken over the government yet are not effectively keeping the fundamentalists at bay. And the fundamentalists would crush out traditional music like this, given a chance. I thought I had heard of Adama Traoré, but I was confused! He turns in a great "Koutiguè Foli"; the chorus is a guy yelling "Namo ... namooo ... na!" Remote Records of Bamako, Mali, are doing great work to keep Malian music alive in these tough times: they have a fine catalogue, including Adama Yalomba, Inna Baba Coulibaly, and Sons of Samandji.
ORCHESTRE MAQUIS DU ZAIRE / ORCHESTRE SAFARI SOUND
ZANZIBARA 11: CONGO IN DAR: DANCE NO SWEAT (1982-6) (Budamusique)
My fears of the demise of the Zanzibara series were unfounded, though it has been nearly a decade since the last Muziki wa dansi volume appeared! Sure, Buda do better with the Ethiopiques and some other series, but this one, as it slowly comes out, is filling precious gaps in our monument of some of the greatest dance music ever recorded, that was made by expatriate Congolese bands in East Africa from the mid-70s to 80s. The music is consistently great: these were big bands with full horn lines, multiple guitarists, dancers and singers, so they could perform from midnight to sunrise and if needed split in two to fulfill two gigs on the same night. The two bands here are among the giants, and were in a friendly pitched battle throughout their prime. Starting with Les Maquis du Zaire, two of their tracks come from an Ahadi cassette called Anjelu: there's "Seya," their first hit, and "Doublé doublé" (not the Nyboma song). On the latter you can hear the influence of Franco on Nguza Viking's guitar. We also get what is probably their biggest hit, the magnificent ballad "Karubandika" from 1984. (Now here is a curious aside, I bought the vinyl in England in the mid-80s, based solely on the bad cover art, on my principle that if a band couldn't afford a fancy cover it meant the music was probably great. The store was an old one, founded in 1908 to sell musical instruments and sheet music, in an arcade in Newcastle-on-Tyne. The reason I am telling you this? Today J. G. Windows finally closed after 117 years. So I have fond memories of that place and now the song comes back to me this same day from Bourges in France! And in another aside, the album was produced by Douglas Paterson who later became a good friend after he moved to the West Coast of the USA.) The final Maquis track here, "Maria Nyerere" is one I have never heard before, so that is a thrill. Also upstanding in this battle of the bands is the great O.S.S. or Orchestre Safari Sound who also traded members back and forth with Mlimani Park. Ndala Kasheba wrote "Dunia Msongamano (This is a world of strife)"; this and "Mwana kwetu" were also on Ahadi cassettes, which I managed to get hold of back in the day but are probably impossible to find now, furthermore the sound on cassettes is never great. Their big hit here "Marashi ya pemba" (also penned by Kasheba) was also on Tanzania Hit Parade 88, another cassette produced by Doug Paterson, which also came out on vinyl. Their last offering is "Garba," another jam that came from a 45 and not a cassette and so is also new to me. This is such vital music (not only to me, but to you too, once you've heard it, I am sure) that I have a page dedicated to it here. I would suggest you opt for the CD, as a download will not give you the 36-page booklet with notes by Werner Graebner who interviewed the musicians in 1987 and has been patiently waiting to publish his comments. We also learn the history of recently deceased King Kiki who played with both bands. As a youth he heard Leon Bukasa's band in Congo and was inspired by the young Papa Noel to take up guitar! The many photos of Nguza Viking and bandmates presented here will show you how these guys were hipper than you could ever hope to be!
The title of the album means "Travelers" and one of their number travelled from Chicago to Accra for the session which took place during one hot night in 2019. It starts with a drone on what sounds like a didgeridoo and a mournful trombone solo which seems to evoke John Coltrane. The track is called "Freedom" and we assume that is what the vocalist is singing about as the guitar (Nathaniel Braddock, guitarist with Occidental Brothers Band) skitters around and finally joins in. It's wildly experimental and reminded me of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and that is also what I read in the liner notes, so they are sanctioning that free-form yet controlled approach. When the percussion starts to drive on "Batobe" the guitar rocks out. No percussion instruments are listed but they all play "it," which suggests sometimes you just want to grab a pair of maracas or start tapping on a bottle to be part of the music. The lovely trombone is prominent throughout but so are the elements of "Wind" and "Water": the environmental concern of Nil Addotey Brown Asalasu who feels he is connecting to the ancestors this way. You might think he'd want to channel Ashanti drummers but his atmospheric effects are quite spiritual, though the hubbly bubbly blowing wears thin. There is a traditional drummer, Daniel Tettey Black, who came up in the Ga tradition but has also played highlife kit drums for the likes of Hugh Masekela and Stevie Wonder. Here it sounds as though he is playing log drums or woodblocks, and he doubles on electric bass. The singer and trombone player is Elikplim Amewode Kofi: his light tenor vocals, sweetened with reverb and echo, float over the atmospheric brew, enhancing the ethereality of the mood. Given that the majority of the music in Ghana is Gospel, Afrobeat/funk or revived Highlife bands from the 70s, it's amazing that something like progressive jazz raises its head above the din. The album ends with the title cut: scat singing feeds off a piano and the guitar suggests the atonal riffing of Hans Reichel, while the bubble machine brews up some effervescence. Then it all fades into the humid night air.
Dogo returns, backed by the Alagaa Beat Band, in a relentless whirl of guitar and complex pounding drums. He has synthesized traditional Togolese voodoo music with American funk and R&B. The production values are high; the tracks are brief, in the "hit it and quit" mode, rather than the Fela twenty-minute harangue we know from a lot of Afrobeat albums, though the feeling is similar in places. Overall it is poppy and upbeat. An excellent trumpeter comes in on "Enouwo Lagnon" which also has giddy synthesizer reminiscent of the 70s. The arrangements are tight, the rhythms churning, though the nostalgic element also stretches to a "phone-voice" mic. This brought to mind Flash and the Pan, whom I have not thought about in over 40 years! There are plenty of ideas, the songs reaching in many directions, all of them threatening to overflow the self-imposed 3- or 4-minute pop single limits.
OCCIDENTAL BROTHERS DANCE BAND INTERNATIONAL
LIKAMBO TE (Self-published)
"Likambo Te (No more problems)" is the third and latest offering from Chicago's resident African band, Occidental Brothers. The opening track, "Zambiri," is pure soukous, reflecting, I guess, guitarist Nathaniel Braddock's recent pilgrimages to Congo where he jammed, visited guitar makers and the graves of some notable elders (according to his facebook posts). The group's bona fides are assured with the second track when the great Samba Mapangala of Orchestre Virunga shows up. In fact he sings on most tracks. Matthew Tembo from Zambia delivers two other songs. What sets this apart from other African-inspired bands is the high level of musicianship, such as the fluid jazz saxophone of Greg Ward, along with the interlocking guitars. Danceability comes in the form of a mbaqanga-flavored number called "Taxi drivers" and the jazzy "Asiri ni asara (A secret is a loss)," sung by Mapangala.
Munster Records have continued to bring us the finest salsa and boogaloo Venezuela has to offer. And back at you again, comes the great Ray Pérez, pianist and arranger, with his band Los Kenya and Volume 2 of their works. In the late 60s he also fronted Los Dementes and Los Calvos as he was experimenting with different line-ups to create sounds he wanted. But Los Kenya were not a studio band like the other two: they had gigs and their popularity led to six albums released between 1968 and 1972. Despite the title, this was actually their third album and has a lot of breadth and depth in its ten tracks. The key sound is salsa dura, or hard salsa, with hard-hitting congas and bongos behind the piano and brass, there is also kit drums and bass. Overall there's a great "live" feeling to the tunes as if they were recorded in a long jam session after a particularly good gig. Singers are Carlín Rodríguez (a guaracha and bolero singer who also performed with the other Pérez groups), Dimas Pedroza, and Ray himself on two numbers. Your 50-year old copy might fetch 184 euros on discogs; on the other hand you can get a mint copy now and make up for lost time.
107th STREET STICKBALL TEAM
SABOREANDO - POT FULL OF SOUL (Vampisoul VAMPI 307)
This is an alternative musical history for those of us who grew up in the 60s. We were aware of Soul music through Stax-Volt, and heard dances like the Boogaloo and the Shingaling (or giggled at them on black & white TV shows), but our main diet was pop with a little R&B. We listened to Pye and Fontana records, produced by the likes of Mickie Most, Kit Lambert & Chris Stamp. We were unaware of Bobby Marin and artists like Ricky Marrero or Louie Ramirez (of "Ali Baba" fame). Nevertheless the psychedelic Latin soul gems of these artists have stood the test of time and are not nostalgic in the sense of reminding us of teenage heartaches, etc, but evoke a time when the world was young and, decidedly, groovy. This latest discovery from Vampisoul is a replica of a great boogaloo album that came out on the obscure Dorado label in 1969. The now-fifty year old rhythms are occasionally corny but funky and there's a lot to love here. Orlando Marin plays timbales, Ricardo Marrero is on piano and Louie Ramirez on percussion. The wild trumpet is uncredited. If the brief LP leaves you wanting more, you can also pick up a 7 inch 45 of Los Africanos (VAMPI 45108), also produced by Bobby Marin at the same time. This group was a studio project featuring Chico Mendoza and New Jersey band Ocho. The A side "Together People (Pamoja Watu)" is a New York take on African funk with a Manu Dibango-style horn and a James Brown rhythm; more heavy Latin funk populates the B side, "It's your thing," which is a cover of an Isley Brothers' hit, replete with wailing Hammond B3 organ.
Year to date
(click on maps at the top of the page to get to continent of choice)
November 2024
Arun Ramamurthy Trio's New Moon went to India & Pakistan part 2
Houssam Guinia's Dead of Night can be found in Morocco
Oriental Brothers' Onye rie ibe ya erie is filed under Nigeria part 3
as is Music of Igbo Masquerade by Okwy Osadebe & his Highlife Soundmakers Super Disco Pirata 1965-80 is filed in Colombia part 3
Danilo Perez with the Bohuslan Big Band is found in World miscellany Magnifico Boogaloo is pumping it up in Peru, part 2
October 2024
Nusrat's Chain of Light can be found in India & Pakistan part 2
Martin Lopez y sus Estrellas are in Peru
Karantamba's Galgi is filed in The Gambia
September 2024
Mute by El Khat is filed in Arabia
Conjunto Africa Negra's Antologia vol 2 is filed in the Cabo Verde and Sao Tomé section
Bobby Marin's We gotta good thing going can be found in Puerto Rico
August 2024
Nigerian Guitar Roots 1936-68 is filed in Nigeria part 3 Tribute to Toumani Koné by Nfaly Diakite is filed under Mali 6
Kokoko!'s latest album Butu is in Congo 4
Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Tumbuktou can be reads about in the Morocco section
Okaija Afroso is found under the Ghana part 2 tab
Jyotsna Srikanth's Carnatic Nomad is filed in India part 2
July 2024
Kandia Kouyate's album is filed under Mali part 6
Gabi Guedes can be found in Brasil part 3
Bakary Kamaso is from the Gambia
Orquesta Olivieri is filed in Puerto Rico
June 2024
Okwy Osadebe & his Highlife Soundmakers' Ifunanya is filed in Nigeria pt 3
Ballake Sissoko and Derek Gripper is filed in Old World miscellany
Bassekou Kouyate & Amy Sacko's Djudjon is filed under Mali part 6
Kiki Valera's Vacilón Santiaguera is filed in Cuba 4
Yasser Tejeda can be found in the Dominican Republic
Tidiane Thiam is filed in Senegal 4
as is Tidiane Thiam with Amadou Binta Konte
Grupo Polo Montañez is found in Cuba part 4
Sonora Nelson Ferreyra went to Peru
May 2024
Les Belgicains is filed under Congo Classics part 2
Kolonel Djafaar's Getaway is filed in Olde Worlde misc
Brooklyn Sounds' eponymous disc is filed in Latin/Salsa, New World Cumbia Sabroso vol 2 is filed in Colombia part 3
April 2024
Franco & OK Jazz compilation from Les Editions Populaires is under Congo Classics 2
Maliheh Moradi and Ehsan Matoori are filed in Iran
Los Guayabo Bros went to Colombia part 3 Rough Guide to Murder Ballads went to USA, of course
ShazaLaKazoo can be found in the Balkans
March 2024
Ngwaka Son Système with Iboto ngenge is filed in Congo part 4
Meanwhile Congo Funk! has gone to Congo Classics part 2
Tarek Abdallah & Adel Shams El Din with Ousoul is filed in Arabia
Adama Yalomba is filed in Mali 6
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba in concert can be read about in Mali Live
February 2024
Afrika Muye Muye! Tanzanian Rumba 1968-70 is filed in Kenya/Tanzania part 3 Wagadu Grooves from all over West Africa is filed in Mali part 6
Mohammad Syfkhan can be found in Arabia (though he lives in Ireland)
Gao Hong with Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde are in Old world miscellany
Aguidavi do Jeje are found under Brasil 3
January 2024
Mama Sissoko Live is filed in Mali part 6
The return of Dieuf-Dieul can be read about in Senegal part 4
Principe y su Sexteto are found in Venezuela
Said Chalaban is filed in Morocco
...
PAST TOP TENS BY YEAR
Essentially the best of this website in condensed form:
"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.
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