Hit Parade Africain -Spring 2013 Mix -rumba, soukous, afrobeat , one of my previous posts attracted enough comments and a few requests to single out one particular track; Orchestre Les Rebelles -Manicero…I agree that this is a standout track. Enjoy the download
Hit Parade Africain Vol 4 -Orchestre Les Noirs, Orchestre Sinza, Franco & Orchestre TP Ok Jazz, Orchestre Les Rebelles, Les Bantous, Orchestre Mando Negro, Orchestre Hi-Fives MLP 12-198 UK
in the sixties musician Mingledi Mawangu erects Konono Nr. 1. in southern Congo, near the border of Angola. Later the band settles in the capital Kinshasa.
There they are noticed in 1978 by a Frenchman who records them for the renowned label Ocora. When Tony Van der Eecken, music programmer of the Brussels Bozar, encounters Konono on one of his journeys in the Congo, he decides to bring the group to the Low Countries for a tour. Dutch punk band The Ex released recordings of their first performances in Holland on Terp Records. Today they are connected to the Belgian label Crammed Discs, that releases their music in the series ‘Congotronics’.
Last weekend Konono Nr. 1 performed during the World Music Festival 2013 at the new centre for modern and experimental music; Muziekgebouw aan het IJ/Bim Huis in Amsterdam. Normally this center operates as a platform for ‘serious’ music with the spectators seated on chairs. Not so when Konono Nr. 1 was on stage. It took just a few minutes before people got up from their seats and started dancing in the aisles.
It was therefore impossible to sit still during the swinging performance. The band played a tight set on instruments made from discarded household and amplified likembe. The music of Konono No 1 connects city and jungle, they play ritual trance music for special occasions. When they started in Kinshasha they had to drown out the noise of the city, so they amplified their likembe, also known as a thumb piano, a series of metal blades mounted on a sound box. The trance repertoire receives through the additional distortion an extra dimension.
The name Konono Nr. 1 means as much as to move the dead. Whether they pull that off is debatable but their long spun performance last Friday transformed the hall into a swirling dance club.
Later the same night the American DJ/blogger/anthropologist Brian Shimkovitz aka Awesome Tapes From Africa did the same thing upstairs in the lounge during a magical set of obscure, fascinating African music, mainly from cassettes.
to kick off the new month here is a groovy mix of great rumba, soukous, afrobeat…all tracks taken from ‘Hit Parade Africain Vol 4′, released by the wonderful label Melodisc Records Ltd that was based in London. No year of publication is indicated, so I estimate that this release is from mid 70s. Melodisc Records Ltd released a remarkable selection of early ska, rocksteady and African music and the records are quite rare these days….so enjoy this mix!
Hit Parade Africain Vol 4 -Orchestre Les Noirs, Orchestre Sinza, Franco & Orchestre TP Ok Jazz, Orchestre Les Rebelles, Les Bantous, Orchestre Mando Negro, Orchestre Hi-Fives MLP 12-198 UK
Hit Parade Africain Mix 1 April 2013
Orchestre Sinza -Mahoungou
Franco et l’Orchestre TP OK Jazz -Ye Nr. 1
Orchestre Les Rebelles -Manicero
Les Bantous -Macaro
Orchestre Les Noirs -Sikiya Sauce Nr. 1
Orchestre Les Noirs -Amin Nr. 1
Orchestre Hi-Fives -Belina Mon Amour
see also Celebration at Ciro’s
João Maria Tudella was born in Lourenço Marques, he studied at the Coimbra University in Portugal. He first won renown as a Fado singer, but has shown himself to be equally adept at dance band music and proved himself in several recordings to be a gifted young singer.
On this remarkable rare album ‘Uma Casa Portuguesa’, released by Gallotone at the end of the 60′s, João returns to his Portuguese roots. The selection of songs are all compositions by Artur Fonseca who is responsible for writing the classic song ’Uma Casa Portuguesa’, best known in the version by Amalia Rodrigues and hundreds others. A rare photograph of Artur Fonseca together with Tudella at the piano graces the cover.
At the time of the release of this album Fonseca was working as musical director of the Radio Clube of Moçambique, based in Lourenço Marques, nowadays Maputo. Then the captital and biggest city of Moçambique, a thriving Portuguese colony, Lourenço Marques attracted many South Africans for business and holidays. Gambling and the luxurious entertainment offered at the casinos were other main attractions. The many hotels of the city offered regular gigs to the many visiting artists from Portugal and South Africa. See also Cabaret at The Moçambique.
The doors of popularity opened to João Tudella because of his two successes ‘Kanimambo’ and ‘Hambanine’, which were real hits in the field of popular music. These two discs put João Tudella in the hit parade around South Africa and in Moçambique, the land of his birth.
On this album well known South African bandleader and arranger Dan Hill, great friend of the composer Fonseca, accompanies pianist João Tudella with a small quintet.
João Tudella -Uma Casa Portuguesa
João Tudella -Lourenco Marques
João Tudella -Uma Estrela Falou
João Tudella -Holiday in Lourenco Marques
Hotel Tivoli Lourenço Marques -1960s
thanks to Matthias Offodile for the pics of Lourenço Marques in the 60′s
this post contains excerpts from the original liner notes of the album
João Tudella canta musica de Artur Fonseca-Uma Casa Portuguesa w/ the Dan Hill Quintet -Gallotone GALP 1107 -released in South Africa/Mozambique end of 60′s
today’s post comes from Dutch guest writer Pieter Franssen who is a lifetime music lover, celebrating his 40 years long career as being a well known dj, journalist/writer and radio-journalist. He is also a regular contributor to Soul Safari. See his previous post Le Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou
Orchestre Super Bourgou de Parakou – Wegne’Nda M’Banda
LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU The Bariba Sound 1970-1976 (Analog Africa AALP 071)
The West African State of Benin borders Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. In the 1970s the former Dahomey knew a truly incredible wealth of mind-blowing funk bands, from cities such as Cotounou, Porto Novo and the absolutely unknown -until very recently- Parakou capital in the North Province, near the border of Nigeria.
Just like in Mali and Guinea the musical competition in Dahomey/Benin was huge and fanatical. In addition to Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou and other bands, as showcased on the top compilation “African Scream Contest” -of the extremely interesting label and blog Analog Africa-were exposed to the outside world for the first time. The label brings back the music of the band Super Borgou Department de Parakou to life and finally it gets all the credit it deserves.
All due to the deep diggin’ of the mastermind behind the Frankfurt based label, dj Samy Ben Redjeb. The man, who has a sixth sense for detecting unknown and obscure, raw top funk, undertook a quest for musical treasures in the small country of Benin. He ended up in barns and dusty warehouses of the Dendi and Bariba tribes where unknown music was waiting to be discovered. He also met musical entrepreneurs avant la lettre, who linked whole generations of musicians and a couple of particularly creative record label owners.
Super Borgou Department originated in Parakou where guitarist/organist Moussa Mama Djima was inspired first by his father, a gold-and silversmith who discovered highlife in Ghana in his youth. That was his first and true love. The rumba/soukous music of legendary bandleader/singer and guitarist Franco, from Zaire, was one of the other sources of inspiration.
The Islamic-tribes Bariba and Dendi made dance music covering different levels of stirring emotions, trance and excitement. On the beautifully designed vinyl double package by Super Borgou, “Rhythms Of Black Sparta”, from 1976, you can hear mesmerizing soul, funk grooves ala James Brown, next to Bariba versions of Afrobeat mixed with local folklore, soul and Bariba and Dendi Pachanga-dance styles, just a tad different in style and groove.
It impossible to stand still when listening to the 15 tracks on this double album. The roar of the whining organ that grooves with the (ultra)short funky rhythm guitar licks blends into titillating, trance inducing rhythms of many percussion instruments, to bring the listener into an absolute climax.
Check the exciting organ-driven “Ko Guere”, based on Bariba folklore, which is an absolute cracker, just as “Abare Klouklou” is. Bold horns, a compelling rhythm, chorus, and melody. Just like the crazy track “Adiza Claire”, based on wild Cavacha rhythms, clearly derived from Zaire’s rumba styles.
Bandleader, composer, guitarist and keyboardist Moussa Mom Djima unfortunately passed away in 2007, but Super Borgou Parakou continues the legacy of their leader with a retroactive effect. Insanely good trance-n-dance-music.
Pieter Franssen
Orchestre Super Borgou De Parakou – Abakpé
The Ry-Co Jazz band from Congo are Jean-Serge Essous (saxophone), M’Bilia Casino (congas & chant), JerryMalekani (guitar) & others who offer us a rare slice of Caribbean music during the 60′s.
Their productions are most in demand since the band is the creator of “Tumbélé”, an original explosive cross pollination between african rumba from Congo & creoles kompa -modern mérengue- from Martinique/Guadeloupe where the band was based during 60′s. The recording sessions on this EP was realised by “Debs music: the guardians of creolemusic”, a production and recording company founded by Henri Debs, known for his quality recordings & team of musicians.
On this 7″ EP ‘Dansons…avec le Ry-Co Jazz Vol. 12’ you will find swinging afro jazz in tumbélé style with latin overtones, excellent for the dance floor. Recorded from the actual EP
Le Ry-Co Jazz Vol 12 -Habiba Moussa
Le Ry-Co Jazz Vol 12 -Bo Lata Bo Robe
Le Ry-Co Jazz Vol 12 -Give Me Bombolo
Le Ry-Co Jazz Vol 12 -Mi Baila La Pachanga
see also TUMBÉLÉ! Biguine, afro & latin sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963-74
will someone care? Can this terror ever be stopped?
The musicians of Mali are silenced. Music is banned by decree by the Islamic extremists who rule the Northern part of Mali since april 2012. The reign of the Al-Qaeda-linked group Ansar ud-Din causes not only a humanitarian crisis in the region, but also a cultural crisis that is spreading like wildfire.
see also Le Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou
They plunder recording studios, destroy the archives of radiostations and trample instruments. Anyone who sings something else than the sacred koran verses is not sure of his life. The recent cultural holocaust in Northern Mali can be compared to that of the Nazis against the Jews in pre-war Germany.
Mali may be one of the poorest countries in Africa but it surely has one of the richest musical traditions of the continent. The so called griots travel around the country since the middle ages as the storytellers of the Sahel. Their songs are like history books, indispensable in a largely illiterate society. New popular singers in the last decades have exported Malinese music as the most famous product of the country.
Fatoumata Diawara, Ali Farka Touré, the desert blues of Touareg-band Tinariwen have become regular features at international festivals like North Sea Jazz and Lowlands here in Holland. In the West, Malinese music is often compared to American blues. That is definitely true but the concerns of Mali are centuries older than those of Northern America . Malinese music is a paean on ‘ the source of hope in the desert ‘ and it should be kept alive, not destroyed.
parts of this text from an article by Leendert van der Valk -’Mali’s Blues zwijgt’- NRC Handelsblad -Monday November 12th 2012
NYC October 6th 2012
Nigerians in the USA celebrated 52 years of independency of their motherland with a parade in the New York streets and a festival that ran at the DagHammaskjold Plaza later that night. Music, cultural dancing and food came aplenty with strong political and religious undertones considering the message of the speeches before the parade began. With pride and a great sound and sense of fun the parade started and I was present to report the pre-parade preparations shot at Second Ave and 54th Street E Manhattan, NYC.
More pics at African Spotlight
Christie Essien -Take Life Easy
Musical selections from Lagos Disco Inferno –Voodoo Funk/Academy Records (1975-1981)
A selection of the Golden Era of Nigerian Disco. Compiled by Frank ‘Voodoo Funk’ Gossner.
after a few days of serious digging in the shops of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Princeton I had bought so many records -and not just African stuff- that I had to send parcels back home. The selection here today is just what I could carry in my hand luggage…..check out my future detailed posts with MP3.
see also diggin’ in NYC -Top 5 record shops
King Sunny Ade -Explosion!
the voices and drums of africa -Keita Fodeba, Mouangué, Kante Facelli
The Flaming Souls -Soultime
Ephat Mujuru Ensemble -The Spirit of the People
see also a diggers lament and a diggers lament -Ladysmith Black Mambazo -Nansi Imali (Here Is The Money) + today’s compilation of 13 songs of popular American 50s & 60s recordings that highlights the industrial songs of factory workers, African American work gangs and miners. Pity the poor poor man..
13 chain gang-and work songs -an exclusive Soul Safari compilation
tracklist
Nappy Brown -Coal Miner
Eugene Church -16 Tons
Dick Busher -16 Tons
Vicky Tasso -The Sound Of The Hammer
Chuck Reed -That Lucky Old Sun
Bobby Scott -Pity The Poor Poor Man
Mike Stewart with Sy Oliver Orchestra -Chain Gang
Bobby Scott -Chain Gang
Lorne Green -Pop Goes The Hammer
Fred Darian -That Lucky Old Sun
‘Little’ Stevie Wonder -16 Tons
Oscar Brown Jr. -Work Song
Change Halladay -Bury Me Deep
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