Bob Uhiri and his Uhuru Sounds. Fantastic out of print album from one of King Sunny Ade's guitarists.
Great stuff! My favorite might be Kamikaze on 20ème anniversaire de l'O.K Jazz. like a lot of Franco stuff you get two songs for the price of one! (this track apparently is on the inner groove of the record in this video)
At least it looks like it could be the African label, French release, which has some of the best sounding Franco material available with a nice organic sound. God knows why they've chosen the run out groove for the video???
It's fair to say that the Franco - 20eme Anniversaire album changed my musical life, the fifth African record I bought on a whim, no idea what delights it contained. Anyway I love the Don't Stop The Carnival horns in Voyage Na Bandundu.
Sound d Afrique, my first introduction to African music. Being pedantic it's The Rail Band and later The Super Rail Band
Bibi Den's Tshibayi - The Best Ambiance, an album which seems to have disappeared over the horizon, here's the dance demanding title track.
Nice! Your post inspired me to order the African 2xLP 20eme Anniversaire today. This is off-topic a bit, but since you posted this song earlier, Kinsiona is somewhere in the middle of this live show:
Talk of the Rail Band (Salif Keita), guided my hand to pull this off my shelf Salif Keita & Ambassadeurs
Lately I've been enjoying Golden Afrique Vol 2: The Great Days of Rumba Congolaise and Early Soukous.
Great compilation, you may like Franco album - Originalite, very early Franco transferred from 78s, I think he was 17!!
I'll risk expressing my opinion, but I think the synthesizer was the worst thing that ever happened to Congolais music. I believe the band leaders chose to replace their entire horn section with a synthesizer not just "to save money", but to keep more of the band's income for themselves. Get rid of 5 or 6 musicians (now unemployed) and replace them with one guy. The sounds of Congolais saxophones were absolutely unique in all of the different ways that saxophones have been played all over the world. That unique sound, unlike the way the instrument has been played anywhere else, is now lost. The band leaders thought they got the same overall effect from the synthesizer, but the synthesizers were very shrill and artificial sounding. And the synthesizers never could replicate the soulful sax solos that appear in earlier Congolais recordings. I have hundreds of Congolais LPs and hundreds of Congolais CDs, so I am saying this from a little background. I can understand using synthesizers in a small live show in a club, but what a shame that they used them in studio recordings
Tribute, I tend to agree with you but it's an affliction that affected more than just Congolaise music. You'd find it in other parts of Africa as well. I think times were really tough then and bands couldn't afford to have so many musicians to feed. I tend to avoid these albums but sometimes the music is otherwise still very good!
I blame Paris, France as a whole and the lure of international acceptance, the 80's weren't great for some musical styles.
This is very good, sounds Ethiopian but comes from Eritrea, which is unusual, Asmara all Stars - Eritrea's Got Soul. You can find it on Spotify.
I should have given a Health Warning with the Asmara All Stars , it's a mix of 70' and modern you get some hip hop (?!) elements and tinges of Reggae, similar to Dub Colossus but they carry it off well, unlike some other attempts by African artists I. Strongly recommend a full listen on Spotify, if you're considering buying.
Here is a good website. If you use Google Chrome as a web browser, you can use google translate feature to translate any page on the website It is all about Congolais Rumba Univers Rumba Congolaise