Mr Bongo Vinyl & CDs

Review: For their latest deep dive into forgotten and sought-after African music, Mr Bongo has secured the rights to reissue Togolese singer Akofa Akoussah's eponymous 1976 debut album. Akoussah was already something of a scene veteran when she recorded the set for Paris-based Sonafric, having made her vinyl debut in Togo 11 years earlier. The set remains something of a classic, with Akoussah variously delivering sweet vocals over local rhythms and guitars, bass, horns and Moog synth parts that showcase her Western funk and soul influences. There are some suitably heavy dancefloor workouts throughout (not least superb opener "Tango") as well as more laidback and stripped-back cuts. Curiously, the echo-laden production makes it sound like it was recorded in the mid '60s rather than the 1970s, but that's no criticism; it just adds an extra edge of intoxicating fuzziness.

Review: 1975's "Simigwa" album not only launched the career of Afro-funk fusionist and eventual Highlife great Gyedu Blay Ambolley, but also inspired a Ghanaian dance craze. The album was co-produced by another Highlife great, Ebo Taylor, and has long been exceptionally hard to find on vinyl. For this official vinyl reissue on Mr Bongo, Ambolley's landmark set has been fully re-mastered for the very first time. It sounds spectacular, with great clarity on the ear-catching brass solos, serious weight to the bass and superb stereo separation. Highlights include - but certainly aren't limited to - the Afro-blues brilliance of "Toffie", the jaunty dancefloor fuzziness of "This Hustling World" and the heavyweight swing of ear-catching opener "Kwaakwaa".

Review: Initially released in South Africa in 1982, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley's sophomore set is now regarded as a boogie-era Highlife classic. Here issued on CD for the very first time via Mr Bongo, the album features the Ghanaian star brilliantly joining the dots between driving disco-funk, jazz-funk, intoxicating slow jams, calypso, dub reggae and his beloved highlife. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, with standouts including heavy percussion jam "Simigwa", the boogie-dub skank of "Adwoa", the down-low grooves of "Walking Down The Street" and the killer disco highlife anthem "It's High Life". Simply essential.

Review: Before she made a name for herself with a string of killer disco, jazz-funk and fusion records in the late '70s and early '80s, Dee Dee Bridgewater was a rising star on the global jazz underground. This period of her career is best exemplified by 1974 debut album "Afro Blue", a fine vocal jazz album recorded in Tokyo with a backing band made up of husband Cecil (a top trumpeter) and high-quality Japanese session musicians. As this reissue proves, the album has lost none of its allure. There's much to set the pulse racing throughout, from the breezy soul-jazz shuffle of opener "Afro Blue" and the emotive "Blues Medley", to the superb slowed-down jazz cover of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" and blissful "People Make The World Go Round".

Review: Over the years, Cesar Mariano and Cia's 1977 set "Sao Paolo Brasil" has achieved cult status, with dusty-fingered diggers regularly proclaiming it one of the finest jazz-funk/fusion albums of the period (a fact confirmed by the high prices that original vinyl copies often change hands for online). Remarkably, this timely Mr Bongo reissue marks the first time the set has been released outside of its native South America. Rich in glistening jazz guitars, fizzing, Azymuth-style organ riffs, spacey synths, warm bass and skittish drums, the album's eight tracks bristle with breeziness, subtle samba motifs, sumptuous dancefloor grooves, sunny downtempo workouts and effervescent arrangements. In a word: essential.

Review: Back in 1976, legendary highlife artist Pat Thomas decided to throw his weight behind Ghanian three-piece Marjarita. Thanks to his patronage, they made quite an impact with their debut album (Pat Thomas Introduces Marjita), before striking gold with their killer follow-up, This is Marjita. Since then, the album has become something of a "holy grail" for Afro-funk collectors, with copies changing hands for astonishing sums of money. Happily, Mr Bongo has decided to license and reissue it. The album contains four superb workouts: the hard funk brilliance of "Break Through", the organ-heavy Afrobeat fuzziness of "No Condition is Permanent", the reggae-influenced wonder of "I Walk Alone" and the superior highlife of "We Live in Peace".

Review: Sacred Summits were the first to reissue Luis Perez's timeless Mexican hymns, back in 2014, but the diligent Mr Bongo has decided to buy the rights to press some more copies up. To us, that's only good news because we absolutely love this album. First released in 1981, it has been an almost impossible record to get a hold of on vinyl, but it absolutely SHOULD be readily available to anyone - through vast landscapes of subtle electronic manipulations and organic instrument improvisation, we are immersed in an endless world of mysticism, where each new listen will unearth something new and wonderful. What a sublime LP. Warmly recommended.

Review: Brighton based record label, publishers, cinematographers and legendary former London record store Mr Bongo reissue the legendary 1968 album by Pedro dos Santos, entitled Krishnada. Born in Rio de Janiero in 1919, Santos was (according to the label) "a percussionist virtuoso, composer and inventor of instruments.. such as the 'Tamba' (electrified bamboo drum) and the mouth berimbau whistle." He was a very spiritual person apparently and regarded by some as a philosopher of sorts. The album was produced by himself at CBS studios with arrangements by Joppa Lins. It features poetic lyrics in a unique linguistic structure, as well as various percussive instruments and horn arrangements with samba rhythms from Latin styles. Despite the originality of his percussive sound and the influence it has had on musicians, it had little impact at the time. The album had a cult revival in the noughties and began circulating the internet in MP3 format, finally giving recognition to this unusual spiritual Bossanova masterpiece.

Review: Tireless diggers and world class reissue merchants Mr Bongo have done it again with this one. They discovered The Star Beams when one of their tracks was on a Disco Calypso compilation, then went on a mission to track down the original anymore material from the band, who turned out to be based in South Africa instead of the Carribean. The resulting record is a real gem - disco, funk and jazz all get chewed up and spat out across four fantastically timeless cuts of dance floor dynamite. "Disco Stomp" in particular you might already know as Theo Parrish has been dropping in his sets for time.

Review: Vocally-led by child sensation, Foster Sylvers, The Sylvers family grew into their own throughout the 70s, and 1973's The Sylvers II really instilled their sound as the gold standard fo funk music. We're talking about a family of kids who were all incredible musicians, truly offering the world a heartfelt performance, whichever aesthetic they were going for. Mr Bongo has delivered the goods once again with this reissue, and we are totally stoked about the fact that we are receiving the sort of funk and soul which still has not been experienced by everyone. It is about the mystique, it is about the charm, and it's most certainly high time for some soothing soul direct from the source - oh, and check that bassline on the magnetic "Handle It". Recommended.

Review: A true Ghanaian legend, Taylor's fusions of traditional Ghanaian music with jazz, funk, reggae and soul helped set the blueprint in the early 70s and here's where it all began: 1975, a highly limited debut on Gapophone Records. Reportedly pressed only 500 times due to the country's dictatorship, it's a beautiful introduction. Sweet-tasting highlight with strong reggae references throughout, highlights include the epic 13 minute jam "Maye Omama" and the ebbing, flowing rocksteady soul of "Will You Promise". Still active, teaching and playing at the age of 80, Taylor's music has matured just as well as he has.

Review: We love RSD only for one thing, and that's providing us with inaccessible records that have been snapped-up by Discogs sharks over the years. This timely reissue of Pat Thomas second LP from 1976, the wonderful Marijata, is one such record that has become impossible to find in its original format, and one which allows us to have some access to the highlife beat, one of our biggest loves. While much of this album rests in classic soul and funk, Pat Thomas' Ghanaian influences are loud and present, whether through the guitars, the aesthetics of each instrumental and, of course, the quality of the recording itself. Funk out to some ORIGINAL STYLE. Cop it quick!

Review: We're used to seeing pools of 7"s from the Mr Bongo label, so to have this new compilation of rare and original music from Mali truly is the warmest of Easter treats for us. And so it should be for you, too. David 'Mr Bongo' Buttle has really gone to town with this one, and it feels like he's on a wining streak at the moment; that recent compilation from Cape Verde, out through his Ostinato imprint, really caught us by surprise a few months back. This compilation is every bit as exciting and revelational, and perhaps even more sophisticated than anything else the man has reissued over the years. This comes as no surprise given the fact that Malian music is considered to be the pillar of African experimentation within the music realm, and this feels absolutely true on this particular selection of songs. A subtle funkiness engulfs the entire release, except that each track has its own story to tell, whether that's through slow chanting, fast-paced jazz funk, or even primitive forms of drum-machine boogie. Most importantly, however, there is always something true and characteristic of Africa at the core of these songs, and this LP will no doubt live a comfortable existence way out into the future. Excellent.

Review: In 2002, the Japanese government recognized bamboo flute maestro Hozan Yamamoto as a "living national treasure". It was in honor of his lengthy career in music, and in particular the way he championed a traditional Japanese instrument even when he was turning his hand to Western music. "Beautiful Bamboo Flute", an album first released in 1971 and almost impossible to find since, is a superb example of this. It sees him deliver haunting, emotional and life-affirming solos over funky jazz, big band and fusion backing tracks that tend towards the fresh and funky. It's an unusual blend, but also an invigorating and exciting one.