Tags: African Disco

Review: Following 2012's fourth volume that celebrated the existential work of Tim Maia, here we find Luaka Bop exploring the legacy of William Onyeabor. A high chief and Kenyan diplomat who allegedly refuses to discuss his music, he self-released eight albums in the 70s and 80s and these are some of the many highlights. Stretching from the New York-influenced post-punk synth funk of "Good Name" to the most authentic Afro fusion of "Why Go To War", Onyeabor's range not only reflects his clear creative skill, but also the ever-developing international language of music during the fruitful period he was active. Who is William Onyeabor? Press play and find out yourselves...

Review: This latest reissue from Awesome Tapes From Africa is the whole reason for founder Brian Shimkovitz starting the blog and the label that grew out of it. Some 13 years ago, Shimkovitz stumbled across a cassette copy of Obaa Sima whilst travelling Ghana and his love for Ata Kak's music lead to the foundation of the Awesome Tapes From Africa blog and the commencement of a long running effort to track down the Ghanaian musician. Some four years after ATFA became a label, Shimkovitz finally tracked down the musician, real name Yaw Atta-Owusu, and was granted permission to reissue Obaa Sima, using the second hand tape purchased in Ghana as the source. The seven tracks on this LP are a winning tinny combination of highlife, rap, pop, and more with "Daa Nyinaa" sounding like a cover version of William De Vaughn's "Be Thankful For What You've Got".

Review: A lesson in how to follow up an incredible album: Tomorrow followed Onyeabor's incendiary Atomic Bomb immaculately. The title track instantly set the scene with more emphasis on electronic elements and studio techniques as William sermonises without pomp. "Why Go To War" is as insistent as its message thanks to a dense lolloping groove of highlife guitars and spiralling keys. "Fantastic Man", meanwhile, takes a leaf out of Parliament's playbook, rolls it up and smokes its own and "Try & Try" closes the show with country subtlety thanks to its slide guitars and blushing keys.

Review: Another work of Soul Jazz curatorial gold: Nigeria Soul Fever is a detailed gatefold trip into one of Nigeria's richest chapters in music. Heavy trade restrictions allowed them to develop their own style without too much US or European influence and the result is an array of national talent who largely remained legends within their own borders. The range is mesmerizing; the sinewy synth and playground vocal Q&A of Benis Cletin's "Get Up & Dance", the ballroom disco soul of Tee Mac's "Living Everyday", the soulful afrofunk folk of Jimmy Sherry's "Nwaeze", the gut-punching power of Arakatula's album finale "Wake Up Africa". This is a treasure trove of unreleased gems that capture a truly unique time.

Review: Late 70s funk fusion from Tunisia: capturing the moment leading Tunis bands Dalton and Marhaba Band joined forces for some legendary disco fusion. "Alech" ignites with a Doobie Brothers style shiny guitar, big slap bass and soaring synth work while "Hanen" is a little more introspective and soulful with its honeyed harmonies and cascading chord sequence. Complete with instrumentals.

Review: South Africa's Letta Mbulu has put out a vast amount of quality material in her lifetime, and although the singer was based far away from Europe, her music was picked up by the London massive during the mid '80s at clubs like Dingwalls and featured heavily in the rare groove digs. The opener "Sweet Julu" is now a London two-step classic, while other tracks like "Nomalizo" or "The Village" are more on the disco side, all of them filtered with a distinctly tropical edge! A top reissue!

Review: This officially licensed 12" sees prolific British disco producer Ben Gomori take a scalpel to two cuts from veteran African musician Amadou Balake's 2015 album, In Conclusion. On side A you'll find a fantastic, eight-minute extension of the breezy shuffler "Bar Konon Mousso (Musicien C'est Pas Quelqu'un)", where snaking saxophone solos and sun-kissed, juju style guitars rise above a hot-stepping, bass-heavy groove. Turn to the flipside for a thrillingly epic take on "Massa Kamba", a deeper and slightly more musically intricate cut blessed with a blissful; Pat Metheny style jazz guitar breakdown, memorable chorus vocals and evocative horn lines.

Review: Having previously reissued Pasteur Lappe's sought-after 1979 sophomore set, No Man Pass Man, the crew behind the Africa Seven label has turned its attention to the Cameroonian artist's similarly impressive debut, We The People. It's a vibrant and hugely entertaining six-track set, with Lappe offering up a range of dancefloor-ready cuts that variously touch on heavy Afro-disco ("More Sekele Movement (Papa Ni Mama)"), horn-heavy tropical funk ("Dora"), saccharine English language ballads ("Watcha Get Ma Day Dreams"), thrusting disco-funk righteousness (Clav-happy smasher "Sekelimania (Nku Bilam)" and "The Sekele Movement") and laidback, Steely Dan style West Coast jazz-rock ("As Far As I Can Remember").

Review: A veritable French fusion institution; classically trained Cameroon musician Eko Roosevelt Louis was responsible for a catalogue of exciting jazz funk, disco and afrofunk records throughout the 70s and remained active touring Europe until the 90s when he returned to Cameroon to inherit the role as tribal chieftain from his grandfather. Released in 1979, Funky Disco Music was his third album and packs some of his most powerful compositions. The triumphant title track says it all; laidback, charming and full of positivity it sets the scene for the whole trip. Highlights include the rock-tinged soul chugger "Une Chanson Sans Paroles", the highlife uplift of "Doi Da Manga" and the smouldering showstopper finale "Emen Ango". Dig deep and enjoy... Africa Seven promise more Eko reissues in the near future.

Review: Soundway's latest essential collection successfully shines a light on synth-heavy South African music of the 1980s, chronicling local musicians and producers' attempts to create their own hybrid forms of boogie, synth-soul and bubblegum pop. Naturally, compilers Miles Cleret and DJ Okapi have done a brilliant job bringing together killer cuts that showcase the best of South Africa's '80s synth sounds, while at the same time ensuring a high ratio of rare and hard-to-treats. While some of the tracks genuinely sound like they could have been made in New York, London or L.A, there are plenty of others that include multiple instrumental nods to a diverse range of contemporaneous South African sounds. Crucially, the music is superb throughout.

Review: After two 45s on Les Disques Bongo Joe, Dutch Afrofunk space cadets make their debut on Soundway with their first full EP. Hurling all their roots and inspirations into a heady, bewitching brew of west African, Columbian, Caribbean, Latin and all-round cosmic fusion, the results are four slabs of world funk gold. "Down In The Basement" updates highlife styles with a salubrious big-bottomed disco twist, "The Opposite" ups the tempo with a little more cumbia charm while "Continue The Fun" adds a dub mentality to the mix as we're chugged to oblivion with heads down introspection. Finally "Tuto Bay" closes somewhere on a Cuban beach with rum-warmed harmonies. Beautiful.

Review: Cameroonian legend Victor Edimo's rare and collectable Decca Nigeria album Thank U Mamma enjoys its first reissue since being released in 1981. Five tracks tight but crammed full of vibes, this is one of the funkiest, sunniest and most vibrant albums to come out of Lagos in the early 80s. From the blissed, bless 'thank you' vocal loop of the title track to the blazing feels of "Marina Drive" to Victor's signature freak bass licks on "You", this is such a beautiful album from start to finish.

Review: DJ Hunee afro monster gets an official repress for Hot Casa in France. Calling it massive would bit an understatement.

Review: Born out of a dingy basement club in Hollywood, Pleasure of Love has grown from an anything goes disco house party, to an adventurous re-edit label. Their edits reflect the spirit of the party and a limited pressing of 300 matches the capacity of the venue that holds it each week. The second release on the label is courtesy of Barcelona's Pau Roca, who serves up some sexy and lo-slung disco on "Liquid" (PR's edit), some spiritualised Afro boogie down business on "Ndlho" (PR's edit) and some sweltering conga action (with a touch of lounge) on the trance inducing "True" (PR's edit).

Review: Produced and sleeked out at Opal Studios in NYC, back in 1975, Buari's self-titled LP has been a cornerstone of international highlife music since it was first released. The original is now an arduous item to find at a decent price, so we thanks the Be With label for having repackaged an essential Afro LP that is a must have for anyone into anything outside a constant beat drum. "Karam Bani" opens with a forceful helping of funk, percussive to to the max, and this same hypnotic groove formula is present across the entirety of the A-side, making this a sampler's dream come true. On the flip, "Iro Le Pa" is the stand-out tune for us, a rhythm that makes Theo Parrish's Ugly Edits seems kinda tame! Recommended.

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever and official reissue of Kallaloo's sought-after 1982 disco single 'Star Child', accompanied by interview-based liner notes. Originally released on Jeffrey Turpin's Trinidadian record label IDA, 'Star Child' has since become highly sought-after by both DJs and collectors alike as an invisible, yet astonishing piece of Caribbean disco. Unable at the time to gain the traction and success that it deserved, we hope that this re-release provides an opportunity to bring such a great record to a much wider audience.

Kallaloo consisted of various Trinidadian musicians including Keith Alexander and Peter Wayne Barkley. Keith had been well-respected as a member of the Trinidadian group Impact, and was later to become an in-demand producer and composer under the name of Keith Diamond, responsible for various hits by Billy Ocean, Donna Summer, Starpoint and Melba Moore. In contrast, Peter was a well-known recording session drummer, but after 'Star Child's' release he moved to North Carolina to pursue other interests and "was never heard from again".

'Star Child' was recorded at Right Track Recording, in mid-town Manhattan, New York. As Jeffrey recalls, the atmosphere in the studio was "great", with "everyone upbeat, the cream of the crop just looking for that break... everyone was talented and just wanted the chance to express their own ideas". Five hundred copies of the record were released on IDA with a white label design, and they were sold both in Brooklyn, New York and Port of Spain, Trinidad. It was also released on a red label, however this was not to Jeffrey's knowledge at the time.

Jeffrey explains that the reason why the record didn't fare well at the time was because of the difficulty in getting the song played on the radio. As he recalls, radio stations were much more likely to play 'radio versions' of songs which lasted for a couple of minutes, rather than five or seven minute 'extended' versions such as 'Star Child', which were more suitable to a club environment. In addition, as Jeffrey explains, radio airplay is a "political business", and also within a short while band members such as Keith got their own breaks, and the Kallaloo era was over as quickly as it had started.

Review: Original copies of T.Z Junior's bubblegum-boogie cut "Sugar My Love" are hard to come by outside of the artist's home country of South Africa. It's been that way since the single was first released on Roy B Records in 1985, hence this tidy reissue from the on-point Jamwax label. The title track remains a breezy, melodious, cheery and soul-flecked treat, with T.Z Junior delivering a brilliantly evocative lead vocal over bustling bubblegum synths, delay-laden machine drums and an inspired electrofunk bassline. "Are You Ready For Love", meanwhile, may not be quite as celebrated but is equally as impressive. It's the kind of sun-kissed "bubblegum" treat that would sound perfect blasting out of a soundsystem on a hot summer's day.

Review: Labels Hot Mule and Secousse have teamed up to deliver something special: a killer EP of "lost gems from the golden era of Zouk and Gwo-Ka" in Guadeloupe (that's 1985 to '92, fact fans). The four tracks showcased here were performed and produced by an artist whose fame in Guadeloupe sadly never spread any further, Max Rambhojan. The A-side boasts two versions of the rather brilliant and suitably cheery "Tou't Jou Pa Min'm": the jaunty, sun-kissed, whistle-sporting 1986 original mix, and Rambhojan's heavily electronic, synthesizer-heavy, calypso-tinged 1992 re-make of his biggest local hit. Over on side B you'll find the bubby dub bass, sparse synths and flute solos of the decidedly tropical "Cecilia" and a suitably breezy, sunset-ready gem entitled "On Jou Matin".

Review: Last year, Marcel Vogel dusted down his Em Vee edit alias for the first time in three years, serving up a tasty four-pack of reworks for OYE's ongoing Edits series. It clearly inspired him to make more reworks, because now he's popped up on Razor-N-Tape with another fine selection of scalpel revisions. He begins by reworking a tongue-in-cheek chunk of disco silliness rich in spacey Moog lines and wonky vocals ("You Move Me"), before tweaking and rearranging a superb chunk of Latin-tinged tropical disco ("Spreading Energy"). "Don't Be Sabi Say" is a high-tempo chunk of Afrobeat/Afro-disco fusion full of ear-catching Nigerian vocals and bustling electric piano riffs, while "I Wish I Knew The Words" is a cheeky revision of an obscure Japanese synth-boogie number.

Review: Released deep in the throes of her tenure as Nigerian pop's 'First Lady Of Song', "Give Me A Chance" is the fifth album and the first reissue since its 1980 by the late great Christy Essien captures just why she became such a universally loved artist; Essien can tap any type of groove and make it her own. From the country blues of "Give Me A Chance" to the warm reggae bubbles of "Ife" via the afrodisco of "Rumours" and all fusions in between, the combination Christy's powerful presence and super tight band made this one of her best albums.

Review: Isle Of Jura's latest must-have reissue isn't a slept-on Balearic gem, but rather a turn-of-the-'80s disco-boogie classic from sadly departed Nigerian musician Harry Mosco. Many may know the breezy Afro/disco/funk fusion of opener "Sexy Dancer" and the hazy disco-funk genius of "Step On" (both have been reissued in the past), yet it's the lesser-known cuts - particularly the lolloping, Clavinet-heavy dub disco of "Peace & Harmony", spaced-out "Peaceful Dub" and sumptuous jazz-funk slow jam "Do It Together" - that really set the pulse racing. The reissue sounds superb, too, thanks to a killer re-mastering job, so it's no stretch to suggest that it's worth picking this version up rather than tracking down an original pressing.

Review: Edits in the hole! Two Afrofunk gems enjoy floor-primed refocuses: Steve Monite's Doing It In Lagos-featured "Only You" gets a little juice from Sofrito's Frankie Francis who really brings the bass out in proceedings. Meanwhile on the B Nick The Record and Idjut Boy Dan Tyler tweak the energy and sheen of Tabu Ley Rochereau's "Hafi Disco" as the drums are given a little more momentum and the chorus and horns are really brought to the centre of the action. Stunning.

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: While he's been offering up some sizzling solo albums of late, French DJ/producer GUTS is still arguably better known as the seasoned selector behind the excellent "Beach Diggin'" compilations. Here he offers up another compilation, this time showcasing tried-and-tested tracks that have been rocking his DJ sets for the last few years. Mostly focused around club-friendly global sounds past and present, the 17-track selection is full of little known killers, overlooked dancefloor workouts and forgotten gems. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the horn-sporting boogie-zouk bounce of Evasion 85's "Van La Ka Vante" and the cheeky "Rappers Delight" re-write "Bon Tempos" by Equipe Radio Cidade, to the sparkling Afro-disco heat of Eko Roosevelt Louis' "Tondoho Mba" and the righteous Afro-Brazilian drum workout that is Alma Luma's "Princesa Isabel".

Review: A while back, Africaine 808's DJ Nomad contacted Favorite Recordings' chief Pascal Rioux about a killer track he'd been given some years back - an obscure, previously CD-R only fusion of modern Gwo-ka and Zouk by Esnard Boisdur entitled "Mizik Bel". Rioux was excited by what he heard and agreed that the track should come out on vinyl, accompanied by a fresh rework by Nomad and Dirk Leyers as Africaine 808. Boisdur's original version (side A) is rhythmically dense but also cheery and life affirming, with celebratory chorus vocals and 80s zouk style synth lines subtly rising above a busy, all-action groove. Arguably even better is the sub-heavy Africaine 808 mix, which brilliantly re-imagines the track as a tasty chunk of tropical house/disco-zouk fusion.

Review: Having re-released Rim Kwaku's long lost Rim Arrives album, BBE follow it up with more dusty disco treasures from the Ghanaian hit maker's repertoire. From the blistering horns and thundering drum rolls of the near-nine-minute romp "Shine The Ladies" right the way through the looser, more Afrobeat-focussed "Peace Of Mind" by way of the emphatic Stevie Wonder-style showmanship of "I'm A Songwriter" it's a collection that still sparkles with soul 30 years after they were recorded. If you're unaware of Rim's story, you'd be wise to check it; from Quincy Jones endorsements to homelessness in the space of 24 hours, Rim's tales are as serious as his music is funky.

Review: After 3 months holed up in the studio Blair French has emerged to bring you Genes / Space Conductor 7" in support of his forthcoming album The Art Of Us on Rocksteady Disco. The A-side holds the "Loose Fit" mix of "Genes", where Blair channels his inner Tony Allen for an expertly executed modern psychedelic Afrobeat cut featuring a heavyweight cast of Detroit characters including Todd Modes, John Arnold, and Paul Randolph. On the flip is "Space Conductor", a cosmic afro broken beat joint with heavy drums, a huge bassline, kora, and Blair's vocals, exclusively available on this 7" only. Housed in a full color jacket, cut loud to lacquer, and pressed heavy with pride at Archer on Detroit's east side.

Review: Since he last appeared on Razor 'N' Tape six years ago via a digital-only debut single, Dino Soccio has built up quite a catalogue of re-edits, not to mention a reputation as one of the scene's more interesting editors. It's for this reason that we're not surprised that his return to Aaron Dae and J Kriv's rework imprint is so good. It sees him offer up a quartet of killer cut-jobs that bounce between sumptuous, string-laden, French language Afro-disco (the superb "Fred's Groove"), sparkling up-tempo disco-boogie brilliance (the awesome "Star Beaming"), languid deep disco warmth (the dubby, spaced-out goodness of "Laid Back") and ultra-sweet, reggae-influenced Afro-boogie heat (sublime closing cut "Forgot").

Review: Avant-garde percussionist, singer, self-taught trumpet player, composer and author. Edmony Krater, since the late 1970s has been a go to reference for French Caribbean music and all things Gwakasonne. This Guadelopean great had been somewhat quiet since the mid 80s, however in 2019, after the recording of a live show for Cult Berlin club night, African Acid Is The Future that received a release via The Vinyl Factory, his light was relit.

Review: Antal has already been dropping the worldly beats on this EP which is a fine stamp of approval for Israeli DJ and collector Elado. This marks his debut on the label having won plenty of fans for his offering on Eddie C's cult Red Motorbike. The music take its cues from all over the planet - Africa, India and the Middle East - and brims with disco joy, funk richness and plenty of earthly soul. 'Big Baba' is a classy party starter with good time feels, 'Gulab Jamun' is a foreign language acid laced love song and 'Blame' is synth heavy disco funk.