Sound D'Afrique II 'Soukous' (1982)

By the early 1980s reggae had gained a large audience in the U$, perhaps the greatest "foreign" penetration of the music market since the Cuban wave that began decades earlier. After Bob Marley's tragic death in 1981, Island Records saw an opportunity to experiment with marketing African music, which already was ubiquitous in many European urban centers.

Among the first probes were the two Sound D'Afrique  compilations of African pop. This second volume was released in 1982, and while it is not exactly a collection of soukous, it is a set of Congolese music and three songs from nearby countries influenced by rumba. What is remarkable is that none of the musicians collected was a major star, except perhaps for the very talented Pablo Lubadika Porthos. A few months after this record was released, Island unleashed King Sunny Ade's Juju Music, completely eclipsing the Sound d'Afrique records and igniting the "world music" heyday.

This album does collect the major hits from the assorted musicians, however, and it is a pleasant listen. The opening two cuts, from Central African Republic's Lea Lignanzi and Cameroon's Mensy, are sweet, and Pablo's "Madeleina" is fine. A few individual albums from these and other musicians on the album, as well as this record itself, were once available on the excellent Global Groove site.

Enjoy!

Ekambi Brillant - Reason (1987)

Ekambi Brillant is a makossa star who trends towards a truly funky edge, but this album of his suffers from an overly programmed production and terribly mediocre singing. The best thing about it might be the welcoming album art, but judge for yourself.

I hesitate to post this non-brillant record, but I am thousands of miles from home and it is the best I can do today. Try to. . .

Enjoy!

Samuel Ateba Mengue - Mebok Me Bulu (1980s)

Samuel Ateba Mengue is a session percussionist who has participated in many recordings, but I think this is his only record. Along with diverse percussion, Ateba sings throughout this set of traditional dance songs. There is very little information about this musician, and I only deduce he is from Gabon, based on the personnel participating on the album. Chief among them are Pierre Akendengue and his frequent choral singer, in his early recordings, Marianne Ndjongue.

Yet the structure of songs and the important dual role of response vocals as both rhythm and chorus, so similar to Akendengue's music, suggests Gabon. If you have further information about Ateba or this music, or even the exact date this record was released, please enlighten us in the comments.

Enjoy!

Moments after this post went live, Aduna helpfully commented with a link to Ateba's MySpace page, which indicates that he originates form Cameroon. I am so impressed with this online community!

Bebe Manga - Amie (1984)

In 1985 there was a tiny African record shop under the elevated train tracks running through Brixton, south London. One could not walk by it any day without hearing an incredible song that would stop you where you stood, to hear it through. Set over catchy rhythms, a woman sang her heart out.

That woman was Cameroon's Bebe Manga, singing the definitive version of the perennial makossa hit "Amio," written by Ebanda Manfred in 1962. The song has had many spellings and interpretations over the years, yet Manga's 1980 recording stands above them all. Indeed, it was an isolated peak performance of this chanteuse. Amazingly, only recently has the track been collected on African music compilations like this or that massive. Today I offer a pristine analog dub of the 1984 French album.

Enjoy!