Francis The Great Mbarga - Ravissante Baby (Cameroonese Afro Disco Fusion)

Hi Everyone !

This week I decided to make a very special article on a Cameroonese artist, Francis "The Great" Mbarga, who released two Afro Disco records in 1977 ("Ravissante Baby") and in 1978 ("Crazy Tube"), at the age of 7.

Those two records were released on his father's label, "Cinafric Contacts", when the Mbarga family lived in Paris (France).

I decided to make you (re)discover one song taken from his first record, "Look Up In The Sky", an epic 13 minutes long afro disco track sung in English and French by the Mbarga kid, with some pychedelic synth moments - Enjoy !!

Francis The Great - Look Up In The Sky

 

Also, I had the greeeat chance to meet Mr. Mbarga ! So, as a BIG Bonus, here is the 45min long interview (sorry, it's in French..) I had with this great, interesting, nice, funny, natural and sincere man.

Thanks for all !!

Armand

Clement Melome et l'Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou - Nous Avons Gagné

Hi !

Today we stay in the beautiful country of Benin, with a veeeery well known band, l'Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou, with a slow Afro rock track, "Nous avons gagné" ("we won"), out on the "Polydisco" label (actually the shop werecame out exclusively the records of the band at the time).

Not  a common track track but one of my favorite, because it's not "another jerk thing", its a track about love and evil..

Clement Melome et l'Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou - Nous Avons Gagné

Have a good sunday, take care of you,

Armand

Charles Rodriguez And The African Revolution - L'amour Ne S'achete Pas

Vikings Martinique - Nidia

Hi everyone, hope your week was good !

To finish it, here comes "Nidia", an amazing psychedelic cadence taken from an obscure record by "Les Vikings Martinique".

Les Vikings Martinique - Nidia

Truly yours,

Armand.

New Selection : Nigerian Afrodeapness (feat. SJOB, Ikengas, Etubom Rex Williams..)

Hi dear readers !

As promise last week, here comes the new selection I've prepared for your little ears !

A selection of 6 afrobeat tracks taken from 6 veeery hard to find Nigerian records, especially in this condition !

I know that for many people "Afrobeat" word is mainly connected with the work of Fela Kuti, so I wanted to make you discover other, and deeper artists - Hope you'll enjoy this mix !

Armand de Preseau - Nigerian Afrodeapness

 

You can download the selection here (as always, right clic and "Save as")

See you soon, and don't hesitate to leave some comments if you liked the selection !

Sincerely yours,

Armand

Francis Bebey - Divorce Pygmee

Hi everyone !

It's been a loooong time (too long !) without articles ! 2 months !!! Many reasons to that : too much work, I was ill also, I travelled, cleaned my records, but now I'm back !!

And because my selections take me a lot of time to do (find the records, make a coverfor the selection, restore and mix the records..) I decided to change the form of this blog : I will put more single songs now and, one time per month (or more, who knows !) I will put selection of around 6 records to download - This way, you will have more songs to discover.

So let's begin with Francis Bebey, one of my favourite Cameroonese musicans.

Francis Bebey was born in Douala in 1929 and died in Paris in 2001. He was one of the first African musician to use Drum machines and synths to produce electronic music (remember William Onyeabor ? Francis Bebey is better, for me !)

The song I present here, Divorce Pygmee, is taken from his well-known record (and harder LP to find) "La Condition Masculine", out on the "Ozileka" label, Francis Bebey's own label - Enjoy !

Francis Bebey - La Condition Masculine

 

I will be back soon, for your ears only.

Sincerely yours,

Armand

New Selection : Funk'O'Lypso - A Journey Across The Funky Caribbean Islands (feat Frankie Zhivago, Shadow and others..)

Hi dear readers !

It's been a long time without any selections - so don't wait no longer, let's travel this time to the Caribbean Islands for a 6 records flight, hope you'll enjoy this mixture of island funk, Kaiso Disco and Bahamian soul tracks !

Armand de Preseau - Funk ' O ' Lypso

 

You can download the selection here (as usual, right clic on the link, "save as")

Tracklist :

1 - The Crashers - Flight to Jamaïca

2 - Wabiné - Sail On

3 - Frankie Zhivago - All Around The World

4 - Disco Warriors - Cumbaya Disco

5 - Shadow - De Hardis

6 - Ed Watson and The Brass Circle - Let's Get It On

 

All the best, sincerely yours and see you soon.

Armand

New Selection : Nigerian Disco Grooves - My Definition of The Nigerian Disco Inferno (blo, ofege, ipa..)

Hi Everyone !!

Today, we come back to Nigeria, with a Disco Oriented Selection of 6 tracks. Short but good, I truly hope you'll enjoy this 23rd selection (yes, this is the 23rd !!).

Armand de Préseau - Nigerian Disco Grooves

You can download the selection here (as usual, right clic on the link, "save as")

Take care, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you liked this selection !! See you soon for another selection !!

Sincerely yours,

Armand

New Selection : Anadolu Mysteries - A Trip into the Psychedelic Turkish Musical scene of the 70's

Hi Everyone !

It's been a long, too long time without selections !

Sincerely sorry for that, im working a lot at the moment on something I can't talk.. I was also digging, cleaning and organizing my records, and, also, very busy with my job (that is faaar away with records !)

So today we travel to the beautiful country of Anatolia (Anadolu) - also known as Turkey today - with a selection of 20 tracks taken from several 7 inches from my collection. 

Hope you'll enjoy this trip into the Turkish Psychedelic scene of the 70's through those Rock, Jazz, Disco and Groovy Fuzzy tracks..

Armand de Preseau - Anadolu Mysteries

You can download this selection here (as usual, right clic, "save as")

See you soon for a next selection,

Armand

New Selection : Douala Express - A Cameroonese Afrobeat, Jerk and Mako Funk Selection

Hi dear readers !!!

It's been a while !! I'm very proud to present you my new selection, another Cameroonese one, of Afrobeat, Jerk and Mako Funk tracks ! Hope you'll enjoy them, those tracks are taken from unknown or ultra hard to find records !

Armand de Preseau - Douala Express

You can download this selection here (as usual, right clic, "save as")

(Sorry, no tracklist this time..)

All the best, and see you very soon !!!

Sincerely yours,

Armand

Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako - Get Up James (unreleased recording)

Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako, Salif Keita in the center

"Bang", "bang", "bang" ! It takes two or three shots to clear the Bamako Motel dancefloor. Tiekoro Bagayoko, the venue boss, arrives to pick out a beauty of the night and ask her to dance. Under the leaves of a mango tree perched on the side of a stage, the orchestra adapts to the demands of a cosmopolitan crowd and an unpredictable boss with a penchant for American funk, a sign of modernity at the heart of Bamako nightlife. 

Formed in 1969 with musicians from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal, Les Ambassadeurs du Motel are Mali's most cosmopolitan orchestra of the 70s. Led by Guinean guitarist Manfila Kanté who knows exactly how to direct the musical energy to bring about a modernist sound, adapting to a distinctly western musical repertoire. 
When Salif Keita leaves the Rail Band Orchestra to join Les Ambassadeurs in 1973, he establishes himself as a singer full of star quality and new emotions inspired by his own life and Mali's evolution 15 years after its independence. A musical bond is immediately formed between Salif and his new colleagues. Beidy Sacko sings the afro-cuban tracks, Ousmane Dia and Moussa Doumbia interpret the funk, R'n'B numbers. 

Drummer Nouhoun Keita and bassist Sékou Diabaté form one of the tightest rhythm sections on the continent. The musicians tirelessly rehearse 10 to 14 hours a day. Hits like James Brown's There was a time or Fela Kuti's Lady become their own pieces de resistance. Night after night, gig after gig, the musicians carefully observe the spontaneous dance moves of the Motel crowd and modify their music accordingly. 

Les Ambassadeurs excel at playing funk. Direct, deep and raw, their renditions evoque a pure, rootsy sound: that takes in nightlife fun, improvised dancing, saucy fun but also a tough economic reality. These numbers express a true touch of genius, as well as an ease at taking over the musical idiom invented by James Brown, Dyke and the Balzers, The Meters, Marvin Holmes, Rex Garvin and a handful of other afro-americans musicians. 

In the American vernacular, the term 'funk' denotes a particular type of smell often considered unpleasant, that of sweat or intimate relations. The idea of sweat remains at the roots of funk, the most raw form of black musical expression, it is to R'n'B and soul what free jazz is to jazz. A strong, pure, reclaiming sound which links back to the beginnings of African music and thereby to black identity. Mighty as an earthquake and cutting as a razor, this track by Les Ambassadeurs is the living proof of funk power. 


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« Boum », « boum », « boum » ! En deux ou trois coups de feu, la piste de danse du Motel de Bamako se vide prestement. Tiekoro Bagayoko, le patron des lieux vient de jeter son dévolu sur une belle de nuit et souhaite l’inviter à danser. Sous les frondaisons de manguier, juché sur une petite estrade en béton, l'orchestre s'adapte aux demandes d'une clientèle cosmopolite et d'un patron fantasque, qui apprécie particulièrement le funk américain, gage de modernité au cœur des nuits de Bamako. 

Formés en 1969 autour de musiciens maliens, ivoiriens, guinéens et sénégalais, Les Ambassadeurs du Motel est l’orchestre le plus cosmopolite du Mali des années 1970, dirigé par le guitariste guinéen Manfila Kanté. Ce dernier sait parfaitement fédérer les énergies, tout en donnant une orientation résolument moderniste aux Ambassadeurs, qui passe notamment par l’appropriation et l’adaptation d’un répertoire musical occidental. 

Lorsque Salif Keita quitte l’orchestre du Rail Band pour rejoindre Les Ambassadeurs en 1973, il s’y affirme comme un chanteur porteur d’émotions nouvelles par rapport à sa propre vie et à l’évolution que connaît le Mali, une quinzaine d’années après l’indépendance. L’entente musicale de Salif et de ses nouveaux collègues est immédiate. Salif s’impose naturellement comme chanteur vedette. Beidy Sacko chante les morceaux afro-cubain alors qu’Ousmane Dia et Moussa Doumbia interprètent les titres funk et rhythm’n’blues. 
Le batteur Nouhoun Keita et le bassiste Sékou Diabaté posent la base rythmique des Ambassadeurs, l’une des plus solides du continent. Les musiciens répètent et travaillent inlassablement leur répertoire chaque jour de dix heures à quatorze heures. Des tubes comme There was a time de James Brown ou Lady de Fela font les beaux jours de l’orchestre. Soir après soir, concert après concert, les musiciens observent attentivement le public du Motel pour retranscrire en musique ses moindres pas de danse, exécutés dans une ambiance de liberté totale. 

Les Ambassadeurs excellent en effet dans les morceaux funk. Directes, profondes et rauques, leurs interprétations évoquent un quotidien sans fard: distractions nocturnes, danses improvisées, plaisirs grivois, mais aussi une dure réalité économique. Ces chansons expriment de véritables éclairs de génie, ainsi qu’une facilité déconcertante à s’approprier un idiome musical inventé par James Brown, Dyke & The Blazers, les Meters, Marvin Holmes, Rex Garvin et une poignée d’autres musiciens noirs américains. 

Dans le langage vernaculaire noir américain, le terme funk désigne une odeur souvent jugée déplaisante, celle de la sueur et des rapports intimes. La sueur reste la base du funk, la forme d’expression la plus brute des musiques noires, qui est au rhythm’n’blues et à la soul ce que le free jazz est au jazz. À savoir un langage exacerbé de l’identité noire, vindicatif et pur, qui renvoie indirectement aux prémices des musiques africaines. Puissant comme une secousse tellurique et tranchant comme un rasoir, ce morceau des Ambassadeurs en est la preuve vibrante.

Special article this week (special because I didn't took the time to prepare a brand new selection..) with an awesome track from Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako (remember the young Salif Keita ?), unreleased until a small Label recording (from Swiss) managed to get the rights (from the band, I hope..) to press it on a 7 inch ! Really good initiative, because it's one of my favourite Malian band, and unkown tracks are always welcome !

Did you know that James Brown was from Mali ?

See you very very soon !!!

Sincerely yours,

Armand

New Selection of the Week - Loin du Congo (Far From Congo), featuring Franco, Orchestre Cobantou, OK Jazz, African Fiesta, Roi Champro, Orchestre Mabatalai, MBT's..

L'Orchestre OK Jazz, lead by the great Franco (1960)

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Hi Dear readers !

Hope that everything is ok and that you enjoyed the last Beninese Selection ! This week we travel to the Congoes (Congo Kinshasa / Congo Brazzaville).

Just Three Words : To Kumisa Congo ! (10 000 CFA Francs for the one who will manage to translate this !)

Armand de Preseau - Loin du Congo (Far from Congo)

You can download this selection here (as usual, right clic, "save as")

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See you in next Sunday for another selection of Oriental Mystic sounds, or maybe for another (that would be the third !) Cameroonese selection.. We'll see !

BONUS TRACK :  

Sincerely yours,

Armand

Happy 2014 !! Selection Of The Week : Voodoo In Cotonou (Anos Band de Parakou, Black Santiago, Vincent Ahehehinnou, Poly Rythmo..)

Happy 2014 to everyone, I wish you the best for this new year !!!!

Sincerely sorry for the delay, been reaaaally busy those days, preparing some good surprises for you my dear readers but.. it's a secret !

Let's begin 2014 with a brand new 7 inches selection from the beautiful country of Bénin, hope you'll enjoy those little treasures taken from my collection that I've cleaned, selected and masterized just for you !

The next selection will come quick ! (I hope..) Thanks for your support !

Armand de Préseau - Voodoo In Cotonou

You can download this Selection here (as usual, right clic and "Save as")

Sincerely yours,

Armand

Tracklist :

1 - Ignace de Souza et L'Orchestre Black Santiago - Paulina
2 - Orchestre Blacks Dragons de Cotonou - Se Djro
3 - Vincent Ahehehinnou - Kourougninda Wende
4 - Orchestre Anos Band de Parakou - Alassane Koda Maradi
5 - Orchestre Blacks Dragons de Cotonou - E Sa F'aiye
6 - Gnonnas Pedro y sus panchos de Cotonou - L'indomptable Gnonnas Pop
7 - Orchestre Anos band de Parakou - boro non andou nan
8 -  D'almeida Blucky et L'orchestre Black Santiago - Les Nanes
9 - Melome Clement Et L'Orchestre Poly Rythmo - La Fin De L'Ete
10 - El Rego - Divogny Din Ton Le