Matadi – Dance My Love
https://amf.didiermary.fr/matadi-dance-my-love/
Matadi était un groupe de musiciens “mercenaires” africains basés à Paris et réunis pour un album unique afro-disco-funk en 1978 avec le célèbre bassiste et arrangeur camerounais Haladji Touré.
5 titres de cet album ont été utilisés pour la BOF du film et comédie musicale “Dance my love” (Danse mon amour) réalisé par Alphonse Beni, sorti […]
Old footage of Harari live
Harari (“Lone Wanderer”) was a legendary Afro-Rock group founded in the late 60’s by Om Alec Khaoli, Selby Ntuli and Sipho Hotstix Mabuse.
https://amf.didiermary.fr/old-footage-harari-live-kippies-club-joburg/
Through the years Harari supported many international acts on their tours of South Africa, including Percy Sledge, Timmy Thomas, Brook Benton, Wilson Pickett and Letta Mbulu. […]
Harari – Musikana
https://amf.didiermary.fr/harari-musikana/
2 classic albums from psychedelic South African afro-rock were re-released in 2021: Rufaro, which contains the song Musikana, and Beaters / Harari.
The Beaters – Harari was released in 1975. After changing their name, Harari went into the studio late in 1976 to record their follow-up, Rufaro / Happiness. In 1976 they were voted [...]
#70smusic #altRock #Psychedelic #SoulJazz #SouthAfrica #OldAfricanMusic
Le Grand Kalle
https://amf.didiermary.fr/le-grand-kalle/
Le Grand Kalle: His Life His Music was a 2013 compilation (2-CD plus 104-page book) that brought together for the first time the breadth of Kalle’s recording career spanning over 3 decades including tracks taken from shellac and vinyl that had been unavailable for many years. In the turbulent and euphoric times that surrounded Congo’s […]
First Modern Taarab Vibes
https://amf.didiermary.fr/first-modern-taarab-vibes/
Black Star Musical Club was one of the classic Taarabu bands in Tanga, Tanzania. It was founded in the 1950s, and played a crucial role in establishing the modern Taarab sound.
Taarab is a music genre popular in Tanzania and Kenya. It is influenced by […]
#70smusic #80smusic #Kenya #Taarab #Tanzania #OldAfricanMusic
Gatanga Boys Band – Wendo Ti Mbia
https://amf.didiermary.fr/gatanga-boys-band-wendo-ti-mbia/
In 1970s Kenya the two threads of rumba and benga loosely dominated the music scene. Benga quickly became Kenya’s unique contribution to afro-pop; spreading like wildfire through the interior countryside with it’s fast, 4/4 machine-gun beat and intricate electric guitar layers. Listen to Gatanga Boys Band and you’ll see by yourself…
Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou – Segla
https://amf.didiermary.fr/poly-rythmo-cotonou-segla/
“Segla” was originally released in 1978 and was reissued in 2020.
“Segla” – hens-teeth rare Poly-Rythmo album from 1978 that was originally released without a sleeve as ALS059. Or at least, if it came with a sleeve, nobody outside of Benin seems to have seen one. Recorded at EMI Lagos, Nigeria, as per most of […]
The Rise And Fall of Nigerian Rock
https://amf.didiermary.fr/wake-up-you-rise-fall-nigerian-rock/
Wake Up You! (1972-1977)
This compilation is a tribute to the many bands that formed this relatively unknown 1970s Nigerian Rock & Psychedelic circle. It includes tracks from Ify Jerry Krusade, The Hygrades, The Hykkers, Waves, The Funkees, Theodore Nemy and many more.
Miss Smodern
https://amf.didiermary.fr/miss-smodern/
Miss Smodern est l’une des raretés de la musique africaine, en particulier, car il n’y a pratiquement pas d’information sur le titre, ni les interprètes.
Le nom “S’modern” ou “Smodern” semble avoir été utilisé par de multiples variations de groupes des années 50 à 70, a priori pour des groupes vocaux Zulu féminins… […]
Burundi Black (1971)
https://amf.didiermary.fr/burundi-black-1971/
Le disque Burundi Black est relativement inclassable du fait de l’année de sa réalisation, 1971, et qu’il a été produit par un pianiste français de formation classique, Michel Bernholc sous le pseudonyme Mike Steïphenson, sur la base de rythmes et percussions originaires du Burundi.
Sur des samples extraits depuis un disque ethnographique, réalisé pour Ocora […]
Slim Ali and the Hodi Boys – You Can Do It
https://amf.didiermary.fr/hodi-boys-slim-ali-you-can-do-it/
Slim Ali was born in Mombasa, Kenya back in December of 1947 and started playing music while in high school at Hamisi Secondary School. He played some stints with the Kitale Hotel Band and the Tusker Band before deciding to join the Hodi Boys […]
Mike Makhalemele – Going West
https://amf.didiermary.fr/mike-makhalemele-going-west/
Mike Makhalemele (1938-2000), from Alexandra, South Africa, nicknamed “Ratau” (“lion”), played saxophone, here with Jabu Nkosi (keyboards) and Sipho Gumede (bass) in a reissue of a classic album.
"[He] was a force of nature with a robust yet soulful tone and seemingly endless breath. He embraced the pop music scene as an enthusiastic collaborator and […]
Togo Soul 70
https://amf.didiermary.fr/togo-soul-70/
“Togo Soul 70” are 3 compilations of rare and unusual songs & releases mostly recorded in Lomé during the 70s and 80s.
A fusion of traditional voodoo chants, raw soul and even Electro Funk, […] a snapshot of some hundreds of rare and often forgotten tapes from the most prolific, professional and exciting phase of the country’s […]
T. P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: Unite Africaine
https://amf.didiermary.fr/tp-poly-rythmo-cotonou-unite-africaine/
Two monumental full-side tracks from a pair of late 70s Orchestre Poly-Rythmo albums, Unite Africaine isn’t exactly a compilation, more a combination of the standouts at a time when the band was at the peak of its powers.
The EP was released originally as “Mélomé Clément Chef d’Orchestre.” Originally released in 1977, [...]
Zaïre 74 – the African Artists
https://amf.didiermary.fr/zaire-74-african-artists/
A côté des stars américaines qui ont fait le show à Zaire 74, il y avait aussi de nombreux groupes et artistes africains, dont congolais pour ce grand festival, aussi connu sous le nom “Soul Power” d’après le documentaire diffusé en 2009.
“Ali, boma ye” (en français : “Ali, tue le”)
Pour mémoire, ce grand festival […]
Albalabel
https://amf.didiermary.fr/albalabel/
Albalabel (al Balabil - The Nightingales), a Sudanese girl group comprised of three sisters, came to prominence in the early 1970s. They were a phenomenon in their time, because their music felt and sounded innovative, marking a departure from the patriotic and nationalistic songs. […]
Rim Kwaku Obeng – Rim arrives
https://amf.didiermary.fr/funky-drummer-rim-kwaku-obeng/
Rim Kwaku Obeng and The Believers – Rim Arrives / International Funk were considered “lost” albums until this release in 2015.
Kwaku the drummer, born Samuel K. Mfojo, struggled to get his music recorded. From winning the admiration of the late Quincy Jones, but unable to work for him, to living 6 months homeless in […]
Almon Memela (Soweto)
https://amf.didiermary.fr/almon-memela-soweto/
Born in 1936, Almon Memela is (was?) a South African composer, guitarist and producer, from Donnybrook, KwaZulu-Natal, who taught himself to play guitar as a child (first on homemade instruments and with no encouragement from his family). A remarkably versatile artist, his music went from Soul Jazz and Jive to Mbaqanga and AfroFunk. [...]
#70smusic #AfroFunk #Jazz #Mbaqanga #SoulJazz #SouthAfrica #OldAfricanMusic
Nigeria Special 1970-76
https://amf.didiermary.fr/nigeria-special-1970-76/
“Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues 1970-76” is a compilation released in 2008.
MonoMono – Give The Beggar A Chance
https://amf.didiermary.fr/monomono-give-the-beggar-a-chance/
MonoMono was an AfroRock band formed in Lagos, Nigeria in 1971 by Sierra Leone-born Joni Haastrup (lead vocals, keyboards), Babá Ken Okulolo (bass, vocals), and Danjuma “Jimi Lee” Adamu (guitars, vocals).
The infamous Yum Kippur war of 1973 which sent global oil prices through the roof left Nigeria with a sudden windfall. Flush with petrodollars, […]
Nigeria Special – Electronic Innovation
https://amf.didiermary.fr/nigeria-special-electronic-innovation/
The compilation of Nigerian music “Nigeria Special Volume 3: Electronic Innovation Meets Culture And Tradition 1978-93” chronicles a time when drum machines, synthesisers, imported pop, reggae, disco and soul collided with highlife, juju and cultural music. The late 70s saw a period of political turbulence and prompted change across [...]
#70smusic #80smusic #90smusic #Compilation #Nigeria #Electro
Akido – Afro-psych Rock
https://amf.didiermary.fr/akido-afro-psych-rock/
Akido released this self-titled album in 1972, produced by Small Faces/Faces bassist Ronnie Lane. The band for this unique record consisted of Ghanaian percussionist Neemoi “Speedy” Acquaye (who also worked with The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ginger Baker’s Airforce (1970), Rod Stewart and many others), Nigerian bassist Biddy Wright (a member of Blo), [...]
Francis Bebey – Un petit ivoirien
https://amf.didiermary.fr/francis-bebey-petit-ivoirien/
“On les aime bien” is a fun song (in French) on white tourists in Africa… from Bebey‘s album “Un petit Ivoirien” in 1979. […]
Tèsfa-Maryam Kidané – Heywèté
https://amf.didiermary.fr/tesfa-maryam-kidane-heywete/
The saxophonist Tèsfa-Maryam Kidané was one of the most remarkable stylists of his generation and between 1965 and 1972 emerged as a brilliant, inspired player. Tesfa Mariam got his start with the Police Orchestra in Asmara. After his stints with the second Ras Band & The All Star Band. He left Ethiopia to study at […]
#70smusic #Ethiojazz #Ethiopia #Instrumental #MulatuAstatké #AfroJazz
