TITLE: Pop Makossa: The Invasive Dance Beat Of Cameroon 1976-1984
LABEL: Analog Africa
After 13 years of brilliant African and Afro-diasporic reissues, on album number 23 Samy Ben Redjeb’s Analog Africa Records covers Cameroon for the first time. Cameroon has long punched above its weight in music: makossa rivals Congolese soukous in popularity on the African continent, and Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” was one of the first African hit singles in the USA. This compilation focuses on pop-makossa, a genre that followed the “Soul Makossa” phenomenon, incorporating disco and zouk from the French Antilles into the mix. Like many of Analog Africa’s sets, this one digs deep into music that’s mostly been forgotten and comes up with some memorable material, not to mention fascinating interviews and photos in the accompanying 44-page booklet. Start with track 3, a thoroughly infectious song that was one of pop-makossa’s biggest hits. Producer Clement (Mystic Djim) Djimogne is one of the stars of this collection; don’t miss his tracks 2 and 12. 6 by Dibango’s guitarist Olinga Gaston is the definition of groove, and 9 is one of the best Afro-disco tracks I’ve heard anywhere. Disco is having its retro moment now – this collection is right on time.
TOP TRACKS: 2 3 6 9 12
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 1 4 5 7 8 10 11
No comments:
Post a Comment