l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 3

Some sweet sounds conclude our presentation of the three-volume series l'ANPAC Presente with Volume 3 (AN 400 3, 1984). Like musicians on Volumes One and Two, Pierre Claver Zeng Ebome, who performs "Eyala," has been active in Gabonese politics for many years, holding various posts in the government of President Omar Bongo as well as being elected to Parliament. Norbert Epandja, who gives us the lovely "N'oublie Jamais," has been involved in politics of a different sort, as president of the Musicians' Union of Gabon. I can tell you nothing about the other talented musicians here. Enjoy l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 3!

Pierre-Claver Zeng Ebome - Eyala

Angèle Revignet - Iyanoayile

Santo Backita - Idja

Julien Nziengui Mouelle - Julien Mwana

Norbert Epandja - N'oublie Jamais

Download l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 3 as a zipped file here.

l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 2

Back in the '80s the three volume collection of Gabonese music l'ANPAC Presente was frequently on our turntable and, dubbed onto C90 cassettes, our auto sound system. Continuing Likembe's presentation of this interesting series, l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 2 (ANPAC AN 400 2, 1984) features a couple of songs that are among our all-time favorites.

Mack Joss is the only musician here known to me, and all I can tell you is that he's been on the Gabonese music scene for a while - at least since the 1970s. "Mounombi" here is a really nice adaptation of Gabonese folklore, as is "Motobetheyi," performed by Pierre Emboni, who in addition to his musical efforts, was a leader of one of Gabon's political parties and Minister of Youth and Sports in the late '90s. "Souviens Toi" by Yvon Dawens is a nice song in the Congo-Cameroun musical continuum, but the real standout of this LP is Obiang Okane's "Dokira," which incorporates the mvet, a traditional musical instrument of the Fang people of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and southern Cameroun. I hope you'll enjoy l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 2 as much as I do:

Mack Joss - Mounombi

Pierre Emboni - Motobetheyi

Yvon Dawens - Souviens Toi

Obiang Okane - Dokira

Download l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 2 as a zipped file here. For those interested in learning more about the mvet, featured in "Dokira," I would recommend Francis Bebey's magisterial African Music: A People's Art (Lawrence Hill & Co., 1975), and also the LP Gabon: Chantres du Quotidien/Chantres de l'Epopee (Ocora 558 515, 1981). The mvet plays a role in traditional Fang society very similar to that of the kora among the Mandinka peoples of West Africa, as an accompaniment to epic ballads, the performance of which is said to last all night. From Gabon: Chantres du Quotidien/Chantres de l'Epopee, here is an extract from one of those performances, performed by Akwé Obiang (pictured below):

Akwé Obiang - Chant Épique du Mvet (Fragment)

l'ANPAC Presente: Vol. 1

The small country of Gabon has never loomed large in the African music scene, although artists like Pierre Akendengue and Oliver N'goma have certainly made their mark. Back in the 1980s, though, the Libreville radio station Africa No. 1 and its powerful signal ruled the African airwaves, and along with Gabon's first modern recording studio, Mademba, founded around the same time, brought increased attention to musicians from the country.

Africa No. 1 was the inspiration of Gabonese President-for-life Omar Bongo, who apparently sought to use his country's oil wealth to raise its prestige in the world. Another Bongo initiative, l'Agence National de Promotion Artistique et Culturelle (ANPAC), in 1984 issued a three-volume series of recordings, l'ANPAC Presente, showcasing a number of popular musicians of the decade.

I can't tell you much about the musicians on Vol. 1 (ANPAC AN 400 1), presented here, or on Vols. 2 and 3, which will follow shortly. Hilarion Nguema, the best known of these, founded Orchestre Afro-Success in the early '80s and scored a number of hits, notably 1988's Crise Economique. The Wikipedia entry for Jean-Boniface Assélé describes a politician and brother-in-law of Omar Bongo, but makes no mention of a musical career, which leads me to question if they are indeed the same person (see update below). The other artists draw a complete blank on Google.

I think you will agree with me that these mellow sounds have congruences with the music of Congo and Cameroun, with some unique local touches. Enjoy!

Hilarion Nguema - Collé, Collé

Marcel Djabioh - Mwa Nkala

Jean-Boniface Asssélé - Joie de Vivre

Itsiembu Bi-Mbin - Monde Nouveau

Jo-Man Anguilet - Iwengi Sono

Download l'ANPAC Presente Vol. 1 as a zipped file here. There's an interesting coda to the story of Africa No. 1. The radio station left the airwaves for a number of weeks earlier this year, apparently a result of the political crisis and civil war in Libya. Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting was a 52% shareholder, and when Libya's assets were frozen, the station was unable to pay its bills. You can read the story here and here.

My apologies for Likembe's three-month hiatus, by the way. A lot of personal issues intervened, but I hope to keep things going on a more regular basis from now on.

Update: Thanks to commenter Peter for confirming that the Jean-Boniface Assélé of this LP and the one described in Wikipedia are indeed one and the same.