A Belated Farewell to Seydou Zombra

In 1987 French producer Jean Philippe Rykiel produced Soro, an album by the legendary Malian vocalist Salif Keita that was acclaimed as a World Music™ classic. Sorry, but I just hated it. I'm not saying that African musicians aren't allowed to take advantage of the latest in studio technology to appeal to an international audience, but something about that particular effort just left me cold. Keita's beautiful voice was swamped in instrumentation and rococo flourishes. What a waste!

Today's offering is Synimory (EMI E0199912-4), a 1991 cassette by Burkinabé singer Seydou Zombra. Synimory was also produced by Rykiel. On Youtube you can find a number of previous recordings by Zombra, and you know what? I like this one the most. Here the production elevates rather than overwhelms Zombra's rather impressive vocal chops.

The music of Burkina Faso is not well-known outside that country. Musicians from Burkina, like Amadou Balaké, often migrate to other countries, like Ivory Coast, to record and make a decent living. In Zombra's case it was apparently his parents who moved to Abidjan, where he was born in 1956. He is said to have been a talented footballer in his youth before becoming a sports announcer for Radio France International's program, "Les Dieux du Stade," and producing numerous other programs for the station. His first LP, Gnoumbono (Capriccio 37077), was released in 1979.

After a long illness, Zombra passed away in Paris on July 16 of last year. He is missed by sports fans and music aficionados alike. Adieu!
   
Seydou Zombra - Synimory

Seydou Zombra - Yeleen

Seydou Zombra - Fangan (Instrumental)

Seydou Zombra - Denwolo

Seydou Zombra - Fangan

Seydou Zombra - Synimory (Instrumental)

Download Synimory as a zipped file here.

Sweet Sounds From Baba Gaston

I was all ready to post today's selection - Baba Gaston's wonderful 1983 release Condition Bi-Msum (ASL ASLP 971) - when I realized that Stefan Werdekker had made it available on his blog WorldService a while back. Should I or shouldn't I, I wondered? Then I decided to go ahead with it. If you missed it before, here's your chance to enjoy some of the sweetest soukous the '80s managed to produce.

I've written about Baba Gaston before. He's one of many Congolese musicians who made their way to East Africa during the '70s and '80s. Coming from Lubumbashi in the southern part of then-Zaïre, where Kiswahili was already the lingua franca, it wasn't a difficult transition for Gaston and his Orchestre Baba Nationale to settle down in Dar Es Salaam in 1971, relocating to Nairobi a few years later. Here the band gave rise to many offshoots and a distinctive East African iteration of the classic Congo rumba sound. It all came crashing down in 1985 when foreign musicians were ordered to leave Kenya under President Daniel Arap Moi.

Enjoy Condition Bi-Msum. And for more information about Baba Gaston and other Congolese musicians in East Africa, read Alastair Johnston's essential Congo in Kenya.

Baba Gaston - Ekelekele

Baba Gaston - Hello Hello

Baba Gason - Rudi Nyumbani Africa

Baba Gaston - Condition Bi-Msum

Download Condition Bi-Msum as a zipped file, complete with album and label art, here.

Zouglou Gnakpa!

Les Côcôs were one of the innumerable groups that popped up during the first wave of Zouglou  in the Ivory Coast during the economic crisis of the early '90s. I wrote about the genre in an earlier post here. Through the travails of recent years, notably two civil wars, Zouglou has remained popular, according to this very informative article:

"...Through its emphasis on social and political criticism, zouglou developed into a form of Ivorian counter-culture. Zouglou musicians represent the perspective of marginalized youth and social underdogs and have been very critical of the devastating behavior of the wealthy and politically powerful in Côte d’Ivoire. Zouglou artists see their role as speaking truth to power, because, according to a famous nouchi (Ivorian street slang) saying, gbê est mieux que drap: “the truth is better than shame”. Zouglou music gave the youth in Abidjan a platform from which to participate in the public debate...."

As is often the case, I've been unable to find out much about Les Côcôs. After their first release, the cassette Zouglou Gnakpa (EMI EO38192-4, 1992), they seemed to disappear without a trace. That one, however, was a good seller and spawned at least one hit, "L'Enfant Yode" (listed as "Les Côcôs" on the inlay card), which has been included on several CD compilations. Enjoy Zouglou Gnakpa now!

Les Côcôs - L'Enfant Yode

Les Côcôs - Nathalie

Les Côcôs - Christina

Les Côcôs - Hommage

Download Zouglou Gnakpa as a zipped file, complete with scans of the inlay card, here.

Conflict!

It's easy to think of Gaby Lita Bembo as the Wild Man of '70s and '80s Zaïre/Congo music - his unrestained stage antics made him the toast of working-class Kinshasa and a star of television. Bembo's backup group, Orchestre Stukas, was founded by Alida Domingo in 1968, one of many "youth bands" that arose in the late '60s in reaction to the more laid-back sounds of orchestras like OK Jazz, Afrisa and Bantous de la Capitale. The new groups mostly dispensed with horn sections and went for a sound more frantic and based on traditional rhythms. Stukas in particular was notable for the lightning-fast work of its guitarists, starting out with Samunga Tediangaye and transitioning to Bongo Wende and others.

1974's "Rumble in the Jungle," the legendary Ali-Foreman fight in Kinshasa, further elevated Bembo's star when Stukas was selected to be one of the featured acts in the accompanying Zaïre '74 concert. It is said that he became a star of Kinshasa's television station Voix du Zaïre in the mid-'70s as the authorities found him useful for keeping kids off the streets during school holidays. Here's a representative show from 1976:

In the 1980s Bembo spent more time in Europe while Alida held down the fort in Kinshasa. His 1983 outing Conflit (EuroMusic 001000), recorded in Belgium with the uncredited "Musiciens Zaïrois de Bruxelles" and a bank of session players on electronics, is relatively restrained but still packs a punch. Check it out:

Lita Bembo - Conflit

Lita Bembo - Deese

Lita Bembo - Bonne Chance

Lita Bembo - Comprehension

Download Conflit as a zipped file, complete with album and label art, here.

And as an extra bonus, here's a scorcher by Lita and Orchestre Stukas Caiman from the 1978 compilation album L'Afrique Danse (African 360.122):

Orchestre Stukas Caiman - Wangata

Biographical information in this post about Lita Bembo and Stukas was taken from the liner notes of the CD Kita Mata ABC (RetroAfric RETRO 18CD, 2005), an excellent career retrospective of the group. You can get it here.

Afropea Rising

I've been hesitating to post here the cover of Zazou Bikaye's 1985 LP Mr. Manager (Pow Wow WOW 7401). I don't know who the artist is or what his or her intention is, to be "ironic" or whatever. It just strikes me as being kinda racist! Anyway, I'm going to put it right here, and you can make up your own mind:

Click on the picture to enlarge. Whatever you think of the cover, I hope you'll agree with me that Mr. Manager is one of the more notable African releases of the '80s, one of the first truly "Afropean" albums and a mostly successful attempte to fuse Congolese tradition with European techno music.

Zazou Bikaye was a collaboration between French/Algerian composer and arranger Hector Zazou and Congolese vocalist Bony Bikaye. I haven't found out much about Bony Bikaye. Discogs lists two solo albums and an EP but that's pretty much it. Hector Zazou, however, who died in 2008, boasted quite a C.V., with Wikipedia listing 44 citations. He specialized in cross-cultural fusions and mash-ups long before "World Music" was a marketing gimmick, or even a thing. Zazou and Bikaye's first outing, with French synthesizer wizards CY1, was 1983's Noir et Blanc (Crammed Discs CRAM 025), and has been described as "Fela Kuti meets Kraftwerk on the dance floor" and a cult classic. It will be reissued in November, and is available for pre-order here.

I dunno. I got Noir et Blanc not too long after it first came out, and I like it, but it's always seemed a little cold and austere for my taste. Maybe it deserves more time than I've been willing to give it. Mr. Manager, on the other hand, strikes a better balance between digital and analog. Two tracks in particular, "Nostalgie" and "Angel," always got a good reception back when I aired them on my old public radio program, "African Beat" in Milwaukee. It's a great album and I hope you'll enjoy it too!

Zazou Bikaye - Mr. Manager

Zazou Bikaye - Nostalgie

Zazou Bikaye - Soki Akei

Zazou Bikaye - (Little) Angel

Zazou Bikaye - Angel

Zazou Bikaye - M'pasi ya M'pamba

Download Mr. Manager as a zipped file, with cover and label art, here. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes by sharing this here. An internet search doesn't turn up any current availability for Mr. Manager through any online stores or streaming services, but if any label or copyright holder objects, let me know through the comments and I will remove these files immediately.

Une Étoile Brillante

Here's another classic from the last "Golden Age" of Congo music, the 1980s!

Wuta Mayi is best known as a member of two Congolese "super groups" - Les Quatre Étoiles, which launched in the early '80s, and Kékélé, from the early years of this century. However, he's had an illustrious career not only guesting on many others' recordings over the years but as a solo artist. He got his start with Jamel National in 1967 and the next year jumped over to Orchestre Bamboula, led by Papa Noël. He was invited to join le Tout Poussaint OK Jazz by Franco in 1974, where he stayed for eight years. The launching of Le Quatre Étoiles in 1982, uniting the talents of Mayi, Nyboma Muan'dido, Bopol Mansiamina and Syran Mbenza, supercharged the African music scene, taking it to new audiences around the world.

In between stints with Les Quatre Étoiles Wuta Mayi found time to record a number of solo albums including today's offering, Tout Mal Se Paie Ici Bas (Soweto Records 002, 1984).

An extra special bonus for this LP is the presence of Souzy Kasseya, whose brilliant guitar work enlivened many recording sessions from Kinshasa to Abidjan to Paris back in the '80s. Kasseya had a smash hit in France in 1983 with "Le Téléphone Sonne." Many years ago I posted another tune by him here on Likembe, which you can find here. Souzy's worth a post of his own in the future. In fact, I think I'll do that! In the meantime, enjoy this slice of sweet Congo soukous!

Wuta Mayi - Tout Mal Se Paie Ici Bas

Wuta Mayi - Elembo Na Mi Tema

Wuta Mayi - Batamboli Moto

Wuta Mayi - Maboko Pamba

Download Tout Mal Se Paie Ici Bas as a zipped file, complete with album and label art, here. Biographical information in this post courtesy of the liner notes of Rumba Congo (Sterns STCD 1093, 2001) by Kékélé, available here.

Woya: Ivoirian Funk/Zouk

 A few weeks back I got a request for something by Woya from Ivory Coast and I'm happy to comply! The group was formed in 1984 and their fusion of funk, zouk and Ivoirian tradition became the rage of West Africa in 1986 with the release of the hit LP Kacou Ananzé (African 425.004).

The group broke up in the late '80s and has re-formed several times over the years but the core has always been Marcellin Yacé on keyboards and vocalist David Tayorault, who on their own have been major powers in the Ivoirian music scene. Today's offering, the cassette La Tradition en Mouvement (EMI W.CORP01), was released in 1992 during a brief revival of the group. Woya was resurrected again in 1998, but since Yacé was killed by a stray bullet during an attempted coup in 2002 it's doubtful that there will be another incarnation.

I have Kacou Ananzé also and will probably post it some time in the future. For now, enjoy La Tradition en Mouvement!

Woya - Yayaclo Lo

Woya - Ayo

Woya - Zikpê

Woya - Woya Solution

Woya - Vent de l'Est

Woya - Tcha Tchèr

Download La Tradition en Mouvement as a zipped file here.