Afrobeat Vinyl 451 Items

African, funky, sarcastic, bewitching, green, ecstatic: these words collide to describe Vaudou Game and all of them are true. Bella is the first vinyl single derived from the upcoming album called Noussin, due to be relased June 11th 2021. "Bella" is a smashing summer hit, sang in Mina and french. It's an ode to the nature and love in this hard times. "Be My Wife" on the B side, is a trip into a rock /funk universe with an uptempo twist rythm, sang into the voodoo harmonies. Composed in Lyon on 100% analog equipment during the lockdown, those two songs might be the funky nuggets of all DJ's and radio playlists .

From Mac & Party aka. Yaseen Mohammes comes this fantastic Kenyan chakacha taarab dancer with a heavy clavioline keyboard hook. mid 60’s origin

Rich, deep, percussive soulful folk album from master Togolese singer, Akofa Akoussah. The album moves through uptempo afro-folk-funk on ‘Tango’ to deep ballads of ‘Ramer Sans Rame’ and ‘I Tcho Tchass’ and lighter moments on ‘G Blem Di’ and ‘Mitso Aseye’. Akofas exceptional songs and soaring vocals are decorated with percussion, guitar lines, subtle backing vocals and horns to create a unique, rich sonic. The album was recorded for release by French label Sonafric in 1976. Produced by Gérard Akueson; founder & owner of African record label, ‘Akue’, based in Paris.
Music was truly in the blood of Julie Akofa Akoussah. She began singing at the age of three, inspired and led by her mother and older sister and became principal soloist in her school choir, St. Peter & Paul Choir of our Immaculate Conception Parish of Nyékonakpoé, at the age of 8. From there her career blossomed, and singing often took precedence over her studies. In order to master her art she spent time studying and working closely with local groups including Mélo Togo, Rocka Mambo, Rio Romamcero, Ok Fiesta, Eryco Jazz, Afro Cubano, Los Muchacho, Elégance Jazz and Togo Star amongst others. In her own words: ”Luck opened the door in January 1966 where I had the honour of being selected to share the stage with Bella Below – one of the best voices of
Africa – at the 1st ‘Negro Arts Festival’ in Dakar. On my return, I was approached by Ambroise Ouyi, the highly respected singer & poet, and we wrote ‘Tu Ne M'Écris Plus’, my very first opus.“
The popularity of her work led to an increased exposure for Togolese music outside of the country, in neighbouring Ghana and Benin most notably. During her career she collaborated and performed with greats including Manou Djibango, Queen Pelagie, Abeti Massikini, Aycha Koné and Myriam Makeba. Akoussah was also dedicated to, and widely recognised for, her work for social causes, championing and nurturing young musical talent, and the fight against AIDS. She was president of the National Union of Artists Musicians of Togo (UNAM) before sadly passing away in April 2007 after a long illness, at the age of 57.

‘The Original Sound of Burkina Faso’ follows the hugely successful ‘The Original Sound of Mali’ compilation released in March this year, also on Mr Bongo. Here we have a collection of songs that pay tribute to a truly golden age of music; touching on folk, funk, blues, highlife, disco, psyche, latin, rock and soul.
Burkina Faso may be one of the least well-known parts of West Africa but it has a deep history and musical pedigree. A few years before President Thomas Sankara changed his country’s name from Upper Volta to its current one, a new sound emerged to soundtrack a cultural revolution.
Featuring music by Abdoulaye Cissé, Amadou Balaké, Pierre Sandwidi & Super Volta, Tidiani Coulibaly & Dafra Star, Bozambo, Youssouf Diarra and more. Including a booklet with extensive liner notes and photography.
Compiled by David ‘Mr Bongo’ Buttle and Florent Mazzoleni.

Loi Toki Tok band started out as a nondescript musical group. But irrefutably, the band’s star scaled the heights and shone brightly on the early 1970s Kenyan capital, Nairobi’s burgeoning live music circuit. And basking on the top of the pops charts, was vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Leon Kabasela aka Kalle. He also doubled as band’s composer and songwriter – earning credits for among other tracks, this mellow ‘ballad’ aptly titled Mungwana – loosely translated in Swahili, is descriptive of a selfless and conscientious gentleman. Kalle is one of handful surviving remnants of the band, whose lifespan was somewhat short-lived. It lasted barely three years – circa 1971 to mid-1973. Mungwana’s lyrics, sang in Congolese lingala dialect, mirror his roots and musical dream, which lured the youthful artiste during late 1960s to pack bags, and desert the rural fringes of Lubumbashi – then Zaire’s second largest city. On the 45 single flipside is a soulful, funky hit Chakacha – a seemingly timeless afro-soul flavoured cut. Its catchy and hypnotic lyrical refrains, easily grow on the listeners. The vocals of the band’s one-time frontman, singer Kasim Combo, ooze with an unmistakable tinge of late 1960s to early 70s American soul rhythms, propelled onto the global showbiz spotlight by US pop stars Otis Redding, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Their popular hits gained massive, almost staple airplay on Kenya’s then sole broadcaster’s twin national radio stations. The fact that this record was pressed on an obscure Athi River label, is perhaps symbolic of Loi Toki Tok’s last band phase – shifting base from Club Arcadia in the heart of Nairobi, to the Small World Club in Athi River – an equally nondescript urban town, tucked away along the Mombasa highway.

The first instalment in our new ‘Mr Bongo Record Club’ compilation series – a
selection of favourites, recent discoveries and sought after obscurities, which
form the basis of our DJ sets and our radio show of the same name. Including
cuts by Claudia, Cortex, Dave Pike Set, Fruko, Neno Exporta Som, Connie
Laverne, Barbosa and more.
The original concept for ‘Mr Bongo Record Club’ was a radio show that allowed
us to air our treasured record collections, recorded and broadcast once a
month. We wanted to create an outlet free from any genre or BPM restrictions,
not constrained by the need to beat-mix every record, a space where we could
play latest finds alongside favourites. The only self-imposed rule being that
it had to be played from vinyl.
We have always DJ’d across-the-board, but playing in an eclectic way hasn’t
always been easy. Recently DJ’s such as MCDE, Floating Points, Nick The Record,
Leon Vynehall, Four Tet, Jeremy Underground, Antal (Rush Hour), Sassy J and
Young Marco – to name a few – have opened things up with very diverse sets to
younger audiences; Brazilian samba-rock, next to modern soul, highlife, disco,
boogie, jazz, house, techno and beyond.
We’re seeing a rare groove like sensibility. A shift towards the attitude of
legendary club nights hosted by the likes of Mr Scruff and Gilles Peterson,
where you could hear house, hip hop, Turkish funk, boogie, jazz, dub and Latin
back to back. At the same time it isn't a nostalgic or retro movement, people
have a progressive attitude and a thirst for new-old music. It is a vibrant and
exciting time – we are proud to be a part of it.

Originally released in 1975 on Gapophone Records, George Prah’s label, hailing from Ghana. Only available in very limited quantity (reportedly 500 copies) due to the musical vacuum imposed by the military dictatorship in the country at the time.

Laid back, lush, highlife vibrations from start to finish, with noticeable reggae influences throughout.

This two mindblowing songs were entirely recorded, mixed and mastered with old analog tapes, and played with vintage instruments which recalls the sound of bands like Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou or El Rego!

Originally released in 2005, now on vinyl!

“Electrified by a diet of James Brown, the Stones and Deep Purple, WITCH were the stadium-filling kings of 70s Zamrock.” - MOJO
This landmark recording from Now-Again’s comprehensive overview of Zambia’s premier garage-, psych-, prog-, funk-,afro-rock ensemble WITCH, We Intend To Cause Havoc! is now available in a never before seen color variant. The audio is nigh-perfect – restored and remastered from the original master tapes. WITCH’s musical arc is contained to a five year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band’s first two, self-produced albums - released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry – are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown. In The Past, their second album, is the perfect follow-up for anyone exposed to the WITCH band through their landmark Introduction.

In the early years of Fela Kuti's career, well before he would define the genre of afrobeat, and leave an indelible mark on the musical landscape, he was a struggling trumpet player, seeking to redefine the sound of his current group, the art-jazz ensemble Fela Ransome-Kuti Quintet. As he moved his group towards the then-popular genre of highlife in 1963, he lost his bassist in the move towards commercial success, but gained the company of Ojo Okeji, who had a sterling reputation both as a bassist and
percussionist in groups like Lagos Cool Cats, Rex Williams' Nigerian Artistes, and Western Toppers Highlife Band, a favorite of Kuti's. Okeji impressed Kuti with his deft jazziness on the bass, so he was in on the spot, and the Fela Ransome-Kuti Quintet became Koola Lobitos. It was Okeji that introduced Kuti to the famed percussionist Tony Allen, (Who would subsequently join Kuti into his greatest years as an artist) as well as conguero Abayomi "Easy" Adio. During his time in Koola Lobitos, Okeji not only contributed deeply melodic, and adeptly rhythmic baselines, but brought his own influence from emerging US soul artists like James Brown & The Famous Flames and Wilson Pickett, heavily pushing Koola Lobitos towards a more soulful direction. This push was often resisted by Kuti, who frequently clashed with Okeji. 1968 proved to be a turning point for the group, as the Nigerian Civil War broke out, and many starving musicians turned to the military for work. Okeji and Adio would leave for the army, while Kuti and Allen kept Koola Lobitos going, where it evolved through different names and iterations and grew into the worldwide afrobeat force that made Kuti an icon during the 70s and 80s. But as Kuti and Allen rose to global recognition, Okeji and Adio would form a new band within the ranks of the 6th Infantry Brigade of the Nigerian Army. Their emblazoned blue jackets earned them the nickname "The Blues”, but Okeji preferred the name “Shango” after the Yoruba thunder god. Shango took the fundamentals of Kuti's famous afrobeat and brought new layers of guitar and horn arrangements, while often invoking supernatural aesthetics, and maintaining a love for the US soul artists that influenced Okeji so much. Because Shango was an army band however, their records were not readily available to anyone outside of the military so their music, including their eponymous 1974 LP, remained relatively unknown even amongst the people of Nigeria. Decades later Comb & Razor is thrilled to present this long-lost Nigerian gem for the first time to a world-wide audience.