Fela Kuti – Fear Not For Man
https://amf.didiermary.fr/fela-kuti-fear-not-for-man/
Fear Not For Man (1977) was written in the heat of Fela’s conflict with the military. The title track is a provocation expressing Fela’s lack of fear in the face of the authoritarian regime’s brutality; no matter how hard they beat him, they would never break him. This is made even more explicit on the […]
Bobo Yéyé – Belle Epoque in Upper Volta
https://amf.didiermary.fr/bobo-yeye-belle-epoque-in-upper-volta/
Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta is a compilation available as a 3-disc, 37-song box set.
Burkina Faso was called The Republic of Upper Volta. Then came Thomas Sankara. During this period of cultural revolution, in the ’60s and ’70s, the nation exploded with new bands and sounds, mainly across its large cities. Centered […]
Soir Au Village – Manu Dibango
https://amf.didiermary.fr/soir-au-village-manu-dibango/
In 1974, Manu Dibango is at the top of his art, 2 years after the explosive release of Soul Makossa. His EP “Soir au Village,” of course on the Fiesta label, is quite différent but also contains a hit. The B-side is Mwasa Makossa (from his album “Makossa Man“). […]
The Free Music
https://amf.didiermary.fr/the-free-music/
“The Free Music” est un album qui reprend neuf morceaux du groupe éponyme formé par l’artiste libyen Najib Al Housh, soigneusement choisis au sein de leur discographie de dix albums autoproduits à partir des années 1970, offrant un mélange unique entre funk, disco, soul et reggae… […]
Abdullah Ibrahim – Blues for a Hip King
https://amf.didiermary.fr/abdullah-ibrahim-blues-hip-king/
Abdullah Ibrahim composed this “Blues for a Hip King” for King Sobhuza II of Swaziland in 1989.
The eponymous album contains recordings gathered from several sessions in 1974, 1976 and 1979 and was first released under his “Dollar Brand” name.
#70smusic #AbdullahIbrahim #Jazz #SouthAfrica #Swaziland #AfroJazz
Hugh Masekela & The Union of South Africa
https://amf.didiermary.fr/hugh-masekela-union-south-africa/
Jonas Gwangwa (1937 – 2021) was a genius trombone player from Soweto, South Africa. That’s him in the middle between 2 other South African geniuses, the late Hugh Masekela on the left, and Caiphus Semenya (born 1939), on the right, for their band Union of South Africa. The album, released in May 1971, is an […]
Cameroon Garage Funk
https://amf.didiermary.fr/cameroon-garage-funk/
“Cameroon Garage Funk” is a compilation of “obscure” tracks from 1964 to 1979.
Yaoundé, in the 1970´s, was a buzzing place. Every neighbourhood of Cameroon´s capital, no matter how dodgy, was filled with music spots but surprisingly there were no infrastructure to immortalise those musical riches. The country suffered from a serious lack of proper […]
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 […]
Fela Kuti – Mr Follow Follow
https://amf.didiermary.fr/mister-follow-follow-fela-kuti/
Fela Kuti’s Mister Follow Follow was released in 1976/77 on the Zombie album.
“…if you dey follow them book! Na inside cupboard you go quench!… Cockroach dey! Rat dey!… Na inside darkness you go dey! If you have to follow them books, you have to read with some sense, see with your eyes and hear […]
Fela Kuti – Zombie
https://amf.didiermary.fr/fela-kuti-zombie/
Zombie was released around 76/77. It’s one of the iconic Fela’s songs, a harsh critique of the Nigerian soldiers who blindly follow, usually inhumane, orders.
Fela paid a big price for this bold condemnation of the military institution.
One thousand members of the Nigerian army attacked and burnt down his house after the release of the […]
Fela Kuti – Gentleman (LP)
https://amf.didiermary.fr/fela-kuti-gentleman-lp/
1973’s “Gentleman” is the 7th in the series of celebratory Fela 50th Anniversary reissues.
Like Fela’s other early 70’s releases, he used each side of his LPs to create a deep groove that pulls the listener in and follows with metaphoric lyrics that call out and critique the corrupt hangover of colonialism. Gentleman is the […]
Space Jungle Luv – Oneness of Juju
https://amf.didiermary.fr/space-jungle-luv-oneness-juju/
“Space Jungle Luv” is a classic 1976 album by Oneness of Juju.
When bandleader James “Plunky” Branch created Oneness Of Juju in 1975, he had spent five years working on both the West and East coasts of the U.S. The group’s previous incarnation, Juju, had become a fixture within New York’s avant-garde jazz scene. […]
Musi O Tunya – Wings of Africa
https://amf.didiermary.fr/musi-o-tunya-wings-of-africa/
Musi O Tunya emerged in Zambia in 1972, during the rise of Zamrock. Among the founders was guitarist and singer Rikki Ililonga who went solo after the recording of the album “Wings of Africa” in Kenya in 1975.
More than other Zambian musicians of that time, the band combined deep local musical traditions and rhythms […]
#70sMusic #Zambia #Zamrock #Kenya #Psychedelic #AltRock #FullAlbum
Abranis – Chenar le blues
https://amf.didiermary.fr/abranis-chenar-le-blues/
“Chenar Le Blues” released in 1977 has been a big hit on Algerian national radio. This album marked the band response to the Doors.
Pioneering group of Algerian music, which was the first to fuse Berber and Western sounds, using Rock, Folk or Funk to celebrate its Kabyle heritage. The starting point of this adventure, […]
Ogyatanaa – Yaa Amponsah
https://amf.didiermary.fr/ogyatanaa-yaa-amponsah/
In the 1930s, Sam’s Trio, led by Jacob Sam, was the most influential of the highlife guitar-bands. Their “Yaa Amponsah”, three versions of which were recorded in 1928 for Zonophone, was a major hit that remains a popular staple of numerous highlife bands.
The Ogyatanaa Show Band, aka Burning Fire Show Band, was one of […]
Harry Mosco – For You Specially
https://amf.didiermary.fr/harry-mosco-funkees-specially/
The late Harry Mosco was the lead vocalist for legendary 1970s Nigerian afro-funk band The Funkees.
The best way to take you right back to 1970s Lagos.
After unsuccessfully moving back to London, the group disbanded (after just four years) and Mosco released his first solo EP Specially For You in 1977.
Mosco had already formed a new […]
The Cranes, everyone’s grandfathers
https://amf.didiermary.fr/the-cranes-band-uganda/
Après plus de 40 ans d’absence, The Cranes, le groupe ougandais, gloire des années Idi Amin Dada, est réapparu sur scène en 2019 au Nyege Nyege Festival, suite au travail et aux recherches d’un réalisateur néerlandais pour son documentaire sur la disparition, puis assassinat, d’un des musiciens sous le règne d’Idi Amin Dada.
"They came with guns, he only had a guitar."
[…]
Maravillas de Mali – Boogaloo sera Mali
https://amf.didiermary.fr/maravillas-de-mali-boogaloo-sera-mali/
Si “Rendez-vous chez Fatimata” était la Face B du 45T (7″) sorti au mois de septembre 1972, la Face A était ce “Boogaloo sera Mali.”
Les 2 titres ont été réédités en 1983 sur l’album “Les Merveilles Du Mali – Maravillas De Mali”, avec les arrangements de Boncana Maiga.
EKO – Kilimandjaro My Home
https://amf.didiermary.fr/eko-kilimandjaro-my-home/
Bandleader Eko, Eko Roosevelt Louis, went from Cameroonian music prodigy to chief of an idyllic seaside village.
Kilimandjaro My Home is an album released in 1977.
Eko Roosevelt Louis has had a music career spanning over forty years, born the grandson of a Kribi tribal chief, his musical persuasion beginning humbly with his village’s local church […]
Funky Disco Music – EKO
https://amf.didiermary.fr/funky-disco-music-eko/
A trip to 1979 with “Funky Disco Music”, from Eko’s eponym third LP.
Eko Roosevelt Louis has had a music career spanning over forty years, born the grandson of a Kribi tribal chief, his musical persuasion beginning humbly with his village’s local church before his formal education at the Senegal conservatoire and Paris’ Ecole Normale […]
Sikiza Matshikiza – Pat Matshikiza
https://amf.didiermary.fr/sikiza-matshikiza-pat-matshikiza/
Pianist, singer and composer Pat Matshikiza (10 November 1938 – 29 December 2014) will go down in the annals of South African music as one of the jazz pioneers who played a pivotal role in the birth and evolution of jazz in the country.
Born in Queenstown in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province in 1938, […]
Fela Kuti – International Thief Thief (I.T.T.)
From the LP I.T.T. (International Thief Thief) released in 1979.
Fela and his political party Movement Of The People are banned from contesting Nigeria’s presidential election. Fela forms a new Afrika 70 and plays a comeback concert at the University of Ife. He also defies police opposition and opens a new Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, […]
https://amf.didiermary.fr/fela-kuti-international-thief-itt/
Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou – Iya Me Dji Kibi Ni
https://amf.didiermary.fr/poly-rythmo-cotonou-iya-me-dji-kibi-ni/
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou is arguably West Africa’s best-kept secret. Their output, both in quantity and quality, was astonishing.During several trips to Benin, Analog Africa managed to collect roughly 500 songs which Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou had recorded between 1970 and 1983.
The cultural and spiritual riches of traditional Beninese [...]
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, [...]
The Movers 1970-76
https://amf.didiermary.fr/movers-1970-76/
The story of The Movers began in 1967 when two unknown musicians – the brothers Norman and Oupa Hlongwane – approached Kenneth Siphayi a stylish and wealthy businessman from the Alexandra township to ask if he could buy them musical instruments. In return he would receive a cut from future life shows and record deals. […]
#70smusic #AfroFunk #Apartheid #Jazz #Mbaqanga #SouthAfrica #OldAfricanMusic
