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African Discographies

Greetings, Platterbugs!

Updated 1 November 2025

Music Matters

new single from Tinariwen

from Tony P: Malian Techno
& he found a 2012 set from Noura Mint Seymali of Mauritania

Amazonian cumbia reissue from Ranil, psychedelic Peruvian rock from the late 70s

Video, on the Tube

In Indonesia bus drivers used to have a musical accompanist who would play tunes on the bus horns!!

R.I.P.

(via Vincent Kenis) Ricky Likabu, leader of Staff Benda Bilili

(via Jerome Ogola) Joseph Kariuki, aka Joe Mopero who backed up Moreno Batamba and founded the Zambezi Band. His big hit was "Heri Nirudi Nyumbani."

Latest Muzikifan Podcasts

More Hokum
blues, jazz, African and Latin
and some of the discs reviewed below

Perky:
stuff I like, and so do you, presumably
.

BIZIMUNGU DIEUDONNE
INZOVU Y'IMIRINDI (Mississippi Records)

Rwanda used to be in the news for all the wrong reasons. In the 1990s Hutu militias started wiping out Tutsis in a mad purge of ethnic cleansing, much like the Israeli Zionists are doing to the Palestinian Muslims right now. Rwanda settled down though it still raised eyebrows when Boris Johnson planned to deport undesirable aliens to repopulate the country. Britain managed to resettle 4 undesirables at a cost of £700 million before a court ruled the move illegal. They could have bought them a Caribbean island for that. Now the US has started shipping unwanted immigrants there. That's all they need: a bunch of Latin-Americans suspected of narco-terrorism. So there is great irony in the shirt-sleeves of Arsenal, PSG and Bayern footballers, and even the LA Clippers, which read "Visit Rwanda." Rest assured, once you get over the fear of never coming back, they have great scenery and gorillas. Of course there's no guarantee you can actually meet a gorilla (I know first-hand; I can tell you about it some time). But music, now they do, or did have music. Back in 1954 UNESCO made some field recordings of the three main ethnic groups — Tutsi, Hutu and Twa — everyone heard the thunder of the Royal drummers, but it was familiar from the more famous drums of Burundi, and as a friend said, was the soundtrack to drown out the slaughter. And the other recordings of flute or musical bow could have been from any of the surrounding central African nations. But something completely different was produced in the late 1980s by a small group comprising Bizimungu Dieudonne, his wife Agnes and other members of their family. As "Mungu" means god, I guess he was doubly blessed, since his last name means "God-given". Their otherworldly music is updated praise songs, with great studio effects adding a haunted sound to the melodic guitar (with occasional country licks), pumping electric bass and echoey beaten stick and rapping snare percussion. The latter oddly reminiscent of Moe Tucker of Velvet Underground. The singing reminds me of medieval church music at times, but you can decide for yourself. Voice of America host and blogger Matthew Lavoie cherished a cassette of their music he found, and brought it to the attention of Mississippi Records who asked a current VoA producer to see if he could track down the group's survivors or relatives. Sadly they were killed by Tutsi, but their daughter, 8 at the time, survived and held onto a precious CD of the original studio master recordings. This amazing artifact is now remastered and pressed on vinyl for all of us to treasure.

PHILIP TABANE & MALOMBO
SANGOMA (Matsuli Music MM131)

Forty years ago the popular african music label of Germany put out a series of LPs that was supposed to present the musical variety of Africa in a carefully curated album of each regional style. While that was a mad idea, it did bring us phenomenal discs by Youssou Ndour, Sam Mangwana and Philip Tabane, among many others. The Tabane album, called Man Phily was drawn from four previously issued LPs by the South African jazz group Malombo. There was also a bonus live track, "Ke Kgale," to close out the album, which quickly became one of my favorites. In 1988 Kilima Records, based in the UK, issued another compilation disc, including the gem "Hi Congo" again, and also giving us the studio version of "Ke Kgale," the great cut "Sangoma," title of the present disc, and another monster track "Phampha Madiba." So it was a great delight to discover Matsuli Music have reissued the classic Sangoma album in its entirety. Though the group continued without him when he retired from touring, it was with a different sound: Tabane was the vital spark and wrote and sang all the songs. Also there is a continuity to this one album that makes it essential to hear all ten tracks straight through, as a suite. The title means "Spiritual Healer" and that gives you a sense of the musicians' intentions. In the mid-70s Tababe moved to the USA and played alongside some giants of jazz, like Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and Pharoah Sanders at the Newport Jazz Festival. Returning to South Africa in 1978 he got a record deal with Warner-Electra-Atlantic and expanded the band to add more percussion and a separate flautist, so he could concentrate on guitar and vocals. Their name Malombo, refers to ancestral spirits, but these are not passive ghosts, they are kick-ass spirits. They create a framework for improvisation which is very loose yet honed to an edge by superb musicianship and the give and take of many rehearsals and performances.

LOS WEMBLER'S DE IQUITOS
SELVA (Vampisoul VAMPI 334)

Although cumbia is associated with Afro-Colombian traditions, where it is played with drums and flutes, in other parts of Latin America it has been adapted to local instruments. In Peru it developed its own flavor in the Amazon jungle (La Selva) with jangly guitars instead of flutes, and became known as chicha, or psychedelic cumbia. The main exponents of the form are Los Wembler's of Iquitos, who are back together and touring with some younger members to replace those who have died. They were formed by Salomón Saavedra and his five children! Their sound was forged in the late 1960s in the Belén district of Iquitos. Their debut album in 1971 was Cumbia Amazónica. I might have seen them in the mid-70s when I toured Peru, however I cut my trip short before going to Iquitos and had to fly home after I was robbed of my travelers checks and camera. My brother went on to Iquitos and loved it. In those days we would find dockside dives with loud music pouring out and go for a drink or two and try to score weed from the local bad boys. Though in Peru it was of course the marching powder that was in demand. The Wembler's sound however seems more suited to alcohol with its woozy single-note guitar runs, sometimes reminiscent of Hank B. Marvin, and cantering thrust of cowbell, guiro and timbales. Their hit "La Danza del Petrolero" which closes the album tells you what you need to know about the times. Oil exploration brought sudden wealth to the Amazon and oil rig workers keen to splash the cash on their days off, so bars and bordellos were booming. All in all it is a dizzifying sound. Some tracks are familiar from covers (like Chicha Libre's), or compilations, but this is the first time a retrospective greatest hits has been assembled outside of Peru, to my knowledge. A couple of their individual albums have been repressed, by Barbès in Brooklyn, and Beans, a Japanese label. There are few lyrics, though they burst into chorus on "Te llaman la Bruja" (They call you the witch)! They mainly yelp and emit throaty sounds; the music flows out encouraging you into freeform gyrations: even if you close your eyes, you can still see the glitterball spinning in your skull.

THE LAST POETS
AFRICANISM (Africa Seven)

Poetry with music has been around since ancient Greece, but nowadays we automatically think of hip hop — which really came out of Jamaican Dancehall — as the beginnings of a new style of music in the 70 where performers rapped their lyrics over a backing beat. Around 1968 the Last Poets were formed in East Harlem and recited their lyrics to a backing of congas; their first gig was a celebration of Malcolm X's birthday. Their goal was to raise black consciousness through political awareness and an uncompromising message delivered to fellow oppressed blacks. In the 90s they had a comeback: I think I saw them at the Kennel Club. I may be wrong, because at the time I was seeing three or more shows a week (one of the perks of working in radio was putting myself on guest lists) and so did I go down there to the Fillmore on a grey night and hear the immortal lines "Wake up Niggers or we're all through!@"? Perhaps. And I assumed when the great Gil Scott-Heron died that he was the last of that first wave of hip New York jazz poets, though Scott-Heron was also a musician leaning heavily into soul. However, the two remaining Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan, have been writing and performing again since 2018. But the congas of yore had been ousted by turntablists and samplers so the duo needed something a bit more electrifying to give them a groove to rap over. Enter the late Tony Allen, master drummer from Nigeria who drove the music of Fela Kuti. After Fela's death he was in demand as a session man and had in fact laid down tracks in 2019 in Brighton, UK, for this album, but the pandemic caused it to be shelved. After the air was cleared the project went ahead. Abiodum selected four pieces from the group's debut album in 1970, including "When the Revolution Comes," which famously was answered by Scott-Heron with "The Revolution will Not be Televised," originally backed by only congas and bongos. This album is worth paying attention to, though so far I have not figured out all the lyrics. Elvin Jones once said, "I like rap music because it pisses off Whitey." And while I am not eager to be pissed off, I ignore most of it because all I hear is what someone described as "Nigga noise"— just a stream of abuse with the infamous "N word" repeated twice per sentence, and in this instance some really sticky probably sexist poesy about blow jobs. But again you need to listen to this because of the music. Yes, the music is really engaging. In addition to Tony Allen's famous driving beat we hear some very sweet guitar and bass lines courtesy of Egypt 80, so it's truly an update on Fela's Afrobeat. But there's more: instead of the bogus sax playing of Fela we have Courtney Pine who knows how to finger the keys, and Kaidi Tathsam on keyboards, who also is an upgrade from the Nigerian progenitor of the sound. Despite having some old poems the trade-up is the improved sonic landscape of the band and a fitting framework for a legendary rap group.

Year to date, in review

(click on maps at the top of the page to get to continent of choice)

October 2025

I put Cheikh Lo's latest, Maame, in Senegal part 4
The return of Radio Tarifa can be discovered in Euro misc
Salsa Dura from the Discos Fuentes Vaults is bound for Colombia part 3
Alhaji K. Frimpong, both Black and Blue albums are reviewed in Ghana part 2

September 2025

Mahotella Queens' latest is filed in South Africa, part 2
Ahmed Mukhtar and Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde's Al-hambra can be found in Old World misc
Alick Nkhata's Radio Lusaka is heard in Zambia
Nadir Ben is filed in Algeria
Los Estrellas del Caribe &
Grupo Son San are found in Colombia part 3

July 2025

Edna Martinez is filed in world miscellany, though her music is from Colombia
Music for a Revolution is definitely from Guinea
Gasper Nali and his babatoni can be found in Malawi
Haris Pilton and Balkan Voodoo Orchestra is in the Balkan and Gypsy section
Petit Goro's Dogon Blues went to Mali, part six!

June 2025

Ammar 808's latest Club Tounsi is filed in Arabia part 3
African Jazz invites OK Jazz can be found in Congo Classics part 2
Serbians Sekoyva are filed in Balkan & Gypsy beats
Tigray Tears' album is filed in Ethiopia
The Groove Africa compilation from Putumayo is filed in Africa misc

May 2025

Zulu Guitar Blues is filed in South Africa, part 2
Kwashibu Area Band are filed in Ghana part 2
Youssou's Eclairer le Monde is in Senegal part 4
Les Abranis can be read about in Algeria
Salif Keita's latest is in Mali part 6
Fanfare Ciocarlia is filed under Gypsy Brass
Ozan Baysal, from Turkey, is filed under Old World misc

April 2025

Tsapiky! is music from Madagascar
Orquesta Akokán's latest is filed in Cuba part 4
Trio da Kali is filed in Mali part 6
Mike Guagenti is filed in Salsa

March 2025

The latest from Baianasystem can be found in Brasil part 3
Sweet Rebels: The Golden Age of Algerian Pop-Rai is filed in Algeria
Damily & Toliara Tsapiky Band are filed in Madagascar
Two new anthologies of Gnonnas Pedro are in Benin
Muslim Shaggan can be read about in India & Pakistan II
The Original Sound of Mali vol II is filed in Mali part 6

February 2025

Novalima's latest can be read about in Peru part 2
Aboubacar Traoré & Balima is filed in Burkina Faso
Tumblack are from the Caribbean
Brooklyn Sounds are filed under Salsa

...

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A DISCOGRAPHY OF DOCTEUR NICO
By Alastair Johnston

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