When it came to recording ‘Kidayu’, the new album from Vaudou Game, released 7th October on Hot Casa Records, Peter Solo did not need to consult the oracle, instead relying on the voodoo rhythms and raw afro-funk and soul that has served him so well.
Solo immersed his Lyon companions in the flourishing Afrobeat rhythms of the 1970s along with those of traditional song. But far from being backward-looking, together they deliver an original style of music, dynamic and jubilant. Marked at times by James Brown-style shouts, ‘Kidayu’ pairs voodoo harmonies with funk and blues.Born in Aného-Glidji, Togo, the birthplace of the Guin tribe and a major site of the Voodoo culture, Peter Solo was raised with this tradition’s values of respect for all forms of life and the environment. At an early age, he made a makeshift guitar, and his music propelled him into the spotlight, his undeniable talent earning the respect of renowned African artists. Mastering traditional percussion instruments, his desire to discover the world and to carry his practice forward led him to England, where he became immersed in gospel music and then eventually to France where he calls home today.
The idea of integrating the haunting voodoo lines, sung in honour of the Divinities, into energetic 70s afrofunk, is, in Solo’s mind, an obvious extension of the analogy he found between this voodoo tradition and trance inducers such as the soul, funk, and rhythm ‘n blues of James Brown and Otis Redding.Solo had a vision of codifying the musical scales that are found in sacred songs of Beninese and Togolese vodun music. The terms “vadou” and “voodoo,” which come from the word “vodun,” refer to spirit and name a blended culture of voodoo practices from different West African ethnicities.Entirely produced, recorded, mixed and mastered using vintage material and instruments produced in the 70s, old cassette tapes were the “grigris” (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption of their music and allow them to thrive as a tight-knit group with a solid groove.
Kidayu means “sharing” in Kabye, the language spoken in northern Togo, and sharing, is the philosophy of Vaudou Game – both in their recorded music and on stage.
In songs like ‘Natural Vaudou’, ‘Cherie Nye’ and ‘La Vie C’est Bon’, the unbeatable trance rhythm inherited from James Brown and Fela Kuti, icons of Funk and Afrobeat, are evident.
Across ‘Kidayu’, Vaudou Game sound like the big bands from the golden age of Ethiopian dance music but it’s in songs like ‘La Dette’, ‘Revolution’ and ‘Elle Decide’ where they show their greatest inspiration; the rumbling soul and funk of James Brown. Raw funky basslines let Solo’s lyrics bounce back and forth until the result is so pulsating and mesmeric you just have to move your feet.The ecstatic voodoo rituals that Solo grew up with are used as a fertile basis for Vaudou Game’s sound. In using the original form, he decorates his songs with guitars, keyboards, bass, rhythms and counter rhythms, and a steaming pair of brass.
Since the release of their debut album ‘Apiafo’ in 2014, Vaudou Game have never turned down the heat on over 130 stages across Europe, Africa, America and Asia and can count BBC Radio 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson as a fan, voting the album ‘Record of the Week’ on his show.On ‘Kidayu’, Solo is joined by Vicente Fritis on keyboards/backing vocals, Jerôme Bartolome on saxophone/percussions/backing vocals, Guilhem Parguel on trombone/percussions/backing vocals, Simon Bacroix on bass/backing vocals, Hafid Zouaoui on drums, and sound engineer Stephane Pauze.
There was a time in the 70s when Mogadishu was the coolest place in
Africa. It was a city of whitewashed coral houses, colonial arcades on
tree-lined boulevards and Italian Art Deco cafes looking over a
cobalt-blue sea.
And it was funky. Young women in miniskirts strolled alongside older women in billowing direh. Young dudes in bell bottoms and sporting serious Afros, strutted past groups of men in mabwis
kilts and white skull caps. And the local bands – inspired by James
Brown, The Doors and Santana – were laying down some of the heaviest
organ-led funk on the continent.
Sadly, that Mogadishu is long gone. But its spirit lives on in this collection of 45s just released by Afro7 Records.
The singles were originally released by the local Light & Sound
label. The label was an off-shoot of the ‘Light & Sound’ electric
appliance shop, both owned by local entrepreneur Ali Hagi Dahir. Not
only could Light & Sound sell you the record player, they could sell
you the LP to play on it as well.
The recording studio sat in a back room just off the main sales
floor. It was the first privately owned studio in Somalia. Unlike the
State-owned studios at Radio Mogadishu, here musicians were free to
experiment and get into their own groove.
The best tracks from the time are built around the deep groves of
Ahmed Naalji and his super-tight Sharero Band. Naalji cut his teeth
playing with the Radio Mogadishu Orchestra, but soon became frustrated
by the style of music they were forced to play.
It wasn’t long before he started his own band. Originally called
‘Gemini’, they were soon known as the Sharero Band, and shamelessly
copied the heavy funk coming out of America at the time. They quickly
become the hottest band in Mogadishu performing every weekend at the
Jazeera nightclub in the south of the city, the Juba nightclub in the
centre and the Al-Curuba nightclub in the iconic hotel of the same name.
This particular release is the first from a new label, Afro7 Records. It’s an off-shoot of the popular website, Afro7.net, which has become the go-to place on the Internet for East African music.
It’s an album of two halves – the first featuring funkier stuff from
the Sharero Band, the second focusing on the more traditional sounds
from Magool, the biggest female Somali artist of her time.
Personally, I would have loved an entire album of the grinding
keyboards and wah wah guitar of the Sharero band. But with Mogadishu
Light & Sound only ever pressing 150 copies of each their singles, I
understand that they may be difficult to lay hands on.
So I’m simply thankful for Side A. And know it’s going to get a bit of a workout over the months to come.
(Just one more thing: I’m not sure what the sources were for these
songs – I can’t imagine they’d be great – but the mastering is
excellent. The artwork is topnotch too. So well done Afro7!)
Blue and White, the colors of the Somali flag, Blue and White, the
colors of Mogadishu. This city, that over the last seventeen years has
become a symbol of anarchy and suffering, was once one of East Africa’s
most appealing capitals. Friends and colleagues who lived in Mogadishu
in the early 1970s remember a city of whitewashed corral houses, with
Arabic arches and elaborately carved rosettes, of Italian art-deco cafes
and colonial administrative buildings, a city of tree shaded
boulevards, and the cobalt blue of the Indian Ocean. They remember a
city where young women in miniskirts strolled alongside older women in
colorful and billowing Direh, where young dudes grew Afros and strutted,
in bell bottoms, past groups of men in ma’awis kilts and white
skullcaps. Today, living far from Mogadishu, these friends and
colleagues feed their memories with a steady diet of thirty-year old
recordings by their favorite poets and singers from ‘back home’.
These rich memories, and reveries, of the early 1970s are captured in
this set of 45s on the ‘Light & Sound’ label from Mogadishu. The
label was an offshoot of the successful ‘Light & Sound’ electronic
appliance store located in the center of the city. The store, which
shared a building with the famous ‘Cinema Hamar’ (which was the first
enclosed movie theater in Mogadishu), and the label, were both owned by
Dahir Omar. The recording studio was located in a back room off the main
sales floor, and may have been the first private recording studio in
Somalia (at the time most recordings were made in the studios of Radio
Mogadishu or Radio Hargeysa). Today, both the store and the ‘Cinema
Hamar’ are closed. I do not know how many singles were released on
‘Light & Sound’ (I have not yet been able to track down Dahir Omar,
or anyone who worked at the store), but the 45s below represent some of
Somalia’s most loved artists.
Blue and White, the colors of the Somali flag, Blue and White, the
colors of Mogadishu. This city, that over the last seventeen years has
become a symbol of anarchy and suffering, was once one of East Africa’s
most appealing capitals. Friends and colleagues who lived in Mogadishu
in the early 1970s remember a city of whitewashed corral houses, with
Arabic arches and elaborately carved rosettes, of Italian art-deco cafes
and colonial administrative buildings, a city of tree shaded
boulevards, and the cobalt blue of the Indian Ocean. They remember a
city where young women in miniskirts strolled alongside older women in
colorful and billowing Direh, where young dudes grew Afros and strutted,
in bell bottoms, past groups of men in ma’awis kilts and white
skullcaps. Today, living far from Mogadishu, these friends and
colleagues feed their memories with a steady diet of thirty-year old
recordings by their favorite poets and singers from ‘back home’.
These rich memories, and reveries, of the early 1970s are captured in
this set of 45s on the ‘Light & Sound’ label from Mogadishu. The
label was an offshoot of the successful ‘Light & Sound’ electronic
appliance store located in the center of the city. The store, which
shared a building with the famous ‘Cinema Hamar’ (which was the first
enclosed movie theater in Mogadishu), and the label, were both owned by
Dahir Omar. The recording studio was located in a back room off the main
sales floor, and may have been the first private recording studio in
Somalia (at the time most recordings were made in the studios of Radio
Mogadishu or Radio Hargeysa). Today, both the store and the ‘Cinema
Hamar’ are closed. I do not know how many singles were released on
‘Light & Sound’ (I have not yet been able to track down Dahir Omar,
or anyone who worked at the store), but the 45s below represent some of
Somalia’s most loved artists.
‘Shimbir Yohou’ is one of Magool’s most famous recordings from the
1970s. Addressing herself to a little bird, she sings, ‘where do you
fly? Do you serve the people, or do you just follow the air streams? Can
you take a message for me? I am lost and tired. Little bird can you
find your way? If I tell you where to go, can you take a message for
me?’
Hibbo Nuura, who today lives in Rochester, Minnesota, and has been
performing for almost three decades, made some of her earliest
recordings for the ‘Light & Sound’ label. Born in the Northeastern
city of Boorama, she grew up in Mogadishu, and started singing at the
age of 7. In 1970, when she was only 14 years old, the singer and
composer Ahmed Rabsha discovered Hibbo, and three years later, he
brought her to the ‘Light & Sound’ recording studio.
Ahmed Rabsha was born in Mogadishu in 1945, and started singing when
he was only 13 years old. He made his public debut in 1963, performing
at weddings and parties, and six years later formed his first group,
‘The Soul Full Five’. In 1970, he was hired as a music teacher at the
Institute for Traditional Arts in Mogadishu. One of his first
responsibilities was to recruit talented young female singers and teach
them a new repertoire of patriotic songs (General Mohammed Siad Barre
had taken power in 1969, and was just kicking off his ‘social
revolution’). In 1974, Rabsha won a scholarship to study music in the
Sudan, and by the end of the decade he had moved to Dubai, where he
trained the Police Orchestra. He spent the last years of his life in
London working on a history of Somali music. He passed away last fall.
This duo with Ahmed Rabsha, which was released back in 1973, was
Hibbo’s second recording. She described this music to me as Somali
Rumba.
These next four tracks are built on the deep-grooves of Ahmed Naaji
and his great ‘Sharero Band’. The Naaji family is from the Benadir
ethnic minority, who have roots in Yemen and the Persian Gulf, and who
were some of Mogadishu’s earliest residents. In the early 1970s, Ahmed,
who for many years was a member of the Radio Mogadishu orchestra, formed
a band to perform a new style of Somali music; one that was inspired by
Santana, The Doors, and James Brown.
His new group was originally called ‘Gemini’, but by the early 1970s
it was going by the name ‘Sharero band’. The core of the group consisted
of Ahmed on keyboards, Ali Naaji on bass guitar, Anter Naaji on drums,
Said Abdallah on lead guitar, and Mohammed Abadallah ‘Jeeri’ on lead
vocals. They performed most weekends at the Jazeera nightclub in
southern Mogadishu, at the Juba nightclub in central Mogadishu, or at
the Al-Curuba nightclub, located in the majestic Al-Curuba hotel. The
group split up some time in the 1980s. Today, Ahmed Naaji lives in
Yemen, and continues to perform throughout the Somali Diaspora, Ali
Naaji lives in Denmark, and a new generation of Naajis is making music
in Toronto.
Full scale Afro-disco heat here on reissue machine PMG, opening with the
mindblowing title track. Benis Cletin’s dog-rare 1979 cut “Jungle
Magic” lays a warped synth over a lethal bassline and a slow Afro-disco
groove, topping the whole thing off with a unique homage to Donna
Summer... Originally released on Afrodisia records in 1979, the result
sounds like the the confused love-child of a time-travelling Derrick May
and a Nigerian disco queen - timeless eccentricity that you won't be
able to resist. From there we traverse through Moog topped funk, village
disco and hypno groove, all fusing the organic African sounds with the
electronic. If you're looking for that wonky early doors cut to get the
crowd moving in the most peculiar way, I'd suggest you turn your
attention toward the oddball, AORfro funk of "Fireman".
Patrick says: If you're looking for a psychedelic stormer which
sounds a bit like a Nigerian cover of "House Of The Rising Sun" but with
squirmy Moogs and Donna Summer style vocals - then you're in luck.
"Jungle Magic" is a gorgeous LP of dreamy African textures led off by
that massive title track!
This 1979
Nigerian cut somehow contains dark proto-acid squiggles that would
captivate Derrick May, a weirdo chant about "jungle magic" that could
hypnotize Lee "Scratch" Perry, and a wonky clavioline (?) honk that
could mate with geese. We then have Cletin singing a type of
"superstition" that outstrips Stevie Wonder's own black magic funk as
man, woman and child all change into beasts within the song. Uh…what?
(Exactly.)
Regarded as an acid boogie classic, Jungle Magic
is a cosmic transmission from the early days of Nigerian disco. The
bass lines are lethal. The synths are fat and squelchy. And the groove
is non-stop and primal.
Channeling the jungle gods of funk and introducing them to Donna
Summers, the title track, ‘Jungle Magic’, takes you to a freaky place
you didn’t know existed but never want to leave. ‘Love Forever’ brings a
Calypso party vibe while ‘Fireman’ suggests Prince may have been
listening to Benis when he wrote ‘Alphabet Street’.
The album was composed and produced by Benis Cletin. He also played
guitar and synthesizer and sang lead vocals. George Achini from the Mighty Flames stars on bass and Mambo Sticks, Nigeria’s leading disco drummer, lays down the rock solid grooves.
Benis went on to release three more albums, two of which will be re-issued by PMG soon. Jungle Magicremains the album where he introduced his irresistible brand of psychedelic disco funk to world.
When Geraldo Pino rolled into town from Sierra Leone with his
Heartbeats, Nigeria had never seen anything quite like them. Slick,
tight and playing the latest James Brown-style funk on the very
expensive equipment, they soon had the country in their thrall. ‘Made me
fall right on my ass!’ a chastened Fela Kuti remembered in 1982. Fans
of Geraldo’s disarmingly eloquent enunciation on early albums -
re-issued soon by PMG - may shocked the gruff, rawer tones on Boogie
Fever. The album starts with a jaunty reggae track extolling the virtues
of ganja and, later, ‘Dance Fever’ sounds like it was recorded down in
Trenchtown after Geraldo had taken a toke or two of his own advice. Even
the more traditional funk tracks like ‘African Hustle’ have a darker,
more threatening vibe. Not that that is a bad thing. Boogie Fever is the
sound of consummate musician letting his hair down. Or in Geraldo’s
case, letting it grow into a tight afro and not bothering to watch his
Ps and Qs anymore. - Peter Moore,
"Geraldo Pino came to Nigeria from Freetown in Sierra Leone in 1968 with
his band THE HEARTBEATS and quickly changed the music scene completely.
He was the first bandleader that brought sophistication into show
business. He owned the best musical equipments, his costumes on stage
was fantastic, his musicians were good looking guys with afro hair
styles. His drummer then was Francis Foster who later played percussion
with Paul Simon. Pino got the title of THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW
BUSINESS in Nigeria. Girls loved him. I later joined his band with new
set of musicians in 1974 as a singer while he based in Kano in the north
of Nigeria. To survive in Nigeria those days as a musician you have to
be very good on stage and Pino was. His stagecraft was exhilarating, his
costumes were dazzling, he command the band and his audience wherever
he played with his dancesteps and he became an inspiration to many
Musicians. He later moved to Port Harcourt where he lived and died many
years ago. Though he is dead, his music lives on through his many songs
and this vinyl in your hands. His memory also lived with those who
watched him on stage. Ladies and gentle men, this is GERALDO PINO!"
"What's that Discogs? One copy for sale for £4,495.86? Fuck that! I'mma
get this official reissue on the rather marvelous PMG if it's alright
with you..."
Second hand piss-takery aside, this late 70s slice of groove heavy
Afro-funk regularly changes hands for a monkey, so your bank manager
should be thanking those fine folk in Austria. Drawing on reggae, disco
and funk, Mr Pino gets up, down and all the way around across six party
starting, largely instrumental offerings. Any record which starts with a
buoyant reggae-disco ode to Barry's favourite plant life ("Ganja") is
gonna be dope (ahem!), but when we're then taken through a bordering on
ludicrous Afro-funk rendition of Beethoven's 5th, you know we're in
safely wasted hands. You could easily assume this discoid arrangement
would be whack, but you'd be better served throwing some shapes to the
buzzing Moogs, chiming keys and wild wah guitar which make this beast
purr. Things straighten out for the full steam ahead funk of title track
"Boogie Fever" before "Dance For Love" opens the flip with a weirdo
reggae lilt. If you're looking for the best party of your life condensed
into five and a half minutes, then you should probably cast an ear over
"African Hustle", crack your knuckles and dive into air piano ecstasy.
After that Moog-led madness, there's just enough time to spark one up to
the Afrobeat-meets-reggae of "Shake Shake Shake" before the run out
groove reminds you it's time to pick the kids up from school. Killer!
Mary Afi Usuah trained as an a opera singer at the prestigious St
Cecilia Academy in Rome and spent 13 years touring Europe with artists
like Duke Ellington and Deep Purple. She matched vocal chops with Robert
Plant performing with Led Zeppelin and blew away the top names on the
Lagos scene when she returned to Nigeria. She also broke a few hearts
with her killer smile, if some accounts are to be believed. African
Woman marshals these experiences into an exceptionally powerful and
diverse album. From the Tina Turner stomp of ‘What’s A Woman To Do’, to
the Aretha-style musings of the title track, Mary takes everything she
learned on the road to tell her story about her continent in a
distinctly African manner. The boys from Akwassa were on hand to ensure
that everything was kept extra tight and funky. Mary Afi Usuah only
released two albums but she is undeniably one of the greatest female
singers the African continent has produced. African Woman serves as her
legacy, along with the remarkable number of Nigerian female singers she
mentored and inspired. - Peter Moore
"I met MARY AFI USUAH in 1979 while I was the lead singer with TEE MAC
COLLECTION. We were based at SURULERE NIGHT CLUB in Lagos, Nigeria. She
came in from Calabar in the Cross river state. She was a beauty with her
afro hair and had a very strong voice and very powerful on stage. Her
performance was electrifying. She did a lot of shows with us and
together we got the crowd rocking. A very dark complexioned lady, she
was full of life and love. Her smiles would sweep any man off her feet
instantly and I immediately recognized a talent that go all over the
world. Her music is a blend of African rhythms, soul and funk with heavy
bassline. I am glad to let you know that the vynil you have in your
hands now contains music that will tickle all ears for a very long time.
Happy listening." Steve Black
Tracklist
A1. Tell Me Now
A2. Kam Fat Owo (Mbata)
A3. What's A Woman To Do
A4. African Woman
B1. Sweet Elijah
B2. Spread More Love
B3. Our Generation (Ode To Our Nation)
B4. Tenkim Kpoho
Driven by a unified belief in real people playing real
instruments expressing real human emotions, The Brighton Beat's goal is
to create music that is able to live, breath and develop, with songs
that allow the musicians to communicate and tell a story through
carefully crafted melodies and inspired solo passages. Real world
experiences and an inherent knowledge of jazz set them apart from the
crowd. This is a band of working professional musicians looking to make a
name for themselves in the ever burgeoning Afrobeat scene. Heavily
influenced by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, but in no way traditional, The
group creates grooves reminiscent of Herbie Hancock, at times reaching
the raw, unbridled expression found in the music of Miles Davis and
Freddie Hubbard.
The Brighton Beat is centered around a strong rhythmic
foundation of bass, drums and dense percussion. Varying textures of
unique, vintage keyboard and guitar sounds help to thicken the
compositions. Leading the group, the adventurous horn section bring
their heavy jazz influence to the forefront. Bassist Ryan Hinchey and
Drummer Sammy Wags established their groove during recording sessions
and national tours with various funk and reggae outfits (iLa Mawana, 6th
Degree, The Hub Dub). The horn section leaders; Jon Bean (tenor sax)
and Mark Zaleski (alto sax) came together while studying jazz at the New
England Conservatory. Upon finishing they quickly established
themselves as first-call session players for many of Boston's highest
regarded jazz projects, all the while cultivating their own ideas, and
exploring the different styles of music that influence The Brighton
Beat's diverse catalog.
The Brighton Beat stormed onto the scene with their
debut; "The Brighton Beat EP" in 2010, and have since hit the ground
running, performing at premier venues around greater New England. Their
first full-length album; "The Brighton Beat LP" released in 2012, has
been critically acclaimed, receiving numerous glowing reviews and has
been featured on commercial/college radio and has been used in
independent films. The Brighton Beat's follow up album, "Off We Go" was
released in January 2015 and has been distributed around the world.
This Fall, we’re proud to present the first full career retrospective
release for Ghanaian highlife master and “The Golden Voice Of Africa,”
Pat Thomas, covering his late ‘60s big band highlife recordings through
to the “burger highlife” movement of the early ‘80s. With Thomas
currently wowing audiences on the road in support of last year’s incredible album with Kwishibu Area Band, Coming Home offers listeners a chance to get to know Thomas’ singular career.
One of Thomas’ earliest tracks, with the Ebo Taylor lead Broadway
Dance Band, is streaming below. The partnership with Taylor would become
one of the enduring forces in Ghanaian music during the ‘70s, creating a
fresh, progressive new highlife sound. “Today, highlife has become the world’s music,” says Thomas, “and I am proud to still bring it to so many people.”
Pat Thomas – Coming Home is released 30th September on 2CD,
3LP and digital formats, and features exclusive photos and a full
interview with Pat Thomas. Pre-orders are available now.
