Hello, it's the 2nd post coming from the heart of Africa, Cameroun and it's all about it's most famous musical son today, the man with the Oh, la la and saxofoon, the first man who put Africa in the hit and dance parade ........N'joy
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The ethnicities of Cameroon include an estimated 250 distinct ethnic groups in five regional-cultural divisions. An estimated 38% of the population are Western highlanders–Semi-Bantu or grassfielders including the Bamileke, Bamum, and many smaller Tikar groups in the northwest. 12% are coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Duala, and many smaller groups in the southwest. The southern tropical forest peoples (18%) include the Beti-Pahuin and their sub-groups the Bulu and Fang, the Maka and Njem, as well as, the Baka pygmies. In the semi-arid northern regions (the Sahel) and central highlands the Fulani (French: Peul or Peuhl; Fula: Fulɓe) form an estimated 14% of Cameroonians, while the Kirdi (unbelievers) are a general category, comprising 18% of the population, of various mainly Chadic and Adamawa speakers.
The Beti, or Ewondo, live in the area around Yaoundé and south into Equatorial Guinea. They are best known for bikutsi music, which has been popularized and become a rival for the more urban and accessible makossa of Douala. The name can be loosely translated as beating the ground continuously. Bikutsi, characterized by an intense 6/8 rhythm, is played at Beti gatherings including parties, funerals, and weddings. The middle of the 20th century saw the popularization of a native folk music called bikutsi. Bikutsi is based on a war rhythm played with various rattles and drums and xylophone. Sung by women, bikutsi featured sexually explicit lyrics and songs about everyday problems.
Later in the 1960s, modern makossa developed and became the most popular genre in Cameroon. Makossa is a type of funky dance music, best known outside Africa for Manu Dibango, whose 1972 single "Soul Makossa" was an international hit. Outside of Africa, Dibango and makossa were only briefly popular, but the genre has produced several pan-African superstars through the 70s, 80s and 90s. Following Dibango, a wave of musicians electrified makossa in an attempt at making it more accessible outside of Cameroon. The following decade, however, saw Les Tetes Brulées surpass previous artists in international popularity though their reaction at home was mixed. Many listeners did not like their mellow, almost easy listening-styled bikutsi. Cameroonian audiences preferred more roots-based performers like Jimmy Mvondo Mvelé and Uta Bella, both from Yaoundé.
Jean-Marie Ahanda became the most influential bikutsi performer of the late 80s, and he revolutionized the genre in 1987 after forming Les Têtes Brulées, whose success changed the Cameroonian music industry. The band played an extremely popular form of bikutsi that allowed for greater depth and diversity. Guitarist Zanzibar added foam rubber to the bridge of his guitar, which made the instrument sound more like a balafon than before, and was more aggressive and innovative than previous musicians. In the 1990s, both makossa and bikutsi declined in popularity as a new wave of genres entered mainstream audiences. These included Congolese-influenced new rumba and makossa-soukous, as well as more native forms like bantowbol, northern Cameroonian nganja (which had gained some popularity in the United Kingdom in the mid-80s), and an urban street music called bend-skin.
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Manu Dibango (N'Djock‚, Emmanuel Dibango), distinguished Cameroonian saxophonist, arranger, and band leader; born Douala, Dec. 12, 1933. One of Africa's best-known and most durable musicians, Dibango discovered his affinity for music in a Douala church. He was raised to the age of fifteen in Cameroon then shipped off to France to continue his high school education. There he was smitten with jazz and began to learn mandolin, piano, and eventually saxophone and vibraphone. Sax became his primary instrument when he moved to Brussels at the end of high school in 1956 to take a job playing jazz standards in the house band of the Tabou night club.
The year 1960 found Dibango playing the Anges Noirs in Brussels where he met Congolese singer Joseph Kabasele and his African Jazz. Dibango made his first recordings with African Jazz the following year, then joined the band in Congo-Kinshasa for a re-introduction to Africa that would encompass two years, gigs with African Jazz, and jobs as operator and band leader of two Kinshasa (Léopoldville) clubs. He scored his first hit during this period with "Twist à Léo" recorded in 1962.
Back in France in the mid-sixties, Dibango covered pop standards and soul hits in various groupings and played behind French pop singers Dick Rivers and Nino Ferrer. Near the end of the decade he recorded a series of Afro-Latin-jazz fusion albums with Kabasele and Cuban flutist Don Gonzalo under the name African Team. A solo album, Saxy Party, came out in 1969. Dibango also arranged the music and played piano and sax for singer Franklin Boukaka on the excellent Franklin Boukaka à Paris from 1970.
Dibango kept a band of his own together more or less permanently from the early seventies onward. Although personnel varied, Congolese guitarist Jerry Malekani, formerly of Ry-Co Jazz, usually anchored the group that included bass, drums, and often piano, trumpet, and singers. Personally, Dibango began to cultivate something of a sinister look with shaven head and dark glasses that masked his natural affability.
In Cameroon in 1972 Dibango wrote and recorded his biggest hit, "Soul Makossa." He played sax on the piece and delivered its scant lyrics in a kind of half-whispered sing-speak that would become one of his trademarks. Another version of the song became part of the album O Boso for Belgian Decca, which eventually licensed it to Atlantic Records. The song's popularity led to two Grammy nominations in 1973, a gold record in France (100,000 sales), and Dibango's first U.S. tour (1973), which included dates at the Apollo Theater, Yankee Stadium, and Constitution Hall.
Dibango's inquisitiveness took him to Jamaica at the end of the seventies for two first-rate reggae albums, Gone Clear (released in 1980) and Ambassador (1981), recorded with greats like Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Geoffrey Chung. The Dibango-produced "Tam-Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" (drum for Ethiopia), recorded in 1985 with a number of African pop stars including Mory Kanté and M'Pongo Love, raised money for refugees in drought-stricken Ethiopia. Dibango ventured into the idiosyncratic world of electronic music for the single "Abele Dance" (1984) with Paris producer Martin Meissonnier and Electric Africa (1985) with Bill Laswell. Afrijazzy (1986) returned to his jazz and African roots. At decade's end he composed music for the Canadian film How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired.
Despite the passage of his sixtieth birthday, Dibango maintained a steady concert schedule. The CD Wakafrika (1994) remade a number of African hits, including Dibango's own "Soul Makossa," in the company of guest stars Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita, Papa Wemba, and several others. Mboa'Su (2000) incorporated songs in many of the styles he played over the years, including jazz, reggae, and Congolese rumba.
By his own account Dibango has struggled to reconcile two, often contrary, yearnings: his desire to partake of the intellectual life of Europe and his longing for the sensual spirit of Africa. The search for accommodation seems reflected in his music. He plays jazz with an African touch or reggae with a taste of Paris. "Soul Makossa" linked a Cameroonian rhythm with American soul. His love of experimentation precluded a commercial follow-up to his big hit and any chance at a long-term recording contract. Instead, he pursued a creative agenda of his own design, which limited his mass-market appeal. A versatile and broadly talented musician, Dibango has produced a memorable body of work in his own name and, as an arranger and accompanist, elevated the creations of many others.
On July 14th, 2010, Manu Dibango was made chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He has also been an “artist of peace for the Unesco” since 2004. On last December 12th, Emmanuel N’ Djoké Dibango, under the name of Manu Dibango, the famous saxophonist and Cameroonian singer celebrated his 80 years, with his family a son, Machel and two daughters, Marva and Georgia.! And as he has a large shape, he planned to mark well the occasion! Two parties were scheduled: the first one on December 11th in Paris, then, the second, the next day in Cameroon. Special programs took place all day long on Africa N 1 radio station with the cooperation of Manu and he took this opportunity to also promote his autobiography entitled “Balade en saxo dans les coulisses de ma vie”, published at editions Archipel.
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AFRICADELIC is the classic 1973 album composed and recorded in the span of one week by Manu Dibango, after the encouraging success of his monster hit "Soul Mokossa." Here he continues to fuse Afro-Caribbean flavors with the contemporary Latin and funk influences of the day, resulting in a highly soulful, highly danceable album.
Manu Dibango - Africadelic (flac 228mb)
01 The Panther 2:27
02 Soul Fiesta 2:07
03 Africadelic 2:14
04 African Battle 2:59
05 Black Beauty 2:48
06 African Carnaval 3:14
07 Moving Waves 4:01
08 Afro-Soul 2:42
09 Oriental Sunset 1:45
10 Monkey Beat 2:40
11 Wa-Wa 3:02
12 Percussion Storm 1:54
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This album never grows old. The nostalgia the album generates is indescribable. Manu Dibango is Intoxicating......
Manu Dibango - Soul Makossa (flac 231mb)
01 Soul Makossa 3:58
02 Lily 3:20
03 Dangwa (Three Points) 6:00
04 O Boso 5:23
05 New-Bell (Hard Pulsation) 6:51
06 Nights In Zeralda 4:38
07 Hibiscus 6:23
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Among American audiences, Manu Dibango is best known for "Soul Makossa," a highly infectious blend of African music, soul-funk, and jazz that became a major pop hit in the early '70s. The African artist revisited his signature tune on 1994's Wakafrika, which boasts an all-star cast that includes Peter Gabriel as well as Haiti's Papa Wemba and African heroes Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Ade, and Youssou N'Dour. With such a stellar bunch of guests, Wakafrika should have been outstanding instead of simply decent. But while it isn't the all-out masterpiece it should have been, there's a lot that's enjoyable on this CD, including the reggae-influenced "Em'ma," a remake of Gabriel's "Biko," and the "Makossa"-ish jams "Wakafrika" and "Jingo." Though likable enough, Dibango's new version of "Soul Makossa" falls short of the excellence of the original -- but then, one couldn't realistically expect him to improve on perfection.
Manu Dibango - Wakafrika (flac 460mb)
01 Soul Makossa (feat.Youssou N'Dour) 5:40
02 Biko (feat.Alex Brown, Geoffrey Oryema, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Peter Gabriel) 5:12
03 Wakafrika 4:47
04 Emma (feat Salif Keita) 6:00
05 Homeless (feat.Ray Lema) 3:46
06 Lady (feat.Ray Phiri) 5:32
07 Hi-Life (feat.King Sunny Ade) 5:42
08 Wimoweh ( feat.Ladysmith Black Mambazo) 4:19
09 Ami Oh! (feat.Angélique Kidjo, Papa Wemba) 4:43
10 Jingo (Feat King Sunny Ade) 5:09
11 Pata Pata (feat.Kaïssa Doumbé) 4:04
12 Diarabi (Feat. Bonga, Touré Kunda) 4:59
13 Ça Va Chouia 7:09
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The ethnicities of Cameroon include an estimated 250 distinct ethnic groups in five regional-cultural divisions. An estimated 38% of the population are Western highlanders–Semi-Bantu or grassfielders including the Bamileke, Bamum, and many smaller Tikar groups in the northwest. 12% are coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Duala, and many smaller groups in the southwest. The southern tropical forest peoples (18%) include the Beti-Pahuin and their sub-groups the Bulu and Fang, the Maka and Njem, as well as, the Baka pygmies. In the semi-arid northern regions (the Sahel) and central highlands the Fulani (French: Peul or Peuhl; Fula: Fulɓe) form an estimated 14% of Cameroonians, while the Kirdi (unbelievers) are a general category, comprising 18% of the population, of various mainly Chadic and Adamawa speakers.
The Beti, or Ewondo, live in the area around Yaoundé and south into Equatorial Guinea. They are best known for bikutsi music, which has been popularized and become a rival for the more urban and accessible makossa of Douala. The name can be loosely translated as beating the ground continuously. Bikutsi, characterized by an intense 6/8 rhythm, is played at Beti gatherings including parties, funerals, and weddings. The middle of the 20th century saw the popularization of a native folk music called bikutsi. Bikutsi is based on a war rhythm played with various rattles and drums and xylophone. Sung by women, bikutsi featured sexually explicit lyrics and songs about everyday problems.
Later in the 1960s, modern makossa developed and became the most popular genre in Cameroon. Makossa is a type of funky dance music, best known outside Africa for Manu Dibango, whose 1972 single "Soul Makossa" was an international hit. Outside of Africa, Dibango and makossa were only briefly popular, but the genre has produced several pan-African superstars through the 70s, 80s and 90s. Following Dibango, a wave of musicians electrified makossa in an attempt at making it more accessible outside of Cameroon. The following decade, however, saw Les Tetes Brulées surpass previous artists in international popularity though their reaction at home was mixed. Many listeners did not like their mellow, almost easy listening-styled bikutsi. Cameroonian audiences preferred more roots-based performers like Jimmy Mvondo Mvelé and Uta Bella, both from Yaoundé.
Jean-Marie Ahanda became the most influential bikutsi performer of the late 80s, and he revolutionized the genre in 1987 after forming Les Têtes Brulées, whose success changed the Cameroonian music industry. The band played an extremely popular form of bikutsi that allowed for greater depth and diversity. Guitarist Zanzibar added foam rubber to the bridge of his guitar, which made the instrument sound more like a balafon than before, and was more aggressive and innovative than previous musicians. In the 1990s, both makossa and bikutsi declined in popularity as a new wave of genres entered mainstream audiences. These included Congolese-influenced new rumba and makossa-soukous, as well as more native forms like bantowbol, northern Cameroonian nganja (which had gained some popularity in the United Kingdom in the mid-80s), and an urban street music called bend-skin.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Manu Dibango (N'Djock‚, Emmanuel Dibango), distinguished Cameroonian saxophonist, arranger, and band leader; born Douala, Dec. 12, 1933. One of Africa's best-known and most durable musicians, Dibango discovered his affinity for music in a Douala church. He was raised to the age of fifteen in Cameroon then shipped off to France to continue his high school education. There he was smitten with jazz and began to learn mandolin, piano, and eventually saxophone and vibraphone. Sax became his primary instrument when he moved to Brussels at the end of high school in 1956 to take a job playing jazz standards in the house band of the Tabou night club.
The year 1960 found Dibango playing the Anges Noirs in Brussels where he met Congolese singer Joseph Kabasele and his African Jazz. Dibango made his first recordings with African Jazz the following year, then joined the band in Congo-Kinshasa for a re-introduction to Africa that would encompass two years, gigs with African Jazz, and jobs as operator and band leader of two Kinshasa (Léopoldville) clubs. He scored his first hit during this period with "Twist à Léo" recorded in 1962.
Back in France in the mid-sixties, Dibango covered pop standards and soul hits in various groupings and played behind French pop singers Dick Rivers and Nino Ferrer. Near the end of the decade he recorded a series of Afro-Latin-jazz fusion albums with Kabasele and Cuban flutist Don Gonzalo under the name African Team. A solo album, Saxy Party, came out in 1969. Dibango also arranged the music and played piano and sax for singer Franklin Boukaka on the excellent Franklin Boukaka à Paris from 1970.
Dibango kept a band of his own together more or less permanently from the early seventies onward. Although personnel varied, Congolese guitarist Jerry Malekani, formerly of Ry-Co Jazz, usually anchored the group that included bass, drums, and often piano, trumpet, and singers. Personally, Dibango began to cultivate something of a sinister look with shaven head and dark glasses that masked his natural affability.
In Cameroon in 1972 Dibango wrote and recorded his biggest hit, "Soul Makossa." He played sax on the piece and delivered its scant lyrics in a kind of half-whispered sing-speak that would become one of his trademarks. Another version of the song became part of the album O Boso for Belgian Decca, which eventually licensed it to Atlantic Records. The song's popularity led to two Grammy nominations in 1973, a gold record in France (100,000 sales), and Dibango's first U.S. tour (1973), which included dates at the Apollo Theater, Yankee Stadium, and Constitution Hall.
Dibango's inquisitiveness took him to Jamaica at the end of the seventies for two first-rate reggae albums, Gone Clear (released in 1980) and Ambassador (1981), recorded with greats like Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Geoffrey Chung. The Dibango-produced "Tam-Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" (drum for Ethiopia), recorded in 1985 with a number of African pop stars including Mory Kanté and M'Pongo Love, raised money for refugees in drought-stricken Ethiopia. Dibango ventured into the idiosyncratic world of electronic music for the single "Abele Dance" (1984) with Paris producer Martin Meissonnier and Electric Africa (1985) with Bill Laswell. Afrijazzy (1986) returned to his jazz and African roots. At decade's end he composed music for the Canadian film How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired.
Despite the passage of his sixtieth birthday, Dibango maintained a steady concert schedule. The CD Wakafrika (1994) remade a number of African hits, including Dibango's own "Soul Makossa," in the company of guest stars Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita, Papa Wemba, and several others. Mboa'Su (2000) incorporated songs in many of the styles he played over the years, including jazz, reggae, and Congolese rumba.
By his own account Dibango has struggled to reconcile two, often contrary, yearnings: his desire to partake of the intellectual life of Europe and his longing for the sensual spirit of Africa. The search for accommodation seems reflected in his music. He plays jazz with an African touch or reggae with a taste of Paris. "Soul Makossa" linked a Cameroonian rhythm with American soul. His love of experimentation precluded a commercial follow-up to his big hit and any chance at a long-term recording contract. Instead, he pursued a creative agenda of his own design, which limited his mass-market appeal. A versatile and broadly talented musician, Dibango has produced a memorable body of work in his own name and, as an arranger and accompanist, elevated the creations of many others.
On July 14th, 2010, Manu Dibango was made chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He has also been an “artist of peace for the Unesco” since 2004. On last December 12th, Emmanuel N’ Djoké Dibango, under the name of Manu Dibango, the famous saxophonist and Cameroonian singer celebrated his 80 years, with his family a son, Machel and two daughters, Marva and Georgia.! And as he has a large shape, he planned to mark well the occasion! Two parties were scheduled: the first one on December 11th in Paris, then, the second, the next day in Cameroon. Special programs took place all day long on Africa N 1 radio station with the cooperation of Manu and he took this opportunity to also promote his autobiography entitled “Balade en saxo dans les coulisses de ma vie”, published at editions Archipel.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
AFRICADELIC is the classic 1973 album composed and recorded in the span of one week by Manu Dibango, after the encouraging success of his monster hit "Soul Mokossa." Here he continues to fuse Afro-Caribbean flavors with the contemporary Latin and funk influences of the day, resulting in a highly soulful, highly danceable album.
Manu Dibango - Africadelic (flac 228mb)
01 The Panther 2:27
02 Soul Fiesta 2:07
03 Africadelic 2:14
04 African Battle 2:59
05 Black Beauty 2:48
06 African Carnaval 3:14
07 Moving Waves 4:01
08 Afro-Soul 2:42
09 Oriental Sunset 1:45
10 Monkey Beat 2:40
11 Wa-Wa 3:02
12 Percussion Storm 1:54
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
This album never grows old. The nostalgia the album generates is indescribable. Manu Dibango is Intoxicating......
Manu Dibango - Soul Makossa (flac 231mb)
01 Soul Makossa 3:58
02 Lily 3:20
03 Dangwa (Three Points) 6:00
04 O Boso 5:23
05 New-Bell (Hard Pulsation) 6:51
06 Nights In Zeralda 4:38
07 Hibiscus 6:23
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Among American audiences, Manu Dibango is best known for "Soul Makossa," a highly infectious blend of African music, soul-funk, and jazz that became a major pop hit in the early '70s. The African artist revisited his signature tune on 1994's Wakafrika, which boasts an all-star cast that includes Peter Gabriel as well as Haiti's Papa Wemba and African heroes Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Ade, and Youssou N'Dour. With such a stellar bunch of guests, Wakafrika should have been outstanding instead of simply decent. But while it isn't the all-out masterpiece it should have been, there's a lot that's enjoyable on this CD, including the reggae-influenced "Em'ma," a remake of Gabriel's "Biko," and the "Makossa"-ish jams "Wakafrika" and "Jingo." Though likable enough, Dibango's new version of "Soul Makossa" falls short of the excellence of the original -- but then, one couldn't realistically expect him to improve on perfection.
Manu Dibango - Wakafrika (flac 460mb)
01 Soul Makossa (feat.Youssou N'Dour) 5:40
02 Biko (feat.Alex Brown, Geoffrey Oryema, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Peter Gabriel) 5:12
03 Wakafrika 4:47
04 Emma (feat Salif Keita) 6:00
05 Homeless (feat.Ray Lema) 3:46
06 Lady (feat.Ray Phiri) 5:32
07 Hi-Life (feat.King Sunny Ade) 5:42
08 Wimoweh ( feat.Ladysmith Black Mambazo) 4:19
09 Ami Oh! (feat.Angélique Kidjo, Papa Wemba) 4:43
10 Jingo (Feat King Sunny Ade) 5:09
11 Pata Pata (feat.Kaïssa Doumbé) 4:04
12 Diarabi (Feat. Bonga, Touré Kunda) 4:59
13 Ça Va Chouia 7:09
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Please re-up these files in Bigfile!
ReplyDeletehi, it's may be the time to re-up this beautifull records. thanx locobebop
ReplyDelete