First release in Mr Bongos new Africa 45 series.
Amazones de Guinee - Samba
Pure vibes to start our series. Live and direct, high energy African funk with a powerful vocal, recorded live in Paris in 1983.
Hailing from Guinea they were the countries first all female group, formed by members of Guinean army nonetheless. Their lead percussionist Kade Diallo was killed in a car crash just days after returning from a tour of France in the early 80’s. The group did not record again until 2008, but they continue to tour now, with a new generation of fans.
Taken from the sought after 1983 album ‘Au Coeur De Paris’, previously unreleased on 7”.
Moussa Doumbia - Samba
Malia born Moussa Doumbia and was a prolific saxophonist, composer and arranger, who lived in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
He fused African and Funk rhythms in his own unique style, comparable to the likes of Fela Kuti, Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou and Ebo Taylor. Moussa’s voice is strongly reminiscent of the almighty James Brown.
Similarly to Fela and The Shrine, Moussa played at ‘Boule Noire’, a club in the cosmopolitan area of his town, Treichville. Every night they would play their own styles for hours to rich businessmen and locals.
‘Samba’ is taken from his 1980 LP ‘Lassissi Presente Moussa Doumbia’ released on Sacodis. Extremely hard to find.