For today, I wanted to share with you “Xede Nge“, a beautiful deep melancholic Afro Soul Jazz Ballad with gorgeous acoustic guitar parts, first recording of the mythical Togolese composer & musician Roger Damawuzan, taken from the only compilation of the in demand Togolese/Congolese/Beninse label “Disques Aziza“, pressed in Ghana and intended to promote the first releases of some artists of the label.

Composed by Vincent Agbodo, this song was initially released as the A-Side of the first single recorded in Nigeria by Roger and out on Gerard Akueson‘s label “Akue“, with his famous Afro Jerk Garage track “Wait For Me” on the B-Side, that I’ll post a bit later !).

Cherry on the cake : this amazing cover art – Enjoy !

Roger Damawuzan – Xede Nge (Togo, 1970s, Disques Aziza)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/cyR0r-CSChQ

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Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Africa Vi“, an outstanding deep psychedelic Afro Soul Funk track with splendid breezing guitar solos, taken from the sole album of the obscure Beninese band “Aziza Joymakers de Porto-Novo” leaded by the Beninese composer & musician Bonheur Gangbo.

Recorded in the 70s at the legendary recording studio “Satel” located in Cotonou and out on the label “Oloruntola” (maybe the only release of the label ?) it was composed by the following musicians :

Leader, Vocals : Bonheur Gangbo ;

Acoustic Guitar, Vocals : Cossy Vignikin ;

Bass Guitar : Bokelo J. Apithy ;

Drums : Epiphane Zinsou, Latifou Agboton ;

Lead Guitar : Guy Léoncio Zannou ;

Organ : Camille Zannou ;

Percussion : Anafi Boke, Olivier Boke ;

Vocals – Isaac Dossou ;

To notice : most of the members of that band were actually the same than the band “Les Sympathics de Porto-Novo” presented in that previous article here .

Mesmerizing tune, one of my favorite of the genre – hope you’ll like it, enjoy !

Aziza Joymakers de Porto-Novo – Africa Vi (Benin, 1970s, Oloruntola)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/i9JgZ3hfho0

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Have a nice Wednesday, see you on next Sunday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Noumta“, an percussive Afro Disco Soul track with killer catchy horns & synth parts, recorded by the mythical Cameroonian composer & musician Pierre Didy Tchakounté in Paris (France) in the 80s, and that features some of the best African, West-Indian & French musicians of that era as :

Percussion : Pierre Didy Tchakounte ;

Guitar, Arrangements : Jacob Desvarieux ;

Bass : Christophe Zadire ;

Chorus ; Chantal Curtis, Sylvie Drai ;

Drums : Claude Vamur ;

Piano : Mbida Douglas, Jean-Claude Naimro ;

Saxophone : Mahmoud Houari, Patrick Bourgoin, ;

Synthesizer : Robert Benjamin ;

Trombone : Christian Guizien ;

Trumpet : Kako Bessot ;

Violin : France Dubois, Jean Gaunet, Michel Cron, Roger Berthier ;

Instant dance floor burner, driven by a furious bass line, hope you’ll like it – Enjoy !

Pierre Didy Tchakounté – Noumta (Cameroun, 1984, Magabe Song)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/xul6ZztceWw

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Je Ne Bois Pas Beaucoup“, an instant catchy 9min Afro Soukous Soul Funk track with killer horns, taken from the 1st album recorded in 1976 by the legendary Congolese band “Orchestre Les Ya Toupas Du Zaïre“, that included the best country’s composers & musicians of that era, such :

Arrangements : Henry Bowane, Samuel “Sam” Mangwana ;

Vocals, Composed by : Baba Ley Assaka, Samuel “Samy” Bumba.

Pure tropical heat there, always a Dance Floor burner when I play that track in my DJ Sets, hope you’ll like it – Enjoy !

Les Ya Toupas Du Zaïre – Je Ne Bois Pas Beaucoup (Democratic Republic of Congo, 1976, MY)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/TBHiEOekna4

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Problems“, an instant catchy deep Afro Reggae Soul track with killer synth parts, taken from the 2nd album of the Ivorian band Orchestre de l’Université d’Abidjan (also known as “O.U.A“), created to promote the importance of a college education, and that included many great musicians :

Bass Guitar : Joseph Kouadio, Richmond Sibailly ;

Chorus : Gaetan Fouabi, Marie Rose Borba ;

Drums : Mesmin Abaka ;

Guitar, Soloist : Bamba Ibrahim, Désiré Zama ;

Lead Vocals : Ibrahim Bamba, Ramses Kimon ;

Lead Vocals, Percussion : Ismael Diaby ;

Percussion : Sibailly Obrou ;

Rhythm Guitar : Emmanuel Bouaffo, Mesmer Zebeyou ;

Synthesizer : Diava Dagry ;

Cherry on the cake : this gorgeous cover art by A. Hilaires – Enjoy !

Orchestre de l’Université d’Abidjan – Problems (Ivory Coast, 1986, Polygram)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/OZ66WDKPIzY

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Enjoy Your Life“, a fresh instant catchy Afro Disco Boogie Soul track, taken from the 1st album of the Nigerian composer & musician “Oby Onyioha” recorded in 1981, out on the short-lived record label “Time” and produced & arranged by the legendary Nigerian composer Lemmy Jackson.

It features some of the finest musicians of the country & the UK :

Lead Vocals : Oby Onyioha ;

Arrangements, Producer, Keyboards, Percussion : Lemmy Jackson ;

Acoustic Guitar : Bunny Mack ;

Trumpet : Luke Tunney ;

Backing Vocals : Dan Ian, Jane James, Keni St. George, Lemmy Jackson, Ray Shell, Simeon Catlyn ;

Backing Vocals, Guitar : Morris Michael ;

Bass : Sol Oshijo ;

Bass Guitar : Basil Barap ;

Drums : Laolu Akins, Paul Sokeng ;

Guitar : Eugene Ndema, George Achini ;

Percussion : Francis Igboke, Igwe Ede, Keni St. George ;

Saxophone : Gary Barnacle ;

Strings : The Locrian String ;

Trombone : Annie Whitehead ;

Always a sure shot to make people dance when I play it in my Tropical DJ – Enjoy !

Oby Onyioha – Enjoy Your Life (Nigeria, 1981, Time)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/WGvh7py8dIs

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Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “My Lady Is A Star“, a catchy Afro Synth Boogie Disco Soul track, taken from the 2nd album of the Nigeria composer & musician Eric Kol recorded in 1980 on the mythical Nigerian label “Phonodisk“.

This album was produced by the mythical Nigerian producer Odion Iruoje, and features some of the finest musicians of the country :

Backing Vocals : Oby Onyioha ;

Bass Guitar : Basil Barap ;

Drums, Percussion : Steve Black ;

Electric Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer : Lemmy Jackson ;

Lead Guitar, Guitar : Effi Duke ;

Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar : Eugene Ndema ;

Sure dancefloor shaker, hope you’ll like it – Enjoy !

Eric Kol – My Lady Is A Star (Nigeria, 1980, Phonodisk)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/gSkuX7WIhsg

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

Following this former article, I wanted to share with you for today “Lolo Soul“, an uplifting dope Afro Soul Funk Mod track, recorded in the 60s by the Congolese band « The Soul Kids » from Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), who released a few singles and one album of French covers of American & French Soul, Funk & Rnb standards of that time on the legendary congolese record label ” Ngoma“, strongly influenced by the American heroes of that era such as the kings James Brown, Otis Redding & Wilson Pickett – Enjoy !

Orchestre “The Soul Kids” – Lolo Soul (Democratic Republic Of The #congo, 1960s, Ngoma)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/SjmtrBDAhZI

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Mbaqanga Blues“, a bewitching incredible Afro Folk Fusion Jazz Soul instumental with mesmerizing flute parts, taken from “Pele Pele” the 3rd album of the mythical South African band “Malombo“, one of South Africa’s longest standing groups that inspired the musical careers of many.

Initially operating as The Malombo Jazz Men with Abbey Cindi (flute) and Julian Bahula (percussion) in the 1960’s, the group evolved to Malombo, leaded by the composer, singer & multi-instrumentist Phillip Tabane, and backed by a succession of musicians through years, including the legendary drummer Gabriel Segwagwa “Mabi” Thobejane.

The instrumentation is unconventional – African drums and hand percussion, interplaying with Tabane’s unique guitar, vocal, and flute sounds.

An amazing dreamy album from start to finish, highly recommended and still affordable – Hope you’ll like it, enjoy !

Malombo – Mbaqanga Blues (South Africa, 1976, Atlantic)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/ecEQnM7qEGE

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Wednesday, see you on next Sunday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau

For today, I wanted to share with you “Mumude“, a timeless Afro Highlife standard classic track from the Ghanian musical repertoire, interpreted in 1970 an explosive joyful Soul Jazz Funk way with Afrobeat flavors by the mythical Ghanaian band “Professional Uhuru Dance Band“, formed by former members of the “Broadway Dance Band” & who release 4 albums & plenty of singles in the 60s & 70s.

Nana Kobina Nketsia Essikadohene, gave the band the name Uhuru (“Freedom” in Swahili langage), which re-echoed the feeling on the 1957 gained independency of Ghana.

Not too long after the formation of Uhuru, Sammy Obot left for Nigeria and Stan Plange became the leader.

The band also included : Bob Yoko, George Amissah, Max Hammond, Loughty Lasisi Amao, Duke Duker, Tom Addo, Kpakpo Addo, Darko ‘Patato’ Adams, Mac Tontoh and lady vocalist Charlotte Dada.

An anthem that will turn any dance floor on fire – Enjoy !

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/EVINkZ1_GjA

Follow me on Instagram too for more exclusive contents : https://www.instagram.com/armand_de_preseau/

Have a nice Sunday, see you on next Wednesday for another musical (re)discovery !

Armand de Preseau