Dalton – Alech

( Tunisia , 1978 , DA-01 )

posted on 17 / 11 / 2024

Following this previous article (https://africangrooves.fr/song/lala-tibki/), I wanted to share with you for today “Alech“, an instant catchy uptempo balearic Disco Soul Funk track with bewitching killer saxophone parts, taken from the sole single self-produced & released by Tunisian band “Dalton“, a quintet formed around 1968 when most of the members where still studying together at the University of Tunis. Very active on the local scene, they played one-of-a-kind music that merged American soul influences with regional traditional Tunisian music.

Leaded by Fawzi Chekili, the band included the following musicians :

Guitar, Piano, Vocals : Fawzi Chekili ;

Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals : Sadok Gharbi ;

Bass Guitar : Ridha Kouhen ;

Drums, Vocals : Skander Almi ;

Saxophone, Percussion : Mustapha Rehouma ;

In the early 70s, the band got a regular gig at a beach hotel called Sahara Beach Resort on the coastline of Tunisia. With the money they earned, they managed to travel to Rome and cut their only single,  “Alech/Soul Brother“, presented here – Enjoy !

Dalton – Alech (Tunisia, 1978, DA-01)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/wq07OS0Edx4

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

Freedom / Hourya / حرية – Abadane / أبدًا

( Algeria , 1970s , Disques Z / Noudjoun El Phan )

posted on 15 / 09 / 2024

For today, I wanted to share with you “Abadane” ( or “أبدًا” in Arabic, that means “Never”), a deep mind-blowing Psychedelic Soul Pop Rock track from Algeria, taken from the only single released in the early 70s by the Algerian band “Hourya” (“حرية” in Arabic, that means “Freedom”) composed with :

Bass Guitar, Vocals : Dahmane Mesbahi ;

Drums : Mahfoud Benkaci ;

Guitar, Vocals : Hocine Kezim, Saad Kezim ;

The two tracks that appears on that single were recorded in England, at the Castle recording studios, Leyland-Wigan.

Really hard to find single nowadays, hope you’ll like it – Enjoy !

Freedom / Hourya – Abadane (Algeria, 1970s, Noudjoun El Phan) حرية – أبدًا

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/M0ZgYmCOX_0

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

Gharbi Sadok & Georges Garzia – Lala Tibki

( Tunisia , 1983 , Gharbi Sadok Self-Released )

posted on 30 / 06 / 2024

For today, I wanted to share with you “Lala Tibki“, a breezing & funky Tunisian Boogie Soul 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐡 Pop track taken from “Souar‘, the only album privately recorded & self-released by Sadok Gharbi, one of the major figures of the Funk scene from Tunisia such as Carthago, Dalton & Marhaba Band.

Really hard to find album, only pressed at small quantities with that generic cover… Hope that song will become your summer anthem – Enjoy !

Gharbi Sadok & Georges Garzia – Lala Tibki (Tunisa, 1983, Gharbi Sadok Self-Released)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/W5bVqNy92lI

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

Les Freres Megri – Weqtach Tef'Hem

( Morocco , 1977 , Les Artistes Arabes Associés )

posted on 19 / 06 / 2024

Following this previous article, I wanted to share with you for today “Weqtach Tef’Hem“, a mesmerizing deep catchy Oriental Soul Jazz Funk track with beautiful psychedelic Fender Rhodes parts, taken from the second album recorded in 1977 by Younes & Mahmoud Megri from the band “Les Freres Megri“, a Moroccan rock band formed in Oujda (Morocco).

The band consisted of four members, popular session musicians, composers and producers : three brothers : Hassan, Mahmoud and Younes Megri, and their sister Jalila Megri.

The album presented here is the original moroccan “Boussiphone” press, label founded by the Moroccan producer Mohamed Boussif and that is way rarer than the French release on “Les Artistes Arabes Associés“.

Cherry on the cake : it’s dedicated by Mahmoud Megri himself – Enjoy !

Les Frères Mégri – Weqtach Tef’Hem (Morocco, 1977, Boussiphone)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/gksf74MT59k

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

Les Frères Bouchenak – Trouble

( Morocco , 1983 , Edition Hassania )

posted on 06 / 03 / 2024

For today, I wanted to share with you “Trouble“, an uplifting Rock Soul Synth Twist Pop track, taken from the 1st album recorded in 1983 on K7 tape format by the morrocon band “Les Freres Bouchenak” a band of 4 brothers (Hamid, Omar, Mohamed and Reda Bouchenak) from the city of Oujda (Morocco), nicknamed “The Raï Knights“.

Quite obscure & hard to find unusual sounds for this country & era, hope you’ll like it – Enjoy !

Les Frères Bouchenak – Trouble (Maroc, 1983, Edition Hassania)

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

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

Chaba Malika Meddah – Sid Houari Ya Mlah

( Algeria , 1980s , mcpe )

posted on 05 / 03 / 2024

For today, I wanted to share with you “Sid Houari Ya Mlah“, an insane groovy Electronic Synth Raï Funk Soul Boogie track taken from an obscure K7 tape recorded in France in the 80s & that is apparently the only album from the Algerian singer, horsewoman, theater actress and ex-academic scholar Chaba Malika Meddah.

This cassette was released on the mythical French tape label MCPE (or “Edition Production M.C.P.E.“) which brought together in the country the best productions of this style from this era.

Super obscure, hard to find and dancefloor tool here, hope you’ll like it – Enjoy !

Chaba Malika Meddah – Sid Houari Ya Mlah (Algeria, 1980s, MCPE)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/OfjcsY9UMVw

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

Noura (Fatima Zohra Badji) – Paris Dans Mon Sac

( Algeria , 1965 , Pathé )

posted on 05 / 11 / 2023

For today, I wanted to share with you “Paris Dans Mon Sac“, an incredibly beautiful Soul Jazz ballad sung in French with Oriental flavors, recorded in 1965 by the Algerian singer & actress Fatima Zohra Badji (better known as “Noura”) on the French record label “Pathé“.

This song is backed by a beautiful orchestration by Larbi Zeggane (Kamal Hamadi on his artist’s name), a Kabyle Algerian songwriter and composer who was also Noura’s husband, and Roland Richard Vincent.

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

Noura (Fatima Zohra Badji) – Paris Dans Mon Sac (Algeria, 1965, Pathé)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/trSMMDF7VQo

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

Abdelkader – Nadim (Je Regrette)

( Algeria , 1978 , Disques Espérance )

posted on 13 / 09 / 2023

For today, I wanted to share with you “Nadim (Je Regrette)“, an instant catchy Disco Soul Synth track from Maghreb, taken from the 2nd album recorded in 1978 in Paris by the musician (saxophone player) & composer Abdelkader “Freh” Khodja.

Abdelkader “Freh” Khodja was born in Sidi-Bel-Abbes (Algeria), on the 1st of January 1949.

At the age of fifteen, he began musical studies, entered the Conservatory, where he opted for the saxophone. Two years later, he began playing at open air dances, banquets, etc.

In March 1968, he travelled to France, and worked in different jobs to earn his living, including grill man in a restaurant. Then, he joined his brothers in Lyon, where he became a semi-professional performer at the city’s Winter Palace, and met his first band with whom he played Soul music.

Back in Paris, he and his group gradually appeared as stars at the “Bus Palladium” concert hall. After several tours in clubs, Freh abandoned Soul music for varieties, and left France for the United States, to Greenwich Village, to play in one of the most sumptuous establishments in the region. It was there that, by chance, improvising on his guitar & backed by his musicians, he sang for the first time in Arabic, which was instantly a big success.

Thus, was born an idyll : merging Arabic and pop influences in his music.

From that moment on, he made a point of honor to defend during all his musical career the promotion and acknowledgement of Arabic language in Western pop songs.

This album features :

Drums : Michel Galon ;

Guitar : Jean Lopez ;

Bass Guitar : Alex Sanders-Nace ;

Synth : Eko Roosevelt ;

Percussions : Sidney ;

Saxophone/Flute : Jean Bremzet ;

Saxophone (solo) : Freh Khodja ;

Trumpets : Michel Barrot, Jean Buzon ;

Trombone : Jacques Bolognesi ;

Violins : M. Berthier ;

Chorus : Tarik Chikhi, Grazellia Madrigal, Aïda Nassim ;

Grazellia Madrigal ;

Directed by : Eric Siota ;

(Yes, this album features the legendary Cameroonian keyboardist Eko Roosevelt, whom we reissued a few years earlier a vinyl compilation on Nubiphone, one of the record labels I run !)

One of my personal favorite track in the genre, that always set the dance floor on fire when I play it during my DJ sets – Enjoy !

Abdelkader “Free” Khodja – Nadim (Je Regrette) (Algeria, 1976, Disques Espérance)

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

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

Boussouar El Maghnaoui – Nabghik Nabghik Chkoune Yedik

( Algeria , 70s , Sawt Hilali )

posted on 13 / 08 / 2023

For today, I wanted to share with you “Nabghik Nabghik Chkoune Yedik“, a dope powerful Proto Raï Folk Soul track, take from an ultra hard to find single recorded in the 70s by the Algerian singer & composer Boussouar El Maghnaoui on the mythical Parisian record label “Sawt Hilali“.

One of my personal favorite track in the genre, that always set the dance floor on fire when I play it during my DJ sets – Enjoy !

Boussouar El Maghnaoui – Nabghik Nabghik Chkoune Yedik (Algeria, 70s, Sawt Hilali)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/4LtG-3LCzRg

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

Kamel Raouf Nagati – De L'Orient À Orion

( Tunisia , 1970's , En'Nagham )

posted on 02 / 08 / 2023

For today, I wanted to share with you “De L’Orient À Orion“, a bewitching Oriental Jazz Funk Soul track from Maghreb with French dreamy lyrics, recorded in the early 70s in Tunisia by the musician & composer Kamel Raouf Nagati on the legendary Tunisian record label “𝐄𝐧’𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦” – Enjoy !

Kamel Raouf Nagati – De L’Orient À Orion (Tunisia, 1970s, En’Nagham)

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube Channel here : https://youtu.be/HTabHoRxaa0

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

African Grooves

A Time & Space Journey in the African & West Indies Countries