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viewing 1 To 24 of 24 items
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2LP
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LUS 86302LP
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"Bonga recorded his first album, Angola 72, in Rotterdam via the Morabeza label dedicated to Cape Verdean musicians. The album is a genuine masterpiece. Its ten songs, which are inexpressibly sad (although their heartrending melancholy is relieved by upbeat tempos), are an account and summary of his experiences in Luanda. 'On this record,' says Bonga, 'you find all the emotions that filled my heart at the time, along with echoes of experiences that would later prove crucial in my life. For the arrangements, I chose acoustic guitar and dikanza and other percussion instruments. The music is semba, with numbers that switch from fast to slow, like spirituals.' Bonga was encouraged by the critical success of this first effort. He added the sweet melodies of Cape Verdean morna and the rhythmic texture of Congolese rumba to his new songs. Two years later, he felt ready to record a second album, Angola 74, again on the Morabeza label. On it, Bonga sang 'Sodade,' an Amandio Cabral number that Djunga had released as a single. The Angolan wanted to record it as soon as he heard it for the first time. Today, the gravel-voiced singer is still continuing on his musical path, enlarging a repertoire that remains rooted in the social and cultural history of a land that was ravaged for so long by unremitting war. It was important to re-release these two recordings. They have a place of choice among the finest of modern African musical productions."
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2LP
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LUS 86303LP
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"Since his debut in 1972 with his masterpiece Angola 72, Bonga has established himself as one of the greatest voices in world music. This Best Of Bonga proves it, if proof were needed, with a selection of his most essential tracks: 'Mulemba Xangola' (duet with Lura), 'Mona Ki Ngi Xica,' his biggest hit, 'Kaxexe,' 'Bairro,' 'Agua Rara,' and his version of 'Sodade,' created long before Cesaria Evora -- as well as two previously unreleased remixes of 'Sodade' and 'Kaxexe' by Dutch collective Arp Frique. 20 tracks, for an album that retraces the best of Bonga's discography, the golden voice of Angola."
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2LP
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LUS 86301LP
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"To mark its 35th anniversary, Lusafrica has decided to reissue the must-have tracks from its discography. Olivier N'Goma (Noli to his friends) was born in Mayumba, in south-west Gabon, in 1959. In 1988, during a television internship in Paris, he met Manu Lima, then one of the best producers on the African scene. Interested in the melodies Oliver brought him, Manu Lima took on the artistic direction of his first album. When it came out, it was the song 'Bane' which, after a small initial success (thanks in particular to radio Africa N°1, Gilles Obringer on R.F.I., then discotheques), became a colossal hit in 1990 throughout Africa, France, and as far afield as the West Indies. The album became one of the biggest sellers in African music history. 'Bane' is one of the greatest hits of modern African music, on a par with Franco's 'Mario,' Alpha Blondy's 'Brigadier Sabari,' Zao's 'Ancien Combattant,' and Kanda Bongo Man's 'Kwassa Kwassa.' More than 30 years after its debut, Oliver N'Goma's music, that unprecedented combination of West Indian zouk and the rhythmic and harmonic richness of Africa, remains as exciting as on its first day."
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LP
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LUS 86021LP
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"The Bamba Wassoulou Groove is composed of 6 musicians (three guitars, one bass, a drum and a singer) and is here to create a real wall of sound. Solis with Hendrixian virtuosos, trance voice, evil bass and drum sections, the band is a heavy dance machine who electrifies the Malian music and recreates the excitement of the hot nights in Bamako. Philippe Conrath (creator of Festival Africolor) explains: 'To create the Bamba Wassoulou Groove a connoisseur was needed, a man of confidence who would also ensure human and musical unity. Who better than Bamba Dembélé (who passed in 2018) to build such a band? Bamba, the indispensable, the fixer, the invincible. Former member of Zani Diabatatés legendary Super Djata Band, he had all the contacts in Bamako to set up the Wassoulou Groove. He launched a formidable machine with an unrelenting rhythm, that allowed the three fierce guitars of the group to soar, carrying Ousmane Diakité's voice into a trance. funk, rock, the Bamba Wassoulou Groove is a new virus that will contaminate the world's dance floors.'"
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2LP
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LUS 76205LP
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"Boubacar Traoré's album Mbalimaou. Produced by Ballaké Sissoko and Christian Mousset, recorded at the Bogolan studios in Bamako, Mbalimaou is a milestone in the work of Boubacar Traoré. His inimitable guitar style, and the poetry that pervades his songs, have all matured over the years. Infused with nostalgia and melancholy, Mbalimaou is a record of great depth, one of the finest in this unique artist's long career. Today available on vinyl."
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LP
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LUS 76259LP
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"The masterpiece of legendary Angolan singer Bonga Angola 74, finally re-edited in vinyl LP with their original sleeves. José Adelino Barcelo de Carvalho was born in Kipiri in 1953. When he was still a child, his family moved to a district in the north of the city of Luanda. Formerly a fortress built in 1576, the capital of Angola was still a Portuguese colony at the time. In his youth, before José changed his colonial name to the more Angolan Bonga Kuenda, he lived in the city's poorer quarters, called musseques -- meaning 'built with sand' in Kimbundu, one of the country's main languages. In the mid Fifties, Africa was beginning to rebel against colonial domination. Seventy years after the Berlin Conference, where the European powers divided up the continent between them, liberation movements were gathering momentum. Both peaceful negotiations and armed resistance heralded the end of colonization and the independence of different nations that followed in the next decade. Under the dictator Salazar, Portugal was one of the more intractable colonial powers. It decided to try and crush the green shoots of independence in Angola, where there were frequent rural revolts -- especially in the northern bush. In the musseques surrounding Luanda, there was much talk of armed struggle against the colonial troops. A climate of general unrest reigned in Ilha de Cabo, Barrio Operario and Sambizanga, where the Caribbean filmmaker Sara Maldoror shot one of the finest records of decolonization ever made. In the white districts, European administrators went about their everyday business with a few asimilados -- privileged Angolans who had embraced the culture, language and religion of the colonists. But in the suburbs, poets, novelists and artists led the resistance movement. They studied the history of their country and were inspired by stories of their ancestor N'Gola Kiluanje, King of N'Dongo, who fought the Portuguese army for many years back in the sixteenth century."
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CD
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LUSA 762502CD
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"Boubacar Traore carries within him all the beauty of African blues. A diamond among the jewels of Mandingo music, he shines with the dark glow of exceptional purity. Only the voice of 'Kar Kar' (a footballing nickname meaning 'The Dribbler' given him by his friends, who also love the beautiful game) can blend Niger and Mississippi river alluvia with such moving authenticity. His unique, inimitable, self-taught guitar technique owes a great deal to his kora influences, but its shades and phrasing also suggest the great black bluesmen of the deep South: Blind Willie McTell, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and others. Back in the '60s when the euphoria of African independence reigned, the 20-year-old Boubacar Traore was Mali's Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. He was the first to play Mandingo-based music on electric guitar, long before his junior, Ali Farka Touré. It is in the United States, in Lafayette Louisiana, that Boubacar Traore wished to record his third album for the label Lusafrica. The guitarist's intention was to change the coloration of his songs (old numbers like 'Dounia Tabolo' or 'Kanou', and new ones, 'Ben de Kadi', 'Mousso') while conserving their original character. So it is with musicians from the Southern States of the USA he had met on tour, Cedric Watson on violin and washboard, and Corey Harris on guitar, that he undertook the recording of his album Dounia Tabolo at the end of 2016. And when he told them he wanted to add a cello and female voice to the album, Cedric Watson suggested Leyla McCalla. This recording is a new milestone in the work of this extraordinary but modest artist. From blues to folk and Cajun to Zydeco music, his new traveling companions have provided a touch of folly and swing (Cedric Watson), blues depth (Corey Harris) and discreet elegance (Leyla McCalla). More than ever, Boubacar Traore has shown himself to be the living, vital connection between Mali and the Mississippi.
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CD
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LUSA 662952
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"Produced by Tony Allen, the pope of Afrobeat, Sia Tolno's African Woman offers twelve dazzling tracks of immaculate groove. When a woman takes up Afrobeat, it's an event. This album's mix of Yoruba, funk and jazz fusion in Afrobeat is rough, rowdy and political. Afrobeat was introduced at the end of the 60's by the prince of the Nigerian resistance, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Yet Guinea's Sia Tolno is not afraid to take up Fela's torch. Her third album, African Woman, challenges male supremacy in a forceful style derived from Ghanaian 'high-life.'"
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CD+DVD
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LUSA 662882
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"Black Bazar, the brainchild of writer Alain Mabanckou, was formed in 2012 with the support of the label Lusafrica. The first album featured a return to the musical roots of Congolese Rumba. Audiences were enthusiastic and the numerous artists involved in the project were hailed as 'the new masters of the African scene in Paris.' Black Bazar Round 2 is based on compositions by the legendary guitarist Popolipo Beniko and the talented bass-player Michel Lumana. Each track is full of atmosphere and deeply rooted in musical tradition, while also opening onto new avenues described by the German press as 'dancehall Rumba,' orchestrated by the producer Francky Moulet." Includes a bonus DVD with a 5 minute music video.
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CD
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LUSA 25102
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"Flor di Bila, the debut album by Neuza, unveils the secrets of Fogo Island rhythms such as talaia baxo, rabolo, and samba. On 'Trabessado,' one of the key tracks on this album, Neuza explores the curcutiçan, a traditional lyrical battle between female and male voices using irony and provocation. Neuza is joined by Michel Montrond who is an author, composer, and singer."
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CD
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LUSA 662502
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"From 1995 on, each time Cesaria Evora went into the studio, her producer José da Silva requested that she record more tracks than were actually needed for the new album. The aim was to choose a set of songs that fitted together naturally, forming a record that would delight listeners from start to finish. Lusafrica's Mãe Carinhosa ('Mother Affection') offers thirteen previously unreleased tracks, spanning the period from the recording sessions for Cabo Verde in 1997 to Rogamar in 2005. As always, her backing musicians provide brilliant accompaniment, allowing Evora's voice to sweep us away on yet another voyage of nostalgia."
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CD
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LUSA 662102
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"Born in 1964, Sékouba 'Bambino' Diabaté is a leading light of Guinean music. Diabaté won the Best Guinean Singer Award in 1979 and was asked to join Bembeya Jazz. The nickname 'Bambino' came from his need to distinguish himself from Sékou Bembeya Diabaté, the group's guitar virtuoso. After embarking on a solo career, Diabaté had his first major success with his 1992 album Le Destin. With Innovation, Diabaté's life experiences and wide ranging influences come together in a dance-friendly album that never forsakes his roots."
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CD
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LUSA 662032
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"The anthology African Rhythms brings together musicians from very different backgrounds who share the same goal: to keep the traditional music of their roots and ancestors alive, modernizing it and making it accessible and understandable to all. In this, African music is universal. It includes the hits 'Kazet' by the Mahotella Queens and 'Mulemba Xangola' by Bonga, together with a rare version of 'Africa Nossa' by Cesaria Evora with Oliver Mtukudzi and an unreleased version of 'Tchoro di Guiné' by Teofi lo Chantre and Lura."
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CD
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LUSA 662022
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"The anthology African Voices takes us across the continent from north to the south on a voyage of discovery of the greatest contemporary singers. Some, including Cape Verde's Cesaria Evora, South Africa's Mahotella Queens, Gabon's Pierre Akendengue and Angola's Bonga, are already legends, while others, such as Guinea's Sia Tolno, Reunion Island's Nathalie Natiembé and Chad's Mounira Mitchala, are now opening a new chapter in the history of African music."
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CD
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LUSA 662012
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"African Guitars is the first release in a new series of anthologies from Lusafrica focusing on modern African music. Over 150 years, guitar has come to play an essential role in modern African music. From north to south, guitarists of this great continent have developed diverse, rich techniques and sounds exclusive to their parts of the world. This album includes selections from guitarists Tcheka, Boubacar Traoré, Wendo Kolosoy, Idrissa Soumaoro, Ali Farka Touré and many more."
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CD
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LUSA 562632
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"Ever since Lura burst onto the world music scene in 1997, her deep, sensual voice has been a favorite of World music fans everywhere. Di Korpu Ku Alma, the Cape Verdean diva's solo debut, was a worldwide hit that was nominated for a BBC Music award and launched her international career. Lura's next two albums, 2006's M'bem di Fora and 2009's Eclipse, confirmed her status as a worldwide superstar. Lusafrica's Best of Lura collection offers a selection of some of her finest hits as well as two exclusive tracks -- 'Amor E Tao Sabe' (recorded during the M'bem di Fora sessions) and a duet entitled 'Moda Bo' featuring Cesaria Evora."
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CD
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LUSA 562532
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"Born in Senegal to Cape Verdean parents, singer Mariana Ramos has enjoyed a very successful career. The music she was steeped in from childhood had a Cape Verdean beat, since her father, Toy Ramos, played guitar for the famous group Voz de Cabo Verde. Her music combines international influences with Cape Verdean tradition in a subtle blend of jazz, Brazilian music and African sounds. SuaviDanca is a colorful program that features traditional Cape Verdean mornas and coladeras, as well as sambas and other global flavors."
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CD
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LUSA 562492
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"Malian superstar Boubacar Traore is the undisputed king of the African blues. Only his voice can blend the Niger and Mississippi river styles with such moving authenticity. His unique, inimitable, self-taught guitar technique owes a great deal to his kora influences, but its shades and phrasing also show influences of legendary American bluesmen such as Blind Willie McTell, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Mali Denhou, Traore's first new release in six years, finds the great singer on top form, earthy and biting. The album features stellar harp playing by Frenchman Vincent Bucher."
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CD
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LUSA 562512
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"meStissage is the sixth studio album by Cape Verdean Teofilo Chantre. As Cesaria Evora's appointed composer, Chantre has penned many beautiful songs such as 'Ligereza,' 'Um Pincelada' and 'Crepuscular Solidao.' His work is characterized by a strong melodic sense and harmonic sophistication that blends in a kind of swinging Creole jazz. meStissage features Marc Esteve as well as a guest appearance by Bernard Lavilliers who, after covering a Teofi lo Chantre song on his latest release, joins him here for a duet."
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CD
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LUSA 562472
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"Boubacar Traore is a passionate musician who distills emotions and dreams with simplicity and precision. His powerful voice sings his country's history. The hope and despair of the Malian people, their love and expectations, all told through striking melodies inspired from the Kassonke Malian tradition."
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LUSA 562482
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"Boubacar Traore's fame took root in the 1950s and ever since the singer has been traveling the world and spreading his particular brand of blues. His inimitable style -- warmhearted as well as wistful -- can be clearly heard on these essential reissues."
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3CD
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LUSA 562562
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"Lusafrica presents a showcase of fifty tracks of the best in Ivorian music to celebrate the country's fiftieth anniversary of Independence. All the great names are represented -- from Jimmy Hyacinthe, Djinns Music and Ernesto Djedje to Aicha Kone, Meiway and Magic System. Also featured are Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly -- two powerhouse reggae artists that have been a major Ivorian contribution to modern African music. The set has only one track per artist though, so there is plenty of room for the lesser known acts to shine on this superb intro to one of West Africa's most musical nations. The set is beautifully packaged and illustrated."
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CD
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LUSA 24082
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"About his new album Kreol, Mario Lucio declares, 'I have put my feet on three continents, slept in seven countries, worked in ten cities and covered 92,482 kilometers by plane, not to mention travel in boats, adventures in automobiles and crossings in pirogues. Spending more than six hundred hours in the studio, I feel that I've found the answer to what was gnawing at me. I have learned that Men are not all the same, they are similar: this similarity is the pattern that distinguishes us from one another.' Among the album's highlights are duets featuring Milton Nascimento, Pablo Milanes, Cesaria Evora, Toumani Diabaté (Mali), Harry Belafonte and more. The recording was filmed for a television documentary."
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CD
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LUSA 562202
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"Radio Mindelo features Cesaria Evora's long lost radio recordings from the 1960s, made by the Cape Verdean station Radio Barlavento. These twenty-two tracks document the first tentative steps in the barefoot diva's long and distinguished career. Listen to Radio Mindelo and you will discover the voice of Evora's youth, a voice in which you will recognize the same phrasing, the same intonations and the same serenit4/12y it has today. However, the rough production quality of the original tapes and the spontaneity of the songs create a special feeling of discovery, of hearing the sound of a legend before the legend existed." Deluxe hardbound packaging, including a 32 page book of full-color photos and liner notes in English and French.
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