Africa music reviews

Makes you feel like dumping everything and running to the se

Spirit marks Oryema's move from Peter Gabriel's Real World label to Sony Int'l (France). One of the most invigorating listens from this great artist, includes a cover of The Talking Heads' "Listening Wind," (written with sometime collaborator Brian Eno). Very, very tough to highlight two or three favorite songs as they are each right on the mark. Help spread the word on this guy.

Originally released in 1977, this is a studio recording so it has a more polished sound than on the recent Best Best. BTW, none of these tracks are on Best Best... Stalemate and Fear not for Man are the stand outs, but the rest of album is good too. It's another intoxicating organic mixture of African harmonies, bebop, and James Brown. Listen to the samples!

The promise of the title is more than fulfilled in this album. The CD is a sweet mix of African Lingala music from various artists: Koffi Olomide, Mouzi, Franco.

There are two medly mixes that are extremely uplifting. Buy it, and no song will dissapoint you!

I first heard this entire album while standing at a listening station in a record store. I couldn't stop listening to it. Ms. Nyolo's voice is light and mesmerizing, and her songs held me from beginning to end. The first cut, "Tribu", begins with her deft vocals in her native tongue of Eton (Cameroon) over the whoosh of ocean waves. It is delightful. Ms. Nyolo wrote all the songs, which range from the celebration of the birth of a friend's child (Shana), to tributes to prodigal sons (Ndongo) to observations on love and womanhood. The rhythmic tunes are powered by handclaps and guitar riffs that flow like water. The songs are foreign and exotic, yet soothing and familiar. I LOVE this CD.

Tuku's latest outing is another gem, albeit a slight departure from norm in that is it almost totally acoustic (the only electric instrument is a tastefully understated keyboaard that provides piano, organ mbira or flute textures on the songs). For the first time, the lead guitarist also plays an acoustic (Clive Mukundu in place of ailing Philani Dube, as does the bassist. Tuku's own playing tasty as ever, no tastier than ever. The gems of this album are Wazvinzva, Wagona Fani; the true standouts are Pawatsiurwa - a great roots original featuring just the two acoustic guitars, hosho shakers and ngoma drums (African congas) - this is what mbira music without mbiras sounds like - hypnotic, soulful, intoxicating; the other is Pakasimbwi, a song also in the traditional mold, but more of a dancefloor filler -Chimurenga Tuku style. A most rewarding experience, listening to this album.

I love this groovy Arab music: like the stuff they play at Epcot Center (Morocco pavilion). It's exotic, and other wordly. Not at all what we're used to listening to!

This is an excellent album to ease yourself with at the end of the day, or even wake up to on a bright and sunny Sunday morning. I'm fairly unfamiliar with African music, and this was definitely a great way to begin my exposure. I would strongly suggest this album to anyone who can enjoy soothing music without necessarily understanding the words that are being sung. It is very melodic and peaceful and definitely going to maintain regular rotation in my collection. Also, I caught Samite' live, and if you ever have the opportunity, please take it!

In� TUNULA ENO Samite, the flute-playing, Kalimba-plucking singer/songwriter returns with another group of traditional Ugandan and homegrown songs.
�Anyone familiar with Samite's music knows he tends toward mellow, spiritually-uplifting tunes on themes of world peace and understanding, yet they're not sung in English, so the cornball factor never enters into them.
�Songs range from very pretty ballad-style tunes to rhythmic shakers. Occasional piano adds a slight jazz touch without getting in the way or distracting from the somewhat ethereal groove.
�We'd had varying reactions to Samite's music over the years; from loving his first album to thinking he should have kept it simpler on his later releases.
�With TUNULA ENO Samite really pulls it all together: this truly is his best album of songs so far.
�Sad to note, Samite's wife was dying of brain cancer during the making of this album; yet somehow no sense of overwhelming sadness permeates the album: mostly, it's the sound of joy.

Ive never heard music like this before. The third song on the alubmn, Tunula Eno, fills me with tears and joy everytime I hear it. Samite fills his music with raw, beautiful emotion and has the uncanny ability to remind the listener of the strength and intense beauty that lies within all of us. This albumn touches deeply.

If it were not for the drummer in Diblo's band having been replaced for this album it would likely be one of my favorite albums. If you don't mind electronic drums ignore this review. If you can tell the difference a real drummer makes you are likely to feel aggravated listening to this.

There aren't many guitarist that can match the skills and rapid-fire style of Zairean Diblo Dibala, the mainstay behind the band Loketo, a word that means "move you hips" in the Lingala language. And shake your hips you will as soon as you put this CD on! The infectious rhythms of this soukous CD, with its foundation in Diblo's dazzling guitar work and backed by the vocals of luminaries such as Aurlus Mabele and Kanda Bongo Man (both mega soukous stars in their own right) are guaranteed to liven up any celebration involving music. Soukous merges the traditional rhumba style with a hard driving beat that is sure to excite the listener to break into dance. "Super Soukous" is a landmark in the evolution of African popular music and caused a sensation when it debuted in 1987, yet its sound is as exciting as ever today. I particularly like to start off dance parties with a bang by playing the highly infectious and danceable Track Three piece called "Amour Et Souvenir"...indeed a souvenir of love, of celebrating life and good times. I haven't tired of this CD yet, and I seriously doubt that I will. If you enjoy this CD, check out other soukous gems like Kanda Bongo Man's "Kwassa Kwassa" or "Zing-Zong", and another Loketo recording featuring Aurlus Mabele and Diblo Dibala called "Soukous Trouble", all of which are guaranteed hip-shaking music! Also check out the soukous guitar party groove on a compilation called "Lightning Over the River", a superb collection and a great follow-up to further explore Diblo's Loketo sound.

If you really like 70's themes, you should like this CD. It was a little too dated for me.

Imitation is often considered the greatest form of flattery. John Barry's oeuvre has been sampled by dozens of contemporary musical artists, and he is often credited as being the godfather of "trip hop" (check recent albums by Portishead and Mono to hear the Barry influence). The Academy-award winning composer has been producing music for over forty years, but this collection focuses on the artist's most commercially successful period, the 1960's. The instantly recognizable and inimitable Barry style is well documented throughout 23 varied compositions. Selections range from classic to obscure, and include all the title tracks from the early James Bond soundtracks. Barry's film and television music is the defining sound of that era - lush orchestrations, cool jazzy riffs, pure excitement. "Themeology" is an excellent starting point for the novice collector and equally attractive for the long-time admirer.