Cameroon Garage Funk 1964 - 1979
Label | Analog Africa – AACD 092 |
Series | Analog Africa – No. 32 |
Format | CD, Compilation |
Barcode | 4260126061453 |
Country | Germany |
Released | 20 Aug 2021 |
Genre | Funk / Soul |
Style | African, Garage Rock, Rhythm & Blues, Funk |
Yaound� in the 1970's was a buzzing place. Every neighbourhood of Cameroon's capital, no matter how dodgy, was filled with music spots but surprisingly there were no infrastructure to immortalise those musical riches. The country suffered from a serious lack of proper recording facilities, and the process of committing your song to tape could become a whole adventure unto itself. Of course, you could always book the national broadcasting company together with a sound engineer, but this was hardly an option for underground artists with no cash. But luckily an alternative option emerged in form of an adventist church with some good recording equipment and many of the artists on this compilation recorded their first few songs, secretly, in these premises thanks to Monsieur Awono, the church engineer. He knew the schedule of the priests and, in exchange for some cash, he would arrange recording sessions. The artists still had to bring their own equipment, and since there was only one microphone, the amps and instruments had to be positioned perfectly. It was a risky business for everyone involved but since they knew they were making history, it was all worth it. At the end of the recording, the master reel would be handed to whoever had paid for the session, usually the artist himself... and what happened next? With no distribution nor recording companies around this was a legitimate question. More often then not it was the French label Sonafric that would offer their manufacturing and distribution structure and many Cameroonian artist used that platform to kickstart their career. What is particularly surprising in the case of Sonafric was their willingness to take chances and judge music solely on their merit rather than their commercial viability. The sheer amount of seriously crazy music released also spoke volumes about the openness of the people behind the label. But who exactly are these artists that recorded one or two songs before disappearing, never to be heard from again? Some of the names were so obscur...
1 | – Jean-Pierre Djeukam | Africa Iyo | 3:51 |
2 | – Joseph Kamga | Sie Tcheu | 3:24 |
3 | – Los Camaroes | Ma Wde Wa | 3:34 |
4 | – Los Camaroes | Esele Mulema Moam | 4:18 |
5 | – Ndenga Andre DestinEt Les Golden Sounds | Yondja | 4:15 |
6 | – Damas Swing Orchestra | Odylife | 2:18 |
7 | – Charles Lembe Et Son Orchestra | Quiero Wapatcha | 2:53 |
8 | – Louis WassonEt L'Orchestre Kandem Irenée | Song Of Love | 3:25 |
9 | – Pierre Didy TchakounteEt Les Tulipes Noires | Monde Moderne | 3:49 |
10 | – Tsanga Dieudonne | Les Souffrances | 6:06 |
11 | – Willie SongueEt Les Showmen | Moni Ngan | 5:11 |
12 | – Johnny BlackEt Les Jokers | Mayi Bo Ya? | 3:50 |
13 | – Pierre Didy Tchakounte | Ma Fou Fou | 4:02 |
14 | – Lucas Tala | Woman Be Fire | 4:19 |
15 | – André Destin NdengaEt Les Golden Sounds | Ngamba | 4:35 |
16 | – Mballa Bony | Mezik Me Mema | 4:57 |
Graphic Design – Kathrin Remest
Interviewer [Translation and Biography] – Samy Ben Redjeb
Interviewer [Translation and Biography] – Volkan Kaya
Mastered By – Nick Robbins
Digipak case.
Mastering SID Code – IFPI L578
Mould SID Code – YA 5859-2 AL34958-01