An Up-Beat 1997 For Central African Music

Yaoundé, Cameroon.
August 1997:

Soukous, Bikutsi, Makossa, Zouk and Afro-beat -

captures the souls of dancers throughout the night. African music is one of the strongest cultural exports that the region has, and 1997 was a year packed with releases to be reckoned with.

Not that 1997 was without loss: at the year’s commencement, Cameroon
lost its prince of Makossa music, Kotto Bass, after he was reportedly
poisoned over a fish & piment dinner. He had just completed a wonderful
album, "Soukouss Fusion," which had positioned him for further musical
stardom. And most recently, in neighboring Nigeria, the king of
Afro-Beat, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, died reportedly of heart failure just
after being released of another imprisonment charge by the Nigerian
government. Fela, who is outlived by his musician son Femi Kuti, will be
sorely missed by fans the world over who cherished his drawn-out,
rambling funky brass jams, set to his no-nonsense preaching.
On a far brighter note, Soukous music made a remarkable comeback
after a relatively disappointing 1996.

In Yaoundé, one couldn’t help but notice the around-the-clock frequency that recent hits by Defao & The Big Stars and Koffi Olomide were being spun. The season’s hit album, already destined to be a classic among Congolese music aficionados, was Defao’s
"Amour Interdit" release, which contains 10 excellent and varied tracks
including the sensational single, "2eme mi-Temps Famille Kikuta."
Everyone is dancing to this perfectly constructed, quintessential Soukous
hit of the Nineties. It has velvety vocals, abrasive punch, and a
crescendo that reaches near ecstasy levels with tasteful and delirious
guitar licks that will tease you until you’re begging for more.

Another nice change from the sometimes overly slick Paris-based sessions was
Koffi’s Quartier Latin band, which was responsible for the most gutsy and
creative hit of the year. "Ultimatum" has perhaps one of the funkiest
beats and roller-coaster baselines of any recent song in memory.

Not to be outdone is the renowned Papa Wemba and his
band, Viva La Musica, who present a professional and smoking release,
"Nouvelle Ecriture." Fans will enjoy the linear notes which read like a
fan-club scrapbook and delight to the Afro-Latin jam with Salsa legend
Tito Puente. A big letdown for me was the recent Pépé Kallé album
entitled "Merci Maman." Perhaps after his superb 1995 release,
"Gardez-Votre Souffle," I was all the more critical on the current album.
My main complaint is the inferior sound quality of the recording, which
is surprising since his band, Empire Bakuba, recently released "Savoir
Vivre" which has perhaps the best sonic fidelity of any Soukous release.
Finally, the update wouldn’t be complete without touching on Zaiko Langa
Langa whose glorious vocals and extended jams on "Sans Issue," prove once
again why they are still reigning after 27 years in the business.
Soukous doesn’t get any more authentic then this.

As for the realm of Bikut-si music, a whole heap of new material
surfaced from the growing staple of singers, but there seemed to be a
lack of creativity and uniqueness. While pedalé still rules, it seemed
like many artists were searching for something new in the music that they
just couldn’t get at. The genre’s best known group, Les Tętes Brűlées,
recently toured France to present material from their 1995 album, "Be
Happy," and are presently rehearsing new material in Yaoundé. The band
hopes to tour the U.S. during the Summer of 1998 and is currently
searching for new label representation in the States. This, of course,
leads us to one of the largest frustrations for Bikut-si fans. While the
style is intensely popular and readily available in Cameroon, outside of
the country it is near impossible to locate a majority of the releases.

However, with the recent release of two CD’s aimed specifically at the
export market, it looks like our prayers are finally being answered. A
must-buy is the new album, "Cameroon Bikut-si Tempo," which is a
"Best-Of" featuring the artists Chantal Ayissi, Dieu Ngolfe, Ndjang le
Zappeur and Sala Bekono. This is the first CD to effectively capture the
recent Pedalé craze, and its excellent sound quality and Sonodisc
distribution means that you should be able to get a hold of it. Another
CD that has washed up on the Manhattan shoreline is the "Best of Zélé le
Bombardier." Zélé is one of the leading pedalé artists in the Bikut-si
Hit Parade, and although I prefer Bisso (Tao Tao) Solo’s singing, Zélé
made it here first. Thus keep your eyes open for other Bikut-si
releases, as it appears that someone has finally decided that there is a
market for the music’s export. Finally, if you happen to get to Yaoundé,
be sure to visit Paquitta Plus, L’Escalier or the Club Carrosel to see
these artists perform their latest hits live!

There has been an exciting array of interesting female Afro-Pop
releases being produced in Europe that are worth your attention. The
African Zouk diva, Monique Séka, has just released an excellent, albeit
very electronic album, entitled "Adeba." If you like your Zouk sultry,
slick with horns and rounded out with lush female vocals, then any of
Monique’s albums are for you. Another winner is from Sally Nyolo, whose
first solo release, "Tribu," on Tinder Records, is impressive and far
more acoustic an album. Sally showcases her vocal ability to remarkable
extent on several of the tracks, where only bass and melodic drum rhythms
accompany her. Do not be mislead, this is a deep and somewhat
trance-inducing music, and the Eton language is beautiful to listen to.
This former Zap Mama singer will hopefully get encouraging response from
her first solo CD.

Makossa lovers are in luck as well, because there is always a
wealth of releases and reissues from the likes of TJR and Sonodisc
Records. The big news is the simultaneous mega-release from Petit
Pays (who is now so popular that he has a street named after him).