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CD
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WWSCD 099CD
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$16.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/4/2025
Wewantsounds presents Dibango 82, an unreleased live recording by Manu Dibango taped in Marseille, December 1982. The electrifying live concert features the African legend alongside his stellar eight-piece group, blending funk, jazz, and African rhythms. Highlights include "Africa Boogie" and "Waka Juju." This album, released in partnership with INA and Soul Makossa, Dibango's label, captures the African legend at the top of his game. Remastered from the original tapes with liner notes by Graeme Ewens and concert organizer Christian Ducasse, it features a front cover photo by key African Paris-based photographer Bill Akwa Bétotè. Manu Dibango, who passed away in 2020 at 86, is one of the most celebrated African musicians alongside Fela, Miriam Makeba, and Youssou N'dour. In a career spanning six decades, Dibango revolutionized African music and had a worldwide hit in the process in the form "Soul Makossa" in 1972. This live album, recorded during a French tour in 1982 came at a critical time when France, after the election of Francois Mitterrand, was embracing its multi-ethnic sensitivity. Through the rise of FM radios such as Radio Nova, an offshoot of cult magazine Actuel, the French music scene suddenly got much more opened. The "Sono Mondiale" as Nova would call World music, was born. Organized by French producer Martin Meissonnier, the sold-out tour created a stir in France bringing together two legends, Manu Dibango and his group plus iconic jazz traveler Don Cherry, whom Meissonnier had closely worked with in the late '70s. Captured on December 22, 1982, at the Théâtre La Criée in Marseille, Dibango 82 delivers an electrifying concert of African rhythms, jazz, and funk mastery, with a pinch of Latin music, led by Dibango accompanied by a stellar ensemble of musicians: Congolese guitarist Jerry "Bokilo" Malekani, drummer Brice Wassy, percussionist Valery Lobe, three of his most trusted partners, together with Jean-Pierre Coco on percussion, Hary Gofin on bass, pianist Del Rabenja from Madagascar and two superb background singers, Florence 'Titty' Dimbeng and Sissy Dipoko. The audio from the French INA archives has been remastered from master tapes and the album's liner notes are augmented by an introduction from French photographer Christian Ducasse who organized the concert. Last but not least the front cover features a superb shot by cult Paris-based Bill Akwa Bétotè who documented the Paris '80s African music scene making Dibango 82 an event for all Manu Dibango and African music fans.
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LP
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WWSLP 099LP
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$29.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/4/2025
LP version. Wewantsounds presents Dibango 82, an unreleased live recording by Manu Dibango taped in Marseille, December 1982. The electrifying live concert features the African legend alongside his stellar eight-piece group, blending funk, jazz, and African rhythms. Highlights include "Africa Boogie" and "Waka Juju." This album, released in partnership with INA and Soul Makossa, Dibango's label, captures the African legend at the top of his game. Remastered from the original tapes with liner notes by Graeme Ewens and concert organizer Christian Ducasse, it features a front cover photo by key African Paris-based photographer Bill Akwa Bétotè. Manu Dibango, who passed away in 2020 at 86, is one of the most celebrated African musicians alongside Fela, Miriam Makeba, and Youssou N'dour. In a career spanning six decades, Dibango revolutionized African music and had a worldwide hit in the process in the form "Soul Makossa" in 1972. This live album, recorded during a French tour in 1982 came at a critical time when France, after the election of Francois Mitterrand, was embracing its multi-ethnic sensitivity. Through the rise of FM radios such as Radio Nova, an offshoot of cult magazine Actuel, the French music scene suddenly got much more opened. The "Sono Mondiale" as Nova would call World music, was born. Organized by French producer Martin Meissonnier, the sold-out tour created a stir in France bringing together two legends, Manu Dibango and his group plus iconic jazz traveler Don Cherry, whom Meissonnier had closely worked with in the late '70s. Captured on December 22, 1982, at the Théâtre La Criée in Marseille, Dibango 82 delivers an electrifying concert of African rhythms, jazz, and funk mastery, with a pinch of Latin music, led by Dibango accompanied by a stellar ensemble of musicians: Congolese guitarist Jerry "Bokilo" Malekani, drummer Brice Wassy, percussionist Valery Lobe, three of his most trusted partners, together with Jean-Pierre Coco on percussion, Hary Gofin on bass, pianist Del Rabenja from Madagascar and two superb background singers, Florence 'Titty' Dimbeng and Sissy Dipoko. The audio from the French INA archives has been remastered from master tapes and the album's liner notes are augmented by an introduction from French photographer Christian Ducasse who organized the concert. Last but not least the front cover features a superb shot by cult Paris-based Bill Akwa Bétotè who documented the Paris '80s African music scene making Dibango 82 an event for all Manu Dibango and African music fans.
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LP
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SVVRCH 028LP
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2022 repress. Survival Research present a reissue of Manu Dibango's Africadelic, originally released in 1972. The strange and majestic musical beast that is Africadelic was Dibango's follow-up to Soul Makossa (1972), but it was initially released on Louis Delacour's library music label, Mondiaphone, before Soul Makossa became an international phenomenon. As a Mondiaphone release, it was aimed at television and film producers seeking atmospheric background music, so the original titles are simply "Theme No 1," "Theme No 2," etc., with corresponding rhythmic notations such as "3/4 Africain," "Afro Beat 12/8," and "Medium Soul Beat," though once "Soul Makossa" hit the stratosphere, subsequent reissues bore actual song titles. In any case, the album is simply wonderful, a driving mix of Afro soul, funk, and jazz, with an undercurrent of Latin percussion throughout, given further shades by rock guitar and soul organ, as heard on "African Battle" and the title track; opener "Soul Fiesta" builds dramatic percussive tension before Dibango drops a killer vibraphone riff, while "African Carnival" makes the most of the full horn section, Dibango's sax soloing giving room for complex polyrhythmic percussion breaks. "Oriental Sunset" has beautiful vibraphone from Dibango too, as well as a thrilling flute melody, "Monkey Beat" and "Wa Wa" are funky soul struts and "Percussion Storm" has the band marching off into the African sunset as Dibango unleashes another killer vibraphone melody. Listening back to the album now, it is hard to believe that the whole shebang was written in a couple of days and committed to tape within the space of a week, but that is all more testimony to the greatness of Manu Dibango, one of African music's true pioneers.
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HC 063LP
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2021 restock. Hot Casa present a reissue of Manu Dibango's African Voodoo, originally released in 1972. A fantastic and rare album by the Afro soul maestro. These files were recorded in 1971 at Pathé-Marconi studio (Boulogne-Billancourt) for professional sound illustration intended for the cinema, television, and advertising. At the time, jazz musicians were interested in and experimented with all genres, and started to convert solely to what soon to be called "rare groove", somewhere between soul, jazz, and Afro funk with a hint of Latin clave. These tunes have not aged and the sound will be considered as "huge" by many cratediggers. These recording were not supposed to reach the club or radio audience, they were freer sessions, a moment for the musicians to open their imagination and test their "Afro something", like Manu Dibango liked to say. These recording sessions included the best of the French soul scene at the time: Yvan Julien (trumpet), Slim Pezin (guitar), Jacques Bolognesi (trombone), Lucien Dobat (drums), Emile Boza (percussion), Manfred (bass), and the conductor himself at the vibraphone, marimba, saxophone, organ. This album is a wonderful return to the future and should satisfy the need of the Afro soul aficionados. Mastering by The Carvery. Replica; vinyl-only; 180 gram vinyl; includes interview by Jacques Denis; limited press.
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CD
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AU 5039CD
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Born in Cameroon in 1933, Manu Dibango is best-known for his 1972 disco classic "Soul Makossa." This legendary library funk LP was issued the following year in France only, and has it all -- fuzz guitar, horns, bongos, breaks, and -- of course -- Dibango's awesome sax and vibes work.
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