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LP
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FVR 061LP
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2011 release. His African name, Owoicho Oche means "God is the King." Ray Stephen Oche is a singer, drummer, flautist, and trumpet player from Nigeria. In the late '50s he spent time in Ghana, meeting famous drummer Guy Warren who supposedly delivered him "the secret of the authentic African rhythms." He toured in Sierra Leone with the Outer Space band, and also went to Senegal and Gambia. He arrived in Paris in 1965 and played in Europe and worked with the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF). Matumbo, the name of his band on this record, means "gifted with various talents" in Agolan. This LP was recorded in Paris, with musicians from Congo, Togo, Guinea and Gambia, but also Brazil and the "French" West Indies. The whole album is roots and groovy Afro-jazz, full of percussion and African singing (in the Idoma language). Even though this record is very hard to find, that shouldn't stop it from being very high on everybody's wishlist.
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LP
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FVR 068LP
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A revival, a resumption, a revelation. Call it what you will, Ray Stephen Oche delivered this musical message: fire, fun, fury, talent, and magic. This is music from the African heartland from around 1976: dense, intense, a genuine fermentation of black African experience in sound. This is a translation of Ray Stephen's essence into a soothing, meaningful balm for your eager auditory faculties. Such is this album of "dedications."
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