11/01/2011

Jolie Detta: "Massu"





Jolie Detta, Franco & T.P. O.K. Jazz: Massu (Congo, 1986)

From Youtube: The reason Detta did not make any more records with Franco after this one, was that this 18-year-old girl was not strong enough to carry the succes that came out of it. Children shouting her name at her in the street, etc. The succes was too much for her, so she became "sick", or at least, that was the way Franco put it.

This is the best song I've ever heard.

07/01/2011

Mopero Wa Maloba

After playing in the fantastic Orchestre Cavacha, Orchestre Shama Shama and with Les Victoria Elei­son in the 1970s and 80s, Mopero - aka Mopero Wa Maloba, one of the best Congolese musicians ever - became an evangelist priest in the 90s, praising the Lord in Cotonou (Bénin), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) where he died in 2008, far from the show business industry (and strictly condemning its illusions). Some of Mopero's late celebrations were video recorded and released on VHS by Ephraim Production. Here come three of these. Take your time. Each of the following videos is 2 hour long. The music parts are usually excellent. In the first clip for instance, the track that goes from 4:30 to 7:30 approximately, with its synth rhythm, keyboard digressions and intense vocals is pretty amazing. Not to mention the transe images on this part. Be sure to check the graphics too, like the credits background...