Cameroon Garage Funk (Analog Africa Nr. 32)
by Analog Africa
Levrikon
Levrikon
Impossibly groovy. An amazing document of this incredibly fertile time in Cameroon's musical history.
Favorite track: Ma Wde Wa.
twelvestones
twelvestones
Samy never disappoints. Another five star compilation.
elbolt
greatbasin
tomas_rebelo
sdb000
SHOTARO MIYA
malty
Brad Lewis
broadbottomsheik
Alex Peabody
wellyuber
Kristy
Vincent Valstar
Sandra Fedowitz
direbruce
nowherepuppy
Maniek Grucha
Σtaθηs
gndmd
Daniel Wolkerseder
Loïk
Johnny Mears
Rocky Mañoc
cybey
Rainer
olge
hi fi diner
robertmars03
John Gilliam
werlen
Roberto Duran
zigzagink
ack
Sanj
Eisentukan
KOray
Manuello
chelsea63
PIERRE YVES
monadelic
krschabt
Garrett Coakley
Brian Carman
Jay
HughVG
harderwinshears
geckameleon
Alan Brown
edvaguelyjr
oliver ceely
Apocalyptic Octopus
bjorn
bi3621
pmg
kiipparikalle
manuelorkestar
Ceviche y las Charapitas
jussimiet
Dave Martin
ctop
tonio hubilla
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumIncludes unlimited streaming of Cameroon Garage Funk (Analog Africa Nr. 32) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 7 daysPurchasable with gift card
€27 EUR or more
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital AlbumIncludes unlimited streaming of Cameroon Garage Funk (Analog Africa Nr. 32) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 7 daysPurchasable with gift card
€16 EUR or more
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Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
€10 EUR or more
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Full Digital Discography
Get all 53 Analog Africa releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Ecuatoriana - El Universo Paralelo de Polibio Mayorga 1969-1981 (Analog Africa No.37), The Good Samaritans (Limited Dance Edition No. 20), Sonido Verde de Moyobamba (Limited Dance Edition Nr. 17), Perú Selvático - Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972-1986 (Analog Africa No.36), Ernesto Djédjé - Roi Du Ziglibithy (Limited Dance Edition Nr. 15), The Movers Vol.1 - 1970-1976 (Analog Africa Nr. 35), Orchestre Massako (Limited Dance Edition Nr. 14), Saturno 2000 - La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983 (Analog Africa Nr. 34), and 45 more.
Purchasable with gift card€232.99 EUR or more (50% OFF)
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Joseph Kamga - Sie Tcheu
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Los Camaroes - Ma Wde Wa
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about
Yaoundé, 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 obscure that even the most seasoned veterans of the Cameroonian music scene had never heard of them. A few trips to the land of Makossa and many more hours of interviews were necessary to get enough insight to assemble the puzzle-pieces of Yaoundé’s buzzing 1970s music scene. We learned that despite the myriad difficulties involved in the simple process of making and releasing a record, the musicians of Yaoundé’s underground music scene left behind an extraordinary legacy of raw grooves and magnificent tunes.
The songs may have been recorded in a church, with a single microphone in the span of only an hour or two, but the fact that we still pay attention to these great creations some 50 years later, only illustrates the timelessness of their music.
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 obscure that even the most seasoned veterans of the Cameroonian music scene had never heard of them. A few trips to the land of Makossa and many more hours of interviews were necessary to get enough insight to assemble the puzzle-pieces of Yaoundé’s buzzing 1970s music scene. We learned that despite the myriad difficulties involved in the simple process of making and releasing a record, the musicians of Yaoundé’s underground music scene left behind an extraordinary legacy of raw grooves and magnificent tunes.
The songs may have been recorded in a church, with a single microphone in the span of only an hour or two, but the fact that we still pay attention to these great creations some 50 years later, only illustrates the timelessness of their music.
credits
released September 3, 2021
GRAPHIC DESIGN: KATHRIN REMEST (ANALOG AFRICA)
MASTERING: NICK ROBBINS (SOUNDMASTERING)
LACQUERS: FRANK MERRITT (THE CARVERY)
PICTURES: DÉNI SHAIN
TEXT EDITING: JESSE SIMON
INTERVIEWS, TRANSLATION AND BIOGRAPHIES: VOLKAN KAYA AND SAMY BEN REDJEB
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
NGA MARTIN AKA JOHNNY BLACK, MARCEL TALLA, BANDOLO WILFRIED, JEAN PAUL NDENGA, ABILA DÉSIRÉ, PIERRE DIDY TCHAKOUNTÉ, JOACHIM OELSNER, TSANGA MARIE, RICKARD MASIP, JEAN DELLEMOTTE, KEITH SLATER, JOHN PITCHER AND BJÖRN LARSSON FROM TIMETABLEIMAGES
GRAPHIC DESIGN: KATHRIN REMEST (ANALOG AFRICA)
MASTERING: NICK ROBBINS (SOUNDMASTERING)
LACQUERS: FRANK MERRITT (THE CARVERY)
PICTURES: DÉNI SHAIN
TEXT EDITING: JESSE SIMON
INTERVIEWS, TRANSLATION AND BIOGRAPHIES: VOLKAN KAYA AND SAMY BEN REDJEB
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
NGA MARTIN AKA JOHNNY BLACK, MARCEL TALLA, BANDOLO WILFRIED, JEAN PAUL NDENGA, ABILA DÉSIRÉ, PIERRE DIDY TCHAKOUNTÉ, JOACHIM OELSNER, TSANGA MARIE, RICKARD MASIP, JEAN DELLEMOTTE, KEITH SLATER, JOHN PITCHER AND BJÖRN LARSSON FROM TIMETABLEIMAGES
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The Future of Music Happened Decades Ago
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