Mazembe @ 45rpm, Vol. 1
Sterns Music (77 mins)
Orchestra Super Mazembe may be one of the most influential bands in African music. They were one of the first exponents of the Latin-influenced Congolese rumba lingala (or soukous) to up sticks and move to Kenya, where their music evolved into what is now known as benga. This in turn crossed over to Zimbabwe, transforming into sungura and jit jive. You’d be hard pressed to find them in a record shop outside of the African continent, though.
Mazembe @ 45rpm, Vol. 1 remedies this by presenting pieces taken from 45rpm releases from the late ’70s – the most common way of disseminating music at the time. None of the tracks are shorter than six minutes long, each containing both A and B sides of the single, the two parts of the same song blended seamlessly.
The pieces reveal a wide range of moods, from the danciest grooves of ‘Okova’ to the more relaxing ‘Izabela’, but they all have the common soukous spices – interweaving high-pitched guitar melodies, effortlessly tight harmonies and an overall aural sunniness. Oddly enough, the compilation neglects what was perhaps the band’s biggest hit in Kenya, 1977’s ‘Kasongo’, but the tracks that are included are solid gold.
Another inclusion is a detailed 15-page booklet, with band biography and song explanations created with help from another soukous legend Samba Mapangala, who features on the album himself, taking vocal duties on the track ‘Mwana Mazembe’.
Although the sound reproduction can be a bit scratchy at times, this can be forgiven in lieu of the great music contained within. Bring on Volume 2!