Ave Africa
Strut Records (2CD, 108 mins)
The 1970s were the time for dance bands in East Africa, but Sunburst weren’t one of the ten-a-penny. Hailing from Tanzania, they eventually relocated to Zambia, and gained a reputation as a red-hot crowd puller.
And red-hot they clearly were. Although the roots of the dance band explosion lie in Congolese rumba, Sunburst set themselves apart by taking more influence from rock, psychedelia and soul than Latin styles, and their recordings even show reference points from roots reggae and taarab – all held together tightly by a strong East African root.
The band was short-lived, lasting only six years from their beginnings in 1970 to their eventual drifting apart, and with this release, Strut Records manages to cram their entire recorded output (29 tracks) onto two CDs. The first disc is dedicated to their only album, 1976’s Ave Africa; the second compiles early radio sessions and singles. Released as a standalone album at the end of their career, the first disc is understandably the tighter and more sophisticated of the set, but the second still contains gems, and provides interesting comparisons to track the group’s musical development.
This is a wonderful album. Get out in the sun, relive these perfect 70s sounds and dance!