African Prog/Psych/Rock

[Buddhabreath]

I’m a fan of the East African guitar sound, know some Nigerian bands from back in the day like Blo whose eponymous album is excellent (available from Wayside via the link for $4 btw - no brainer!) but my knowledge in this area is very limited. I know of the Zambian band Amanaz, but wasn’t aware of the 70s Zambia story - the video below was recently posted on YouTube and helps to illuminate that scene.

Do you have any favorite or recommended African rock bands from the 70s that might be of interest to PE members?



This thread might die on the vine, but I couldn’t find a similar thread after searching so I thought it was worth a shot. Thanks!

[Rarebird]

Osibisa?

Fela Kuti?

[Rye-Ergot]

[Rye-Ergot]

This is a pretty decent overview for Zambian rock:
https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.co...uction-feature

[Mr.Krautman]

Yes, the area is very limited. You won't find a lot, since very few African bands ventured in the prog-rock genre. You should check Zzebra, not really African (British) but including past members of Osibisa. The proggiest I know, though closer to jazz-rock/fusion.

[polmico]

Witch have a box set of all their recordings. It’s worth picking up.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Baribrotzer]

There's Demon Fuzz - British-based, and most or all of them were black guys. Jazzy funk, and sort of prog-adjacent. However, I don't know whether they were African or from the islands.

[spellbound]

African Head Charge

[Mascodagama]

African Head Charge

African Head Charge aren’t African. Started by Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (Jamaican) and Adrian Sherwood (British).

[Mascodagama]

There's Demon Fuzz - British-based, and most or all of them were black guys. Jazzy funk, and sort of prog-adjacent. However, I don't know whether they were African or from the islands.

From the islands - a band formed in London by West Indian immigrants, one of whom (Paddy Corea) got the idea for the band whilst visiting Morocco where he was exposed to non-Western music. They aren't really an African group much more than Monty Python are Canadian because they did the Lumberjack Song.

OK, to be fair, I think there was one African in the group (out of seven).

[Mascodagama]

One of the greats:

[Mascodagama]

Osibisa?

Not properly but I guess it's arguable - formed in London with a membership made up of Africans and West Indians, but four out of seven members were African.

Fela Kuti?

Absolutely!

[Munster]

Freedom’s Children were an excellent prog band, coming out of South Africa. The album Astra was world-class and their first album, Battle Hymn of the Broken-Hearted Hordes, was pretty interesting too. Their third and last was good but patchy.
Africa wasn’t well served by prog bands, although there were quite a few ‘psychedelic’ bands. The main Western influences for bands in north and west Africa were Santana, The Beatles and James Brown. There was more diversity in South Africa/Rhodesia/Zambia, where records of all the big English prog bands could be bought, but many of the local efforts to play progressive music were leaden and overly ambitious. Freedom’s Children were the exception.
The German label Love, Peace and Poetry series released a CD – called African Psychedelic Music – but in essence it was a compilation of southern-African prog/rock/blues bands.

[Munster]

This is another good one from South Africa - Snakeshed's Classic Epics - although not outright prog, more psych/rock

[Munster]

I now realise that my concept of psychedelic (conscience-altering) music has been shaped almost entirely by the sound of Rick Wright’s Ummagumma-era swirling and ambient organ that I listened to in my formative years. With this in mind I offer (under the banner of African psych) this track from Ethiopian Mahmoud Ahmed, called Tezeta. For me it is the most psychedelic sound to come out of Africa that I have heard. I haven’t a clue what he is singing about but ‘tezeta’ roughly translates as ‘the blues’. And the sax is amazing.

[walt]

John Wizards

[Munster]

At the risk of getting like Svettie (but I am, after all, in lockdown) … That was a great video on Zambian rock. I wonder if a similar programme has been done on Zimbabwe. The pattern was very similar in Zimbabwe, with the exception of two things: most of the rock was played by white bands (and died out at independence); and the indigenous music scene, which largely used western instruments, survived the colonial era and continues to make great, internationally-recognized music. One of the foremost musicians of that era, and still producing records and playing in the US/Canada, was Thomas Mapfumo. He started out as a drummer playing covers of western songs but developed a sound of his own as a singer and band leader. He is credited with developing the mbira-guitar sound, which is a choppy guitar riff that is very similar to the sound of the African thumb-piano (or mbira). But the sound seems to have been imported to Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) from musicians moving down from Malawi (to the north). Mapfumo’s first band was the brilliantly named Hallelujah Chick Run Band, which is well worth listening to. This track, although not rock and which doesn’t have Mapfumo drumming/singing on it, is great.

[Sunlight Caller]

Not prog or psych and certainly of more recent times, but I enjoy quite a lot by Tinariwen, Saharan Tuareg musicians from Mali. The roots are bluesy and their albums are worth an exploration.

[per anporth]

African Head Charge aren’t African. Started by Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (Jamaican) and Adrian Sherwood (British).

Although not fitting the criteria of the OP, this first house band for On-U were nevertheless superb.

As were the second house band, Tack>>head!

[Mascodagama]

Not prog or psych and certainly of more recent times, but I enjoy quite a lot by Tinariwen, Saharan Tuareg musicians from Mali. The roots are bluesy and their albums are worth an exploration.

They are excellent, as are related group Terakaft.

Since we're going off-topic already, I'd also recommend Ba Power by Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba:

[Rye-Ergot]

Freedom’s Children were an excellent prog band, coming out of South Africa. The album Astra was world-class....

I had to second this statement and recommendation. “Astra” is indeed an upper echelon prog psych album on every level. I still recall hearing it for the first time many years ago with a friend after we had gone to a record show and bought a bunch of reissues. The dealer recommended it and it wasn’t cheap but I knew the guy and trusted his taste. Lead off intro type track “Aileen” seemed promising sonically but when “The Homecoming” kicked in my friend and I just looked at each other like “Whoa!”.
There is a great interview with the (sadly recently deceased) bassist and chief songwriter Ramsay Mackay here:


https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2...th-ramsay.html

[Mascodagama]

Although not fitting the criteria of the OP, this first house band for On-U were nevertheless superb.

As were the second house band, Tack>>head!

Oh, I agree: I got into AHC with the Songs of Praises album. I'm a bit sad that I never saw any of the On-U Sound bands play live.

Relatedly, though not On-U Sound, I also liked The Wolf That House Built by Little Axe. Though he lost me with the follow-up.

[per anporth]

The psyched out jazz of early 70s Ethiopia is a treasure trove to explore - collected in the series of Ethiopiques cds. Vol IV is one of the standouts - & features the brilliant Mulatu Astatke, the "father of Ethio-jazz":



I've just realised that the 4th song on this album (around 11 minute mark) is an early version of the track Munster posted, "Tezeta" (without the Rick Wright swirling organ!) - on this earlier recording, it's translated as "nostalgia" rather than "the blues"

[TheH]

Actually French but with Ethopian (?) vocals (Killer stuff)

[per anporth]

At the risk of getting like Svettie (but I am, after all, in lockdown) … That was a great video on Zambian rock. I wonder if a similar programme has been done on Zimbabwe. The pattern was very similar in Zimbabwe, with the exception of two things: most of the rock was played by white bands (and died out at independence); and the indigenous music scene, which largely used western instruments, survived the colonial era and continues to make great, internationally-recognized music. One of the foremost musicians of that era, and still producing records and playing in the US/Canada, was Thomas Mapfumo. He started out as a drummer playing covers of western songs but developed a sound of his own as a singer and band leader. He is credited with developing the mbira-guitar sound, which is a choppy guitar riff that is very similar to the sound of the African thumb-piano (or mbira). But the sound seems to have been imported to Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) from musicians moving down from Malawi (to the north). Mapfumo’s first band was the brilliantly named Hallelujah Chick Run Band, which is well worth listening to. This track, although not rock and which doesn’t have Mapfumo drumming/singing on it, is great.

I remember a brief moment in the early/mid-80s, when the Zimbabwean sound of "Jit" took root(s) in the UK - supported by djs John Peel & Andy Kershaw. The two bands I remember best are The Four Brothers & The Bhundu Boys. The latter almost "crossed over" - their lp "True Jit" came out on a major label, but, inevitably, they had to sacrifice almost everything that made their music special in the process.

At the time, living in Edinburgh, they were a more or less continual gigging presence - in part because they were being hosted by "Champion" Doug Vietch, in Hawick!