Various Artists - Afro Exotique 2 - Further Adventures In The Leftfield, Africa 1975-87

Africa Seven

£21.60

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: ASVN066
Barcode: 5055373556543
Release Date: 19 May 2023
Genre: African/Africa

01. The Quest (Version Piano Solo) — Afrocult Foundation
02. Distingue (Edit) — Orchestre Lipua-Lipua
03. (G#) Thanks And Praises — B.G. and Fibre
04. I Don't Want No-Body (To Tell Me) — Akwassa
05. I Got To Make It — Aura
06. Ramer Sans Rame — Akofa Akoussah
07. La Condition Masculine — Francis Bebey
08. Jungle Magic — Benis Cletin
09. M'Bife Je T'Aime — Sorry Bamba
10. Elle M'a Mordu La Langue — Gregoire Lawani

After "Afro Exotique - Adventures In The Leftfield, Africa 1972-88" was enthusiastically embraced by heads, collectors and core Africa Seven enthusiasts alike, we dived back down into the vaults, and hope we've come up with another volume of listenable esoterica from roughly the same period.

"The Quest", courtesy of fleeting 1978 leftfield supergroup Afro Cult Foundation (featuring Joni Haastrup, Remi Kabaka and friends) sets the tone-bar high and sideways, with 4.50 mins of atmospheric, effected solo piano drift to get things started.

Congolese ensemble band "Orchestre Lipua Lipua" introduces gently lilting Soukous with 1977's, "Distingue", before BG and Fibre's "Thanks and Praises" introduces some wobbly, Moog tinged Lagos reggae shuffle to proceedings.

Akwassa's 1974 funker "I Don't Want Nobody" peels off into a Hammond / wah wah / moog mini odyssey half way through, before Tongolese chanteuse Akofa Akoussah's stirring "Ramer San Rame" introduces emotional charge into proceedings.

Francis Bebey's "La Condition Masculine" (1976) is a centre piece of the album, with it's skippy drum machine rhythm and spoken world vocal, but we'll admit, we probably wouldn't have used it if we'd read a translation of that vocal first.

Benis Cletin's "Jungle Magic" (1979) acid funk intro then gives way to a blatant, and at times slightly unhinged homage to the all conquering (at the time) "I Feel Love", Sorry Bamba's "M'Bife Je T'Aime" keeps the leftfield funk groove rolling, before the mournful, immersive croon of Gregoire Lawani's "Elle M'a Mordu La Langue" brings proceedings to a reflective close.