#RecordOfTheDay “Africa” by Bozambo

Sunday is a day as good as any for some super heavy Antillean / West African funk. I believe this is Bozambo’s first of 3 albums, and features some of the best studio musicians from Cote D’ivoire and Burkina Faso.

#RecordOfTheDay “Gnizako” by Ernesto Djedje

Over the last decade a lot more tribute has been paid to the legendary Ivorian musician, singer and performer Ernesto Djedje and deservingly so. He was a true innovator by developing his own musical rhythm and dance to go with it called Ziglibithy. Definitely check out the numerous archival footage of him performing via YouTube.

Gnizako

Allez Les Éléphants!

elephantselephants

Two of the teams I had huge hopes for in World Cup 2014 were Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana; sadly things didn’t work out as well for them as many of us hoped.

But that’s why I’m super excited for this superclásico tomorrow, the final of the African Cup of Nations 2015!!!
Judging from the record cover, back in 1984 Côte d’Ivoire must have not had the  team that they have today; “La victoire est possible” is even more hesitant than the Mexicans’ “Sí se puede”; when you have to explain to your team that they *could* win, things might not be looking so good for you.
But things are very different today, and I’m really hoping to see this golden generation finally get the big win. Plus, I’ve waited years for the right moment to share this record with you, this better be it!
Allez Les Éléphants!!!

Zia-Zia (La Cote d’Ivoire Gagnera)
Enjoy,

papicultor

Podcast: Digging deep in Ghana

We’re back with our 4th podcast of Pelanga en La Sala. Hosts Arjuna (dj smokestack), Jacobo (dj pozole) and Federico (dj papicultor) welcome guest DJ and collector Juan G into La Sala, the man behind Diggin4Gold, as they discuss his record digging experience in Ghana and explore much of West Africa via vinyl treasures.

You can download it for free on iTunes along with all our previous episodes. Leave a review and let us know what you think.


Kante Manfla – Keleya

In case you were wondering who was peeking through the 45 hole in my last post, I decided to share another breath-taking pachanga from that very person – Guinean master guitarist Kante Manfla. Manfla is one of those prolific artists, who due to varied and sometimes ambiguous associations confuses the inquisitor. Just check out World Vision’s investigative post from back in 2009 and you’ll see what I mean. Without any answers to the many questions about Kante Manfla, I’ll simply leave you with this call to the dancefloor – Keleya.  Make no mistake, this song is exceptionally potent with Manfla’s Son-africano flavor and gets played on repeat at my place.  Just listen to the way the drums, guitar, flute, and horns take turns telling their own tale of Keleya while you work up a sweat.

– Smokestack

Keleya – Kante Manfla

Kante Manfla – Keleya

Kante Manfla - Keleya

Roberto Blades – Selva de Cemento

Here’s a killer record I picked up in Bogotá recently, a battle of heavyweights: salsa vs boleros!

Bolerossmall

(Or maybe I should say aslaS sv soreloB.)

Aslassmall

I’m saving my favorite track off this record for the upcoming Pelanga: El Chino Latino compilation. Instead, I’ll let Roberto Blades’s horn section explain to you just how hard it is to move from the country to the concrete jungle.

Selva De Cemento by Roberto Blades

Selva De Cemento

I don’t know why a Panamanian is yelling the peruanísimo “Chim Pum Callao”, but I’m sure that a certain sector of the Pelanga readership will dig it.

Zoom into the back cover:

Abidjan

Our friend Sylvia (shoutout!) tells us that Treichville is a neigborhood of Abidjan. And yes, sure, the salsa craze hit West Africa hard. But there’s no way that a record called “La Verraquera! En Boleros: vs. Salsa.” was pressed in Cote D’Ivoire! (Especially when the “label”, Olympo, seems to have specialized in obscure rock in Spain.) Such is the Colombian obsession with African records, I guess.

papicultor