Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Live gem resurfaces
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/03/2025
» Cameroonian musician, composer and songwriter Manu Dibango passed away in 2020 at the age of 86. His career and life were extraordinary. He was one of the most celebrated African musicians alongside Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Fela Kuti, Frnaco and Youssou N'Dour. He was known as the most sampled of all African musicians.
World's in a spin
Life, John Clewley, Published on 23/04/2024
» Record Store Day has been part of the music scene for 20 years now, held twice a year in April and "Black Friday" in November. The day-long event is held to celebrate independent record stores around the globe, bringing together musicians, producers, media, DJs and retailers to enjoy new and reissued vinyl gems.
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' revolution turns 40
AFP, Published on 25/11/2022
» PARIS: Mixing rock, pop and RnB like never before, Michael Jackson's "Thriller", 40 years old next week, became the most successful album of all time and defined a coming era with its audiovisual ambition.
Time to do the soukous
Life, John Clewley, Published on 12/10/2021
» Congolese rumba, sometimes called rumba Lingala or rumba Congolais, is likely to join khon, a Thai masked dance drama, khaen music of Laos, chapei dang veng of Cambodia, Cuban son and Dominican bachata on Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In August this year, the two countries from the Congo Basin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo (ROC), announced a joint bid to add Congolese rumba to the list.
A tribute to Manu Dibango
Life, John Clewley, Published on 31/03/2020
» Just after the World War II, in 1948, a gangly youth arrived in Strasbourg, France, after a long trip from Douala in Cameroon. He had 3kg of coffee in his luggage and a burning desire to be a saxophonist like Lester Young (later he would don a Young-esque pork pie hat and blow smoke rings like the acclaimed master). His name was Manu Dibango. Sadly, this veteran musician died last week of complications from the Covid-19 virus. He was 86 years old.
Rumba in the jungle
Life, John Clewley, Published on 30/10/2018
» Everyone knows about the famous "Rumble in the Jungle", the epic heavyweight boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammed Ali held in Kinshasa, then Zaire, in 1974. The fight was immortalised in the Academy Award-winning film documentary When We Were Kings.
The grooves of Cameroon
Life, John Clewley, Published on 01/08/2017
» When it comes to popular African music from Central Africa, the DR Congo is most often considered as the most important in the region for developing many of the dance crazes that swept the continent and made waves on international stages; think of Congolese rhumba or any of the dances that followed, from soukous to ndambolo. But what about some of the other countries in the region?
Obits to African giants
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/02/2014
» Two giants of African popular music passed away recently: Congolese bandleader and singer Tabu Ley Rochereau and legendary producer Ibrahima Sylla. Both of these musical icons helped to popularise African music not only within the continent but beyond it and on to the international stage.