África Negra

• Antologia Vol. 1 [Bongo Joe, 2022] A-
• Antologia Vol. 2 [Bongo Joe, 2024] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Antologia Vol. 1 [Bongo Joe, 2022]
It would be idiot vanity not to quote the press copy on this one, so ahem: "Heat-seeking, puxa-style blends of semba, merengue, kompas, soukouss, coladeira from the two Portuguese-speaking islands of Sao Tomé & Principe in the Gulf of Guinea." Goes on to assert its place among "the roots of current Lisbon kuduru," a subgenre last referenced by me in January in regard to Angola-born Pongol's Sakadila. For sure its dozen picks tend speedier and more pumped up than not only Franco but, say, Kanda Bongo Man, yet lighter as well. Given that they've been recording since 1981, it should be no surprise that the premier selection assembled here never flags as guitars establish the melody, voices stick with it, and horns bulk it up a little. How irresistible the resulting music proves long haul remains to be determined. But for sure these dozen examples don't quit. A-

Antologia Vol. 2 [Bongo Joe, 2024]
This band's home base is Sao Tomé and Principe, a tiny island nation of barely 200,000 situated 150 miles west of the African mainland that was only settled--with slaves, naturally--after the Portuguese discovered the islands in 1470. One might hope this isolated population managed to develop its own musical style, and in a sense it did, though it may be more accurate to label it a unique amalgam: a gentle genre mix that evokes and/or duplicates the fetching polyrhythms of related African dance musics from Nigeria down to the Congo and tops them off with the sometimes sweet, sometimes mellow vocals of Sergio Fonseca and João Seria, a figure so beloved his 2023 death occasioned nationwide mourning. A-