Orchestre Les Mangelepa - Last Band Standing
by Maarten Schiethart
published: 15 / 4 / 2018
Label:
Strut Records
Format: CD
intro
Fantastic album from Congolese ex-pats in Kenya Orchestre Les Mangelepa who rework their former material and recapture their heyday in the late 1970s
Recorded by Guy Morley in Nairobi, 'Last Band Standing' is a highly enjoyable collection of music that typically spurs from East Africa. It is very much an album that John Peel would have have ventured into at great length, Orchestre Les Mangelepa deserve their place next to the great man's treasured albums from the likes of Shalawambe, Misty In Roots, Four Brothers and Thomas Mapfumo. In other words, it is a 'Best Of' re-recorded with little of the original vibrancy gone. Exhilarating licks of snares and powerful breezes of brass support their flowing melodies. With hardly anything in French or English, the words in Lingala will remain a mystery to the average European ear. Orchestre Les Mangelepa will, however, win you over with their own brand in yodelling and delicate snare picking. Think Diblo Diablo for the latter. The album is a mere eight songs, most clocking in at around eight to nine minutes each, and they lead through a recording history spanning almost four decades, which comes from the midst on this vast continent. There are few references to the music from Cameroun, Nigeria or from countries further West. It melts Kinshasa styles like soukous with chimurenga from Zimbabwe with the occasional township beat from further South thrown in. Their rhythms sway as one rides their magic carpet and the complex patterns merge. Fanfare drums fall in line with a popping bass and guitars shuffle into the spotlights. This album was lost in a heap before Christmas. Don't miss out.
Track Listing:-
1 Kanemo2 Malawi zikomo
3 Mbungu
4 Suzanna
5 Maindusa
6 Mimba
7 Nyako Konya
8 Ma lilly
Band Links:-
https://en-gb.facebook.com/Orchestre-Les-Mangelepa-521744867897561/http://no-nation.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nonationarts/
https://twitter.com/NoNationArts
Label Links:-
https://instagram.com/strutrecords/https://twitter.com/strutrecords
https://www.youtube.com/user/strutrecords
https://www.facebook.com/StrutRecords
http://www.strut-records.com/
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