Jo Bisso - Dance To It

Year : 2015/1976

Label : Africa Seven/Disques Espérance

Genre : Soul, Afrobeat

Style : Funk/Soul, Disco

Debut album of Jo Bisso, a cameroonian singer, producer & arranger influenced by US Soul & Funk music from Otis Reading to James Brown, singing as well his native tongue as french and english. From 1976 to 1979, Jo Bisso released four records to the disco accents and produced albums of his fellow countrymen Sookie and the disco duo, "Venise", led by Linda Henderson & Sharon Criswell. Settled in Paris from 1971, he signed on Decca France his first single "Flying To The Land Of Soul" (1974) as J.B. Afro Soul, produced by Pierre Jaubert, the man behind "The Lafayette Afro Rock Band" name (ex-Ice), before to sign on Disques Espérance, a world & african music label based in Paris. The album opens up with the title track "Dance To It", a catchy disco funk in two parts, the rest of the album is a blend of Jazz (Don't Fight The Feeling), Soul music (Let's Keep It Together), Funk (Give It Up) with afro/disco beats, and concludes with the beautiful ballad "Odwa". All songs composed and arranged by Jo Bisso except "Ramaya" written by A. Simone/St. Regal and "Odwa" by Ossibissa.

Pasteur Lappé & The Sekele Movement - We, The People

Year : 2018/1979
Label : Africa Seven/Disques Espérance
Genre : Funk/Soul
Style : Disco, Afro Disco, Afro Funk

Debut album of Pasteur Lappé, a Cameroonian singer from Douala who recorded from 1979 to 1981, some amazing funky nuggets such as "Na Real Sekele Fo' Ya" or "Sekelimania (Nku Bilam)". Pasteur Lappé is best-known to have popularized the "Sekele", a typical afro-groove embracing furious dances and the disco style, whole played in the cameroonian way. Settled in Paris from the seventies, he recruited guitarist Jacob Desvarieux, future founder member of Zouk band, Kassav, as arranger, and the collective "The Zulu Gang" formed by bassist Christophe Zadire, as backing band to produce his albums. The album opens with "More Sekele Movement" including deep bass groove & syncopated beat, followed by the catchy afro-folk-pop song "Dora". Titles include also two ballads  ("Watcha Get Ma Day Dreams", "As Far I Can Remember") and the single "The Sekele Movement" which was selected by Analog Africa label for the "Pop Makossa" compilation released in 2017. 

M'Bamina - Expérimental

Year : 2016/1978
Label : Africa Seven/Fiesta Records
Genre : Soul
Style : Afro Funk, Disco

M'Bamina was formed in 1972 by eight african musicians of Bantu ethnic group, coming from Congo, Benin & Cameroon, and settled in Pavia, Italty. Discovered in an italian night club by Ivo Lunardi, they toured on the italian riviera before to spot by french impresario Christian Carbaza. After they moved to France, where they became friends of cameroonian legend Manu Dibango, they recorded in 1975 their first album "African Roll". On their success way, they performed across Europe in 1976, then in Cameroon at Stade Yaounde alongside French Pop star, Claude François, Manu Dibango, and finally played the first part of  the James Brown's concert at Pavillon de Paris in 1977. In the early eighties, they signed on the short-lived Paco Rabanne's label recording two albums before they disbanded. The group is a killer funk machine distilling pure dancing groove, connected to their African Roots with traditional Bantu lyrics, including Boogie Funk with a strong disco baseline (Atide O Sika, Tchiayala), Afro-Cuban rhythms & Folk Soul (Mambu, Zizi Ku Mbele). Produced by Philippe Brejean & arranged by Samba N'Gó.

J.M. Tim & Foty - African Funk Experimentals 1977 - 1979

Year : 2018
Label : Africa Seven
Genre : Jazz, Soul
Style : Jazz Funk, Afro Funk, Disco, Boogie

Between 1976 to 1982, the J.M. Tim & Foty duo (Jean Marie Tiam and Maurice Foty) left their mark on the west african pop music, surrounded by brilliant musicians such as Jean-Yves Messan, Daniel Haustant & François Corea Amadou from Malinga Five, JC Naimaro from french west indies zoukband Kassav' or arranger Alan Shelly. Seen as the precussors of the cameroonian disco, with their big hit "Douala By Night", they gained an international recognition in the 80's, from "Help" album and became thereafter one of the biggest african selling music artists. This compilation include various songs extracted from their three first albums, featuring the catchy killer funk song "Douala By Night", sampled by Missy Elliot for "Dog In Heat" (2001), the reminiscence of Herbie Hancock to the african style "Funky Bafoussam", the Soul ballad "Love Is Light", the boogie disco tunes "Not So Bad" and "Funky Boogie Love", and the punchy Afro Funk "Aie" & "Eda".

Eko - Funky Disco Music

Year : 2018/1979
Label : Africa Seven/Dragon Phénix
Genre : Jazz, World
Style : Disco, Afrobeat, Afro Funk

Eko Roosevelt, nicknamed as the camroonian Quincy Jones, is an arranger, producer & keyboardist, member of the Dikalo group founded in 1976.  The sound of Eko, as the one of his fellow countryman Manu Dibango, is a blend of Makossa music tainted with funk, disco, soul & Jazz. During several years, he was an pianist accompagnist for various french variété singers as Johnny Hallyday or Claude François, and was conductor of the Cameroon's national orchestra. "Funky Disco Music" is Eko's third album including punchy horns, afro-rhythms and groovy bass lines featuring Vicky Edimo from Dikalo. The album was recorded in France at the famous studio Barclay, it opens on the afro-caribbean funky swing song "Funky Disco Music" and closes on the smooth jazz ballad "Emen' Ango", passing by the african folk pop song "Me To A De Try My Own" and the two afro-disco-club gems, the favorites of DJs : "Ndolo Embe Mulema" & "Bowa'a Mba Ngebe".