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Manu Dibango: Wakafrika

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Manu Dibango
Title: Wakafrika
Released: 1994
Label: Fnac Music
Time: 67:14
Producer(s): George Acogny
Appears with:
Category: World Music
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2000
Price in €: 18,99
Web address: www.manudibango.net

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Soul Makossa (Dibango) - featuring: Youssou N'Dour
[2] Biko (Gabriel) - featuring: Peter Gabriel, Alex Brown, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Geoffrey Oriyema, Sinéad O'Connor
[3] Wakafrika (Dibango)
[4] Emma (Touré/Touré) - featuring: Salif Keita
[5] Homeless (Shabalala/Simon) - featuring: Ray Lema
[6] Lady (Kuti) - featuring: Ray Phyri
[7] Hi-Life (Badarou) - featuring: King Sunny Ade
[8] Wimoweh (Campbell/Linda) - featuring: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
[9] Ami Oh! (Ebanda) - featuring: Angélique Kidjo, Papa Wemba
[10] Jingo (Olatunji) - featuring: King Sunny Adé
[11] Pata Pata (Makeba) - featuring: Kaissa Doumbé
[12] Diarabi (Manfila) - featuring: Bonga, Touré Kunda
[13] Ça Va Chouia (Dibango)

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Manu Dibango - Percussion, Arranger, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals, Background Vocals

Salif Keita - Vocals
Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Vocals
Papa Wemba - Vocals
Peter Gabriel - Keyboards, Vocals
Geoffrey Oryema - Vocal
Ray Lema - Keyboards, Programming
Alex Brown - Background Vocals
Michael Fisher - Percussion
Paul Jackson, Jr. - Guitar
Manu Katche - Drums
Angélique Kidjo - Vocals
Touré Kunda - Background Vocals
Armand Sabal-Lecco - Bass
Jerry Bokilo Malekani - Guitar
Andre Manga - Bass, Bandleader
Francis Mbappe - Bass, Programming
Fred McFarlane - Keyboards
Dominic Miller - Guitar
Youssou N'Dour - Vocal
Sinéad O'Connor - Background Vocals
Ray Phiri - Vocal
Felix Sabal-Lecco - Drums
Assane Thiam - Percussion
Brice Wassy - Percussion, Drums
Tom Yoms - Background Vocals
Carl Glanville - Assistant Engineer
David Lewis - Trumpet
David Williams - Guitar
Moriba Koïta - N'Goni

Al Schmitt - Mixing
Paolo Salvatore - Session Coordinator, Assistant Executive Producer
George Acogny - Arranger, Programming, Loops, Executive Producer, Mixing
Peter Doell - Engineer
Jay Healy - Engineer
Bernie Grundman - Mastering
Jess Sutcliffe - Engineer
Antonio "Moogie" Canazio - Engineer
Alex Firla - Assistant Engineer
Liz Sroka - Assistant Engineer
Rod Beale - Programming, Engineer, Mixing
Nuit De Chine - Art Direction, Design
Christian Echaib - Assistant Engineer
Philippe Arnal - Assistant Engineer

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


" Die Pop-CD des Monats. Dibango bietet für Westafrika auf, was an Afro-Musikern Rang und Namen hat. Die gehen, ob Ladysmith Black Mambazo oder Trommler, Manu Katche, voll in federnder, pulsierender, funky rockender Afro-Jazz-EthnoFusion auf."

C. Böhm in Audio 8/94



Among American audiences, Manu Dibango is best known for "Soul Makossa," a highly infectious blend of African music, soul/funk and jazz that became a major pop hit in the early 1970s. The African artist revisited his signature tune on 1994's Wakafrica, which boasts an all-star cast that includes Peter Gabriel as well as Haiti's Papa Wemba and African heroes Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Ade and Youssou N'Dour. With such a stellar bunch of guests, Wakafrica should have been outstanding instead of simply decent. But while it isn't the all-out masterpiece it should have been, there's a lot that's enjoyable on this CD, including the reggae-influenced "Emma," a remake of Gabriel's "Biko" and the "Makossa"-ish jams "Wakafrika" and "Jingo." Though likable enough, Dibango's new version of "Soul Makossa" falls short of the excellence of the original -- but then, one couldn't realistically expect him to improve on perfection.

Alex Henderson, All-Music Guide



Manu Dibango is a legitimate world music star. Born in Cameroon and now living in Paris, Dibango has made some spotty records and some glorious ones in his career. His latest, Wakafrika is an all-encompassing work with involvement from African and non-African musicians alike. Granted, the fact that an African-born artist is covering tracks by Peter Gabriel ("Biko") and Paul Simon ("Homeless") will have some people heralding the end of World Music as we know it. Still, Dibango and a talented cast pull it off by making sure the grooves are loose and steady. Scanning the list of musicians, Wakafrika reads like a all-star jam at the World Music Hall Of Fame: Youssou N'Dour, Ray Lema, Geoffrey Oryema, Salif Keita, Papa Wemba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo all turn in sterling cameos, as do Gabriel, Manu Katch and Sinéad O'Connor. The approach for everything is showy, often slick (lots of soul-style horns and some drum programming), but even the stuff that runs the risk of sounding cheesy comes off sounding festive. This is pop music, after all, and the musicians here are simply coo cool and too good to churn out something lame.

CMJ New Music Monthly
© 1978-1999 College Media Inc. All rights reserved.



"Wakafrika" von Kamerun-Exilant Manu Dibango ist wohl das vielseitigste afrikanische Album aller Zeiten. Wo sonst könnte man einen nigerianischen Juju-Gitarristen (King Sunny Ade) im Team mit einem kamerunischen Jazzsaxophonisten (Dibango) hören, wie sie ein Stück eines Benin-Komponisten (Wally Badarou) intonieren? Die Gästeliste nimmt kein Ende: Peter Gabriel im Remake von "Biko", Ray Lema, Toure Kunda, Papa Wemba und Geoffrey Oryema schauen hie und da rein. "Wakafrika", eine butterige französische Produktion, ist nicht unbedingt ein schlechtes Album; Dibango ist ein geschmeidiger, populärer Homogenisator jedweden Afrobeats. Aber diese CD ist so vorhersehbar abwechslungsreich, daß es ihr vor lauter hochproduzierter Politur an jeder eigenen Identität fehlt.

Richard Gehr, Amazon.de



Als 1972 sein Afro-Funk-Jazz-Mix Soul Makossa Discos und Charts durcheinanderwirbelte, galt Manu Dibango, der stets sonnenbebrillte, kahlköpfige Wahl-Pariser aus Kamerun, als afro-französisches Pendant zu Isaac Hayes (Shaft). Mit 60 ist der Saxophonist, Keyboarder und Bandleader polyglotter denn je. Aber natürlich ist es kein Zufall, daß seine Cover-Silhouette den Schwarzen Kontinent verkörpert. Dibango bietet für Wakafrika auf, was an Afro-Musikern Rang und Namen hat. Die gehen, ob Ladysmith Black Mambazo oder Trommler Manu Katché, voll in federnder, pulsierender, funky rockender Afro-Jazz-Ethno-Fusion auf. Manu setzt beim Soul Makossa-Remake die Akzente zu Youssou N'Dours Gesang stärker auf fließenden Groove als auf Funk-Riffs, Miriam Makebas Pata Pata, Paul Simons Homeless (mit Ray Phiri) oder das von Santana bekannte Jingo (mit King Sunny Adé) werden ebenfalls zu neuen, feurigen Diamanten geschliffen. Auch Biko, mit Peter Gabriel, Geoffrey Oryema und Sinéad O'Connor, tut die Frischzellenkur gut. Wakafrika ("Afrika in Bewegung") ist weder zu exotisch noch zu populär banal und ersetzt dank irrwitziger Musikalität und überbordender Lebensfreude fast schon einen Urlaub.

© Audio



Das panafrikanische Album des Jahres 1994: Starmusiker aus zehn Nationen des schwarzen Kontinents lassen es köcheln und grooven.

© Stereoplay

 

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