Various Artists – Crossroads Kenya: East African Benga and Rumba, 1980-1985 (2022) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Various Artists – Crossroads Kenya: East African Benga and Rumba, 1980-1985 (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 46:34 minutes | 484 MB | Genre: World, Benga, Rumba
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © No Wahala Sounds

This compilation collects a number of 7” singles produced by Audio Productions Ltd. in Kenya’s capital Nairobi in the first half of the 1980s and released on the Wendo, Lulus, Mlima and APL imprints.

The bands featured on this release are the New Gatanga Boys, Ruwengo Bros Band, Banana Hill Band and Les Victoria ‘C’ Kings from Kenya, Les Moto Moto and Orch Les Volcano from Tanzania (the latter being led here by Charles Ray Kasembe after the death of the legendary Mbaraka Mwinshehe). The closing track is by Orch Zaituken Band, whose name is a contraction of the countries its members came from: Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The group is emblematic of the Kenyan capital’s role as a magnet for East African musicians seeking to earn a living by recording and playing live in the 1970s and 1980s.

Tracklist:

1. New Gatanga Boys – Wanja Ni Wakwa (04:33)
2. Ruwengo Bros Band – Arata Rekai Njuge (04:35)
3. Les Moto Moto – Palipo Na Maneno (08:46)
4. Les Victoria ‘C’ Kings – Bella Idhi Kanye (05:14)
5. Banana Hill Band – Rakeri Mama (04:49)
6. Orch. Les Volcano – Kwa Wasiojiweza (08:47)
7. Orch. Zaituken Band – Ima (09:47)

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