Filed under: India
♬ Sujan Majhi Re / সুজন মাঝি রে
Senkar Kumar Sarkar was, to the best of my knowledge, from India. This is his sole recording, released by the Ashoka label – which was in business from as early as 1940 and lasted to the early 1980s. Yet, there are only a handful of releases listed on their Discogs page. There must be more records out there…
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording or the record label, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number 45-JCP 2058 / 7XLE 9782 on Ashoka Record of Calcutta, India. Released 1979.
Filed under: Libya
♬ Maktub Ealayna / مكتوب علينا
Hamid El-Sha’eri / حميد الشاعري was born in Benghazi, Libya on November 29th, 1961.
He, like many musicians from Libya, moved to Cairo to start his career. But Hamid took a detour to London along the way. The music scene there introduced him to the synthesizers that were being used in music of the early 1980s – and he took those ideas to Egypt with him and incorporated them into his sound. His first album – Euyunuha / عيونها- was released on SLAM!
SLAM! Records was founded by Hany Sabet in the early 1980s. They were one of the first labels in Cairo to focus on cassette tape releases – which is still a popular format in the Arab World to this day.
Habibi Funk released a compilation of El-Sha’eri’s music from his years on SLAM!.
Catalog number ٩۲/٩۲/٤١٢ on Slam! of Egypt. Released 1983.
Filed under: Thailand
Amphon Phonphrom / อัมพร พรพรหม was from Thailand. To the best of my knowledge, he only recorded two songs – both of which were B sides to Yotrak Salakchai / ยอดรัก สลักใจ singles. Beyond that, I have not been able to find anything on him or the songwriter Prasit Phramklang / ประสิทธิ์ พราหมกลาง.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Many thanks to Peter Doolan of Monrakplengthai for the translation.
Catalog number PSS 02. No release date listed. But since his other single – which is catalog number PSS 04 – says 1981, it would be safe to assume that his single was released the same year.
Filed under: Mozambique
Conjunto Blue Star were from Mozambique. I’ve been hunting for something – anything – from Mozambique for ages. But other than Manuel Rosário das Neves (also known as Vum Vum) – who was from Mozambique, but moved to Portugal before he started recording – I have not had much luck until now.
This was the lone single by Conjunto Blue Star and one of roughly two dozen singles released by the Afro Som label. If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number MLSP 130 on Afro Som, released 1975.
Filed under: Egypt
♬ Musiqaa Li’aghanaa Earabia / موسيقى لأغانى عربية
400th post? Seems like just yesterday I hit 300. And much like the 300th post, I’m going to post a cassette by a keyboard player that I’ve already covered before. This time, it’s Magdy el Hosseini.
With the recent releases of Sublime Frequencies’ Baligh Hamdi compilation and Souma Records’ Hany Mehanna compilation – plus reissue of Omar el Shariyi’s first album. from We Want Sounds – there has been an abundance of Egyptian organ music. But for some reason, other than the lone “Music de Carnaval” track, nothing by Magdy el Hosseini has been reissued. So to rectify that, I decided to post a whole bunch of his stuff. First up is the cassette only release Musiqaa Li’aghanaa Earabia / موسيقى لأغانى عربية which translated in English is “Music for Arabic Songs”. There’s an amazing live version of “‘Ayuwh” / “أيوه” that you can find HERE.
Catalog number ٤٠۳۸٠ on Randaphone / راندافون of Cairo, Egypt. No release date listed.
Next up is Magdy’s first album: Malik Alawrgh / ملك الاورغ – AKA “King of the Organ”. I posted two tracks from this album way back in post #36. You can find an insane clip of Magdy playing the first track “Ya Salat al Zein” / “يا صلاة الزين-z” live HERE. Even though I don’t know Arabic, I knew something was not right with this record. There are 9 songs listed, but only 7 tracks on the album. I asked other people who own this record – as well as other pressings of it – and they said the same thing. I recently got a cassette version of this album that I am pretty sure is from Saudi Arabia. According to Discogs, there are supposed to be 14 songs on the tape. There are only 11 – the 7 songs from the album plus 4 of those songs that are repeated twice. If you know where I could find the two missing tracks – “Ya Bur Dinaa” / “يا بور دنى” and “Ya Eayn Mulitayn” / “يا عين موليتين” – please let me know.
Catalog number 87-74083 on Moriphon Records of Egypt, recorded in 1974.
But wait! There’s more!
♬ Sahat Mae Magdy El Hosseini / سهرة مع مجدى الحسينى
Here is what’s left of a ‘well lived’ copy of Sahat Mae Magdy El Hosseini / سهرة مع مجدى الحسينى – AKA “A Night with Magdy El Hosseini”. If you think that A side looks rough, you should check out the B side. The best photo of the cover for this tape that I have been able to find online is not the best, but a great photo nonetheless. The previous owner must have had part of the tape eaten and edited it back together. So, the first song on side A is completely missing, as is the intro for the second song and all but about a minute and twenty seconds of the last track on side B.
Many thanks Sebastien Ledys and Marthy Coumans.
Also released on Moriphon of Cairo, Egypt. No catalog number or release date listed.
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UPDATE: 01/11/26
I have finally gotten around to uploading another cassette by Magdy el Hosseini that I picked up a while back – also titled Sahat Mae Magdy El Hosseini / سهرة مع مجدى الحسينى – AKA “A Night with Magdy El Hosseini”.
♬ Sahat Mae Magdy El Hosseini / سهرة مع مجدى الحسينى
Like the cassette above, released on Moriphon of Cairo, Egypt. No catalog number or release date listed.
Filed under: Ghana
This record had been on my Want List for very long time…
The Big Beats were from Ghana. The band was led by Linden Lee. According to Discogs, Andrew “Mad Man Jaga” Daboh was also in the band. From the liner notes of Soundway Records’ Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968-81 compilation:
The Big Beats were a band formed mostly from the popular soul band El Pollos’ second band, The Triffids. They played for some time in Lagos where they perfected their afro-beat style, returning to Ghana and recording two 45s for the Polydor label: “Mi Nsumõõ Bo Dõnn” (“I Don’t Love You Anymore”) was the B side to the hit single “Kyenkyema” which became a by-word in 70’s Ghana for anything old, outdated or decrepit. Their other release, “Afro-Pride” / “Kwemo Nahi”, was released simultaneously but didn’t sell anything like as well.
The A side of their second single – “Kwemõ Na Ahi” – is on the Vis-A-Vis DJs – AfroFunk Showcase Vol.2 compilation that was put out by the apparently now defunct Overtone Records. The B side of that single was on Superfly Records’ The Afrofunk Expressway Vol. 2 – which the existence of has been all but scrubbed from the internet with the exception of the track list.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number 2080103 only Polydor of Ghana, released 1972.
Filed under: Singapore
Kamaliah Latiff & The Teepees were from Singapore. Kamaliah Latiff recorded three the singles – two with Band Pancarama and one with Mustakim Orchestra – plus an album for KissMe Cosmetics of Japan. The Teepees only released one other single – which includes a version of the song “Rindu”.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number RYY 101 on Ray Records of Singapore, released 1973.
Filed under: Bolivia
Los Zig Zag de Sucre were, as their name implies, from the town of Sucre in Bolivia.
The only mention of the band I have been able to find, is from an article about the influence that Tinku – a Bolivian Aymara traditional form of ritualistic combat that has evolved into a cultural dance – has had on the evolution of Bolivian rock music:
One of the first samples of the influence of Tinku in Bolivian rock is, without a doubt, the recording of the EP of the group Los Zig Zag de Sucre, for the RCA Victor label. It was recorded in the middle of 1969 in the city of Cochabamba. This production presents us on side A of the single the song “Señora Chichera” with the subtitle “Shake del Norte de Potosí” / “Shake from the North of Potosí“. The same, together with the Morenada “La Mariposa”, in a shake rhythm, becomes one of the first songs that fuse a clearly Bolivian rhythm with the emerging music of the new wave in Bolivia.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number BOH-024 on RCA Victor of Bolivia. No release date listed.
Filed under: Sudan
al-Tāj Makki / التاج مكي was from Sudan. He recorded at least nine singles for the legendary Munsphone label and one more for the Photophone label – both base in Khartoum. To the best of my knowledge, this release – also on Munsphone – is his only full length release and was only issued on cassette. Also, the song “Ma Aarfeen Nagool Shino!” is featured on Ostinato Records’ Two Niles To Sing A Melody: The Violins & Synths of Sudan compilation.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number ٣٣ / منص on Munsphone of Sudan. No release date listed.
Filed under: Indonesia
♬ a) Putri Kenari b) Kelap Kelip c) Tukang Sado
Band D’Strangers were from Indonesia. They recorded over fifteen albums – and at least four singles – many of which you can find over at the Madrotter Treasure Hunt. They were primarily a backing band for various vocalists, but two of their albums were instrumental – or instrumentalia. To the best of my knowledge, this is their first album.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number SML-1005 on Istana Stereo of Indonesia. no release date listed.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 
