Filed under: Nigeria
Daniel Ian Mbaezue was born in the village of Umuezeawala, Nigeria. In 1966 he started his first musical project, called The Spades. The following year, the governor of the Eastern Region Biafra declared independence from Nigeria. During this period, Dan Ian often played for soldiers and the band was renamed Biafran Air Force Wings – later shortened to The Wings.
In 1971 Dan Ian moved to Lagos to play with Sonny Okosun’s backing band Paperback Limited. By following year, he had left and formed his own band Wrinkar Experience. The band only lasted six months and recorded three singles – one being “Sound Way” which Miles Cleret would later adopt for the name of his record label.
After leaving Wrinkar Experience, Dan Ian went back to playing with Sonny Okosun as well as forming Dan Ian & The Spades.. This single was most likely recorded during this period.
Catalog number HNS 1552 on His Master’s Voice of Nigeria. No release date listed.
Filed under: Venezuela
About a year or so ago, I stumbled on the reissue of Chelique Sarabia‘s Revolución Electrónica en Música Venezolana album – and it blew me away.
José Enrique “Chelique” Sarabia was born in La Asunción, Isla Margarita, Venezuela on 13 March 1940. In 1971, Chelique recorded an album of traditional and folkloric songs but giving them a modern touch, using specially developed equipment based on the principles of the Moog synthesizer. He employed traditional instruments like the cuatro and the bandola llanera, filtered these instruments through oscillators, playing with feedback, tape delay, synthesized frequencies, echoing sounds. Originally, the album was sponsored by the Shell Company in Venezuela, given away to customers, employees and friends of the company as a Christmas gift in 1973. It was titled 4 Fases del Cuatro – Música Venezolana desarrollada Electrónicamente por Chelique Sarabia / 4 Phases of Four – Venezuelan Music Electronically Developed by Chelique Sarabia. Once the exclusivity period with the petrol company was over, Chelique did a commercial release, this time under the name of Revolución Electrónica en Música Venezolana / Electronic Revolution in Venezuelan Music.
This single was a co-release between the C.A. La Electricidad De Caracas and C.A. Luz Electrica De Venezuela. No catalog number or release date listed.
Boussoir Maghnaoui (also seen as Boussouar el Maghnaoui) was from… Hmm. Here’s where things get a little fuzzy. Most sources that say he was from Maghnia, Algeria. But I also have other sources that say he was from Oujda, Morocco. Those two cities are roughly 28 kilometers / 17 miles apart.
Unlike most of the Raï / Proto Raï that I have heard, the organ is very prominent on this track. The song starts off with a “stwanat” – where the artist announces the record label his name as well as the name of the performers. That is followed a sort of poem – or mawwal – that doesn’t have anything to do with the usual intros and tributes to other artists or football players or cities. This song features Messaoud Bellemou – known as “The Father of Raï” – on trumpet.
Thanks to Hicham Chadly, Jonathon Ward and Loïc Guillaume for input on this post.
Catalog number N· 496 on Sawt-Hilali of Algeria. No release date listed.
Filed under: Thailand
The Petch Phin Thong Band was the backing band for comedian Ning Nong Petchphinthon / หนิงหน่อง เพชรพิณทอง.They formed in 1982. They recorded nine album and five singles. All of their singles and three of their albums were released on their own label – also named เพชรพิณทอง.
Their song “Soul Lam Plern” was included on Soundway‘s The Sound of Siam (Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Molam in Thailand 1964-1975) and Subliminal Sounds’ Thai Beat A Go-Go Vol. 3 (Groovy Sounds From The Land Of Smile!). The song “Bump Lam Plern” was included on Soundway’s The Sound of Siam Vol. 2 (Molam & Luk Thung from North-East Thailand 1970-1982).
Catalog number HS 354 on Petch Thong. No release date listed.
Filed under: Iraq
♬ You Are the Wrong One / انت الغلطان
♬ Out of My Mind / متروح من بالي
Salah Abdel Ghafour / صلاح عبد الغفور was born in 1953 in Al-Sadiyah, Iraq. He sang in Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish. His biggest hit – “Shlonak” – came to define Iraqi music for decades.
In 1973 he joined the National Ensemble for Folklore and later became a member of the Iraqi Ensemble. In 1977, he entered the Institute of Tonal Studies, specializing in Iraqi maqam singing and playing the violin. After six years, he graduated from the institute and joined the Iraqi Musical Heritage Ensemble, which was founded by Munir Bashir. He died in a traffic accident in Erbil, Iraq on April 7, 2013.
The track “Wallah” / “By God” can be found on the Sublime Frequencies compilation Choubi Choubi! Folk and Pop Songs from Iraq.
Catalog number 793 on Falcon of Lebanon. No release date listed.
Filed under: Madagascar
This is the first of three singles The Vikings recorded for the Discomad label of Madagascar. Their singer / songwriter – Jeannot Nourma – also recorded a single with D’s Group as his backing band.
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 466 387 on Discomad of Madagascar. No release date listed.
Filed under: Singapore
As far as I know, this was the only single by The Atoms.
If this sort of thing tickles your eardrums, I highly recommend tracking down Grey Past‘s “Steam Kodok” and Sublime Frequencies‘ “Singapore A Go Go“. The former of those two compilations opening track is Ali San by The Trailers – which sounds somewhat similar to this song.
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 TK-1024 on Eagle Record of Singapore. Released 1967.
Filed under: India
♬ Aaji Mote Laagena Nida / ଅଜି ମୋଟେ ଲାଗେନା ନିଡ
I have always been fascinated by languages and fonts – especially non-Latin characters.
There are 22 official languages in India – which does not include English. This record was recorded in Odia – formerly known as Oriya – which is the official language in the eastern state of Odisha.
If you have any further information about these artists or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number GRE 1152 on Gathani Records of Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. Released 1983.
Filed under: Sudan
♬ Ayan Ma Tayebouh / عيان ما طيبه (Parts 1 & 2)
According to Discogs, this is the only recording by ᾽Abd al-᾽Aẓīm ᾽Abdallah / عبد العظيم حركة – although I have heard other recordings by him. And, if there is a cover for this single, I have not seen it – which is a shame since these Munsphone singles usually had amazing artwork.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below. If you can translate Sudanese Arabic, please contact me.
PLEASE NOTE: I have edited Side One and Side Two into one track, attempting to make the transition from Part One and Part Two as seamless as possible.
Catalog number 31-74128 on Munsphone of Khartoum, Sudan. Released 1974.
Filed under: Bolivia
Los Signos formed in La Paz, Bolivia in 1969. Originally founded as Los Mack the year prior, they changed their name when singer Efrain Salazar joined the group. According to their facebook page, the band is still active.
Catalog number SEP-266 on Discos Heriba of La Paz, Bolivia. Released 1976.
