Filed under: Pakistan
♬ Sanoon Wi Lai Chai / سانون وائی لائی چائی
♬ Bhul Gaee Main Bhul Gaee / بھول گئی میں بھول گئی
Lollywood Steel Guitar? Not really… But since they are many similarities with the music of Bollywood and Lollywood, I theorized that a record like this would be out there, somewhere.
Ghulam Ahmed Chishti / غُلام احمد چِشتی is most likely not the performer on this recording. Chishti was a film composer with almost 5,000 songs to his credit and scored the music to somewhere between 140 to 150 films. But, there is practically zero information on what is left of the record sleeve.
If you have any further information about who the actual artist is or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number EMPM 5002 on EMI Pakistan. No release date listed.
Filed under: Malaysia
The only information I could find about Alias Congo, was a news article about his family’s house burning down. In that article, he is listed as “television and Malay film comedian”. But the only film I have found that he is credited as being in is the 1963 film Raja Bersiong – also known as King of the Fanged Wings. According to Discogs, he recorded at least eight singles.
As for the backing band on this record – The Blue Beats – what little information that is available is from their Discogs catalog. They recorded at least ten singles and almost all of those records they were the backing band for a vocalist.
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 SL-801 on Sea Lion Record of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Released 1967.
Filed under: Ghana
Hedzoleh Soundz were a band from Accra, Ghana formed in the late 1960s. The word ‘hedzoleh’ means ‘freedom’ in the Ga language.
Stanley Todd Kwesi assembled an ensemble of musicians from the Ghana Arts Council, intending to form a new Afro-Rock group that would be more traditional and African in sound than Osibisa – and hoped to surpass in popularity. Their original songs were based upon traditional Akan and Ewe music, and employed dark, organic sounding African-made drums instead of modern western congas / drum-kit.
Legend has it that the band was introduced to Hugh Masekela by Fela Kuti. Masekela worked with them as early as 1967 and they were his backing band when he played the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1973.
Hedzoleh Soundz recorded two singles, plus a track that was used on the soundtrack for the Italian film Contatto Carnale. They also recorded two albums: The first being titled Hedzoleh – which has been reissued by Soundway Records – and the album Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz that they recorded with Hugh Masekela.
Catalog number BBN101 on Bibini of Ghana. Release 1973.
Filed under: Laos
I am assuming that Nit Vichittavong / ນິດ ວິຈິຕວົງ was from Laos – since that’s where this record came from. Beyond that, I know that this was the first of only two know records released by The Association of Lao Artists label. The song title translate as “Don’t Hate One Another”.
Thanks to Peter Doolan of Monrakplengthai for help with the translation.
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 001 on The Association of Lao Artists / ສະມາຄົມສ່ງເສິມສິລປິລລາວ of Laos. No release date listed.
Filed under: Venezuela
♬ Ayúdalos
Singer / guitarist Marco Tulio Guzmán, bass player Alexis Velásquez, drummer Alcides Monroy and percussionist Henry Velásquez formed Grupo Bota in Caracas, Venezuela in the early 70s. They would go one to record around twenty singles and five albums. The band broke up in 1979, Guzmán and Velásquez continued together under the name Los Bota.
The band’s fusion rock style had a huge influence on the Venezuelan music scene after their records gained cult status. Interest in the band had a resurgence in the mid-1990s after Los Amigos Invisibles covered the song “Dime” on their debut album A Typical & Autoctonal Venezuelan Dance Band. You can find the song “Solos” on the Soul Jazz Records‘ compilation Venezuela 70 Volume 2 (Cosmic Visions of a Latin American Earth: Venezuelan Experimental Rock In The 1970’s & Beyond).
Catalog number 59203 on Discos Dark of Venezuela, pressed in Colombia by Industria Colombiana. Released 1974.
Filed under: Libya
Sami Baroudi / سامي البارودي was from Libya. And that’s about all I can tell you about him.
I suspect that this song is not titled “Sibhā” / “سبها”. This single has the same label on both sides. There is no mention of a second song on the sleeve. But, as you can hear in the song, he says something that sounds a lot like “Lo-Lo” over and over. I suspect that the A side is “Sibhā” / “سبها” and the B side is something else – assuming that this is the B side.
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 M.P. 02 on Al-Marghani Sons Company / شركة أبناء المرغني of Libya and manufactured by En’nagham of Tunisia. No release date listed.
Filed under: India
With a backing band called “His Bullets”, you would expect at least a hint of Spaghetti Western music. Unfortunately, that is not the case with this record.
The only thing I can tell you about Rakesh Nath & His Bullets, is that they recorded this single and an album called “Musical Ripples” that came out a year after the single.
If you have any further information about Rahesh, any of his Bullets, whoever Prem Gupta was or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number 2308-3532 on Inreco of Kolkata, India. Released 1979.
Filed under: Thailand
♬ Angkhanang Khunchai / อังคนางค์ คุณไชย • Ka Po Lom / กะโป๊ะลม
♬ Onuma Singsiri / อรอุมา สิงห์ศิริ • Sao Molam Cham Rak / สาวหมอลําชํ้ารัก
Angkhanang Khunchai / อังคนางค์ คุณไชย was born on February 6, 1955 in Khok San / โคกสาร subdistrict of Chanuman / ชานุมาน district in the province of Amnat Charoen / อำนาจเจริญ. From an early age she was mentored by renowned national molam artist Chawiwan Damnoen /ฉวีวรรณ ดำเนิน and in her mid-teens joined the legendary musical troupe the Ubon Phatthana Band as the lead vocalist. In 1971 at the age of 16 she released a single “Isan Lam Phloen” / “อิสานลำเพลิน”, which went on to become a classic. She went on to record over 20 albums and more than 40 singles. The label EM Records has reissued two of her albums: Isan Lam Phloen / อิสานลำเพลิน and Never Forget Me / แฟนจ๋าอย่าลืม.
Onuma Singsiri / อรอุมา สิงห์ศิริ was born on February 12, 1961 in Chumphon / จุมพล subdistrict of Phon Phisai / โพนพิสัย district in the province of Nong Khai / หนองคาย. She recorded almost 20 singles and three albums. Her biggest hit was “Isan Girl Fall in Love” / “สาวอีสานรอรัก”. Her album by the same name has been reissued by Baichasong.
Many thanks to ever helpful Peter Doolan from Monrakplengthai for his input on this post.
Released by Uea Ari Chao Kao / เอื้ออารีย์เจ้าเก่า of Thailand. No catalog number or release date listed.
Filed under: Zaïre
This is the first single by Orchestre Les Thu Zahina from Zaïre – which is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and sounds like an outtake from the Back from the Grave series.
The band was founded in 1967 at Gombe High School in Kinshasa by brothers Bruno and Denis Bonyeme. Their first single was released the following year. In the next six years, they released sixteen more singles and a single album which is mostly comprised of tracks from their singles. During their existence, they went through various line-ups with many different musicians – all of which you can fins listed HERE.
I stumbled on an interview with vocalist Abeli Kelly on LinkedIn (of all places) that you can find HERE.
Catalog number 90.296 on African Records of France. Released 1968.
Filed under: Iran
This single is the only recording released by the Tehran Boys. The voice on this track is Asadollah Peyman – who had done narration on a few films in Iran during the late 50s / early 60s. He is reciting a poem written by Fereydoon Moshiri.
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 7021 on Farooshgah Firdousi / فروشگاه فردوسی of Tehran, Iran. No release date listed.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 