On its ninth release Analog Africa unearths musical gems from Angola, the former Portuguese colony in south central Africa. The compilation includes tracks from 1965 – 1976, arguably the golden era of Angolan music!
Angolan music is truly unique and stands on its own as a sound that can only be found in that part of the world. Rhythms such Rebita, Kazukuta, Semba and Merengue, all of which are presented on 'Angola Soundtrack', might be unfamiliar to most listeners, but they are superbly melodic, highly danceable, hypnotic, raw, quintessentially beautiful - and totally addictive. A powerful confluence of traditional rhythms from Luanda’s islands, psychedelic guitar sounds imported from neighbouring Congo, Latin grooves, old school Caribbean merengue and the hard beat of the Angolan carnival bands conspired to create the modern music of Angola. These sounds were immortalized by two excellent recording companies - Fadiang (Fábrica de Discos Angolano) and Valentim de Carvalho. The emerging Angolan music scene was set on fire by a small group of courageous singers, backed by an array of super tight bands and led by extraordinary guitarists who revolutionized the musical and the political panorama of the 60s and 70s. These great electric bands of Angola were a wellkept secret until the late 90s when France-based music label Buda Musique released a short-lived series of Angolan music compiled by Ariel de Bigault. Inspired and taken aback, these releases proved to be a pivotal juncture for Analog Africa’s founder Samy Ben Redjeb.