VA - Africa: From Dakar to Johannesburg (2006) [REPOST]

Collecting pieces from the various items in the old Sunset-France catalogs, Edition Pierre Verger: Africa – From Dakar to Johannesburg takes a stab at going around the whole of sub-Saharan African music in one album. Needless to say, that's a bit much. As such, the focus is largely on West African (Mali, Senegal, etc) and Central African (primarily Congolese), with a bit of South African tossed in here and there. The mood moves back and forth from high to low, fast to slow, as the music moves from country to country. Represented though are griot music from the Malian empire and further west, contemporary music from Burkina Faso and Senegal, precursors to soukous from Congo, some isicathamiya from South Africa, and a small load of pieces from the Drummers of Burundi, a relatively successful ensemble featured on some RealWorld recordings. The music is generally well performed, with some especially nice and refreshing takes from the likes of Boni Gnahore, Mamany Kouyate (a singer from the National Ballets du Mali), and the Bana Kin percussion group from D.R. Congo. The only real issue with the album is the lack of coherence, or of a story. There are so many cultures and musical idioms represented here, it makes for a schizoid sampler, rather than a singular compilation. Nonetheless, it makes for a decent stepping stone for those entirely new to African music, and holds a few nice surprises for the initiated.

Tracklist:
01. Mamany Kouyaté - Fatou nana
02. Boni Gnahoré - Kpako solo
03. Ankata - Komanania
04. Tambours du Burundi - Umve mama urumviriza
05. Fulgence Compaoré - Bété foli
06. Kevin Mfinka - Mabélé
07. Tambours du Burundi - Pastorale
08. Bana Kin Percussions - Vanité
09. Barbeton L.M.C. - Sawubona mnaketfu
10. Koko - Koko lon ni lo
11. Various Artists - La kora du griot
12. Various Artists - Danse rituelle
13. Isigqi Samazulu - Isigqi samazulu
14. Various Artists - Extrait de la messe de minuit
15. Tambours du Burundi - Umubu