I scored some really interesting records at the weekend all thanks to South Eastern trains. Circumstances meant i was in the right place at the right time as the train to my initial destination of Herne Bay was replaced by a bus service so i hopped on the train to Canterbury instead. After id gone through the stock that was already in the racks in my local shop including some World music LP's and better than average collection of 60's singles a couple walked in from the street carrying 4 bags of LP's. This "collection" had belonged to a relative from Switzerland and these records had travelled around a bit. They must have been a dance teacher as the majority were ballet records but there was a very healthy smattering of blues, soul, reggae and jazz along with a few disco 12"'s. I didn't recognise too much but took all the interesting records that were in good nick.
One i did recognise was Manu Dibango's - Soul Makossa LP from 1972 from the title track. Credited as being one of the first "disco" tracks after being picked up by David Mancuso for play at his legendary Loft club, this mid tempo jazzy breaks led number has influenced many artists in the preceding years including Michael Jackson and more recently Rihanna. A stone cold classic basically.
The track i want you to hear though is the first track on the B side of the LP - New Bell. Starting off with a wicked funky guitar riff and simple but funky as hell bassline the drummer and congo player let loose after a series of African chants. Its then time for Manu Dibango's saxophone underpinned by some nice jazz keyboards. And that's it. A pure groove from a tight as hell band. This is the definition of Afro-funk.
