Antologia, Vol 2

Les Disques Bongo Joe and crate-digger DJ Tom B seem to be on a mission to bring wider attention to the vintage music of São Tomé and Príncipe. This is their fifth such album, and their second compilation from the group África Negra. While Antologia Vol 1 focused on the band’s greatest hits, Vol 2 delves into the miscellany and brings unreleased and more obscure recordings to the fore. As such, there is a bit of a range of recording quality throughout the compilation, but no such range in the quality of the music within. The core of the group’s sound is the intricate, interlocking melodies on multiple electric guitars, which knit together with superb acrobatic basslines and provide a bouncy backdrop for glorious harmonies. It’s a sound based on puxa, a mix of local rhythms with a big dose of Congolese rumba, and África Negra have been playing their take on the style – which fans call mama djumba – since the 1970s (albeit with a 12-year hiatus in the middle). This is another lovely compilation of sunny São Toméan songs, with África Negra proving that puxa must rank among the continent’s canon of guitar music alongside soukous, highlife, jit and the rest.