Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings From the 1970s and 1980s

After presumably running out of crates to dig through in West Africa for Soundway's splendid series of 70s archive recordings from Ghana and Nigeria, Miles Cleret's label now turns its attention to East Africa. Researched and compiled over a two-year period, this is a fascinating collection of 32 tracks – for the most part only ever previously released on 45rpm seven-inch singles. The generic umbrella they broadly fall under is the Kenyan Afro-pop style known as benga, characterised by a fast 4/4 machine-gun beat, with rapid-fire percussion that hits the snares and hi-hats as loudly and frequently as possible, layers of intermeshing guitars and a Bo Diddley-style African rhythm known locally as cavacha. But that's merely the jumping-off point and many of these tracks are embroidered with a tapestry of other influences drawn from Congolese rumba, Swahili coastal rhythms, South African township pop and even a tinge of pentatonic Ethiopian jazziness. Highlights include the Rift Valley Boys’ ‘Mu Afrika, which boasts an anthemic James Brown quality; the Mbira Young Stars whose hypnotic rhythms are reminiscent of some of Thomas Mapfumo's early work; Orchestre Baba National, whose swaying, sax-led rumba echoes the music Orchestra Baobab were making on the other side of Africa around the same time; and the upbeat soul-pop of the Mombasa Vikings, which must have gone down a storm in the coastal tourist hotels. But most intriguing of all, perhaps, is the band Afro 70, whose tracks range from slinky rumba and sweet pop harmonies on the lovely ‘Week End’ to the swamp-funk of ‘Afrousa (Move On)’ and the Afro-jazz-rock outing of astonishing inventiveness that is ‘Cha-Umheja’. The digital remastering is outstanding, too, lending the music an impressive clarity and definition.