Piconema: East African Hits on the Colombian Coast

The title of this delicious compilation derives from the picós, the Afro-Colombian sound systems analogous to their Jamaican counterparts and popular along Colombia's Caribbean coast. The word piconema references the practice of DJs masking original (African) songs’ identities in order to score points over the competition. Often, this involved changing the name: thus Lawi Somona's ‘Safi’ became ‘El Mapache’ in Spanish. It's one of nine hits from 1980s Kenya representing the kind of popular dance music that helped to keep the area's African heritage alive.

All the tracks here are long, sinuous jams built around the rhythms and coruscating electric guitars associated with Zairean (as it was) rumba. Indeed, groups like Les Mangelepa, whose 1982 hit ‘Trouble’ is one of the stand-outs selected, were part-Zairean and part-Kenyan. The generic Kenyan benga hybrid, though, tends to slow things down slightly, making more room for the staccato feel of Les Volcano's ‘Hakuna Dawa Ya Mapenzi’. Viva Makale's ‘Safari’ opens with a brassy fanfare, but generally brass and horns are kept to a minimum, with the emphasis more on solo and choral vocals and those singing, ringing electric guitars.

The Maroon Commandos’ opening ‘Bi Sophia Nº1’ encapsulates all that's delightful about Piconema: East African Hits on the Colombian Coast.