Manu Dibango - Africadelic

2022 CD release.

After revealing his Soul Makossa to the public in 1972, Manu Dibango recorded the same year, a strange and majestic musical beast : Africadelic.
Following a request of afro-urban sounds dedicated to French TV and radio shows seeking athmospheric background music, Manu Dibango entered Mondiaphone studio, Louis Delacour's library music label. Embracing the composing for image game, the musician recorded in crazy conditions the tracks that will become Africadelic and African Voodoo, ignoring the destiny and future success of these two wonderful albums. Africadelic is a real groovy gem in echo to James Brown or Isaac Hayes, mixing Afro-Soul, Funk and Jazz, with an undercurrent of latin percussions throughout, shaded by a rock guitar and a soul organ, like African Battle and Africadelic, the eponym track.

The opening title, Soul Fiesta, immediatly drops a both dramatic and percussive tension before Manu Dibango starts his killer vibraphone riff. While Africadelic or African Carnaval make the most of a boiling horn section, Manu Dibango's saxophone solos regularly give room for the polyrhythmic percussions breaks. Oriental Sunset also enjoys a thrilling flute melody along with the beautiful Dibango's vibraphone. Monkey Beat and Wa Wa are, for their part, some proud funky soul approaches. Finally, Percussion Storm has Manu Dibango's African Pop Group marching off into the African sunset as the maestro unleashes a final and inevitable vibraphone melody.