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In 2020, the music of the little-known São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation lying in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Central Africa, was first brought to the attention of the wider world via the release of Lève Lève: São Tomé & Príncipe sounds 70s-80s, courtesy of Bongo Joe Records. Now, in 2024, following the release of two more albums, Maquidala and 2022’s África Negra- Antologia Vol.1, reviewed here, the pioneering Swiss label is issuing a fourth compilation, África Negra – Antologia Vol. 2, featuring more tracks from one of São Tomé and Príncipe’s most revered bands.
Horacio, a butcher by trade, and his guitarist friend Emidio Pontes formed Conjunto Milando in the early 1970s. It is well-documented that the colonial authorities, fearful of the potential power of musicians, forbade the use of their preferred name of África Negra (Black Africa); thus, they named themselves Girasol. Following independence from Portugal, however, the group became Conjunto África Negra.
Initially, the band’s reputation was built on their live performances at fundões, open-air street dances in the São Tomé capital, which saw the assimilation of the various groups making up the community, the Angoles, Cape Verdeans, Mozambicans and mestizos. África Negra’s music featured impassioned puxa rhythms, traditional music and dance from the islands played at an intense pace, which blended Angolan semba and merengue alongside high-energy Congolese soukous whilst singing melodic São Tomé rumba-style melodies in the local Forro Creole, Sãotomense language. The post-independence period led to an even greater African influence on the band, who looked to music released in Cameroon, Gabon and Zaire in order to widen their palette. International fame followed, with regular tours to Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Portugal, and they achieved virtually cult status in Columbia.
In keeping with most São Tomean bands, África Negra recorded at the only studio available on the island at the time, Radio Nacional STP, whose small size dictated that most recordings had to be completed outdoors in the courtyard, often at night in front of their fans.
Their first album came out in 1981, followed by three more in 1983 and a cassette-only release in 1986. 1990 saw their last album in vinyl format. Three CDs and five cassettes followed in the 1990s, but the band called it a day in 1996 following many lineup changes. They reformed, however, in 2008, subsequently releasing three more albums and resuming touring with longstanding vocalist ‘General’ João Seria. In 2023, at the age of 74, Seria sadly passed away, his life and music honoured with a state funeral. Since then, the band has continued to tour under the guidance of their original guitarist, Leonildo Barros.
Whilst Antologia Vol.1 introduced the group to the rest of the world via 12 of their key tracks, this latest release, compiled by French crate digger DJ Tom B, with the help of the band’s Lisbon-based tour manager Afonso Simoes, focuses upon 13 remastered songs, mostly previously-unreleased, from three main periods between 1979 and 1990.
Five of the tracks come from an early, unreleased 1979 session. The compilation’s opener, Numigo iami ê, is a strong puxa, perfectly exemplifying their musical output from this period. Over the track’s 8 minutes and 15 seconds, the blend of styles is soon apparent, with the key elements of the riffing guitars of the aforementioned Leonildo Barros and Emidio Pontes, the powerful bass playing of Pacheo (born Luiz da Glória), the solid drumming of Olinto Rodriguez Vera Cruz and João’s scat-like vocal phrasing being augmented by further percussion contributions.
Three further puxas are taken from the same session, Anô Anô, Povo Milagrosa, and Fala Tendê, each of which showcases the heady, exhilarating dance floor energy the band were able to generate. In contrast, the final song taken from this session, Chiguno Zunta, is a more elegant and melodic offering, the guitar solos being of particular note. With these four tracks alone clocking in at nigh-on 30 minutes, the listener is certainly getting value for money with this release.
The band’s cassette-only release, San Lena, comprised six tracks, two of which were presented on Antologia Vol.1. On this collection, two more songs are offered from the original 1986 release, the emotionally-tinged rumba Lourença, replete with melodic guitar lines and a wonderfully uplifting ambience, which still features in the live performances of the band’s current iteration, and Lentlada cachelo (aka San Lena), is presented here thanks to extensive restoration work undertaken by sound engineer Tim Stollenwerk, who was forced to digitise the intro from an original vintage cassette, due to a partially damaged master-tape.
All of the above tracks feature João Seria as lead singer. Still, as mentioned earlier, the time scale covered by this compilation saw several changes in the group’s lineup, and Sangue Sca be, another previously unreleased, jaunty, upbeat puxa from 1989 features Amorim Diogo as the lead singer.
The five remaining tracks come from the same 1990s session and represent the band’s 1990s formation following the move of several members, including João and Pacheco, to Cape Verde in 1987. With the lineup still including Emidio and Leonildo on guitars and Vasco Gama holding down the bass role with Flay (born Inacio da Silveira Fernandes) on drums, Sergio Fonseca now provided lead vocals.
These tracks, a combination of pumas and rumba, continue to display the effervescent rhythms present in the earlier configurations of the band, with the trademark passionate, intricate and often subtle backing vocals provided by all band members still a marked feature of their music.
The short San Victoria is a puxa extract from an alternate take of a track with the same name, which originally appeared on the 1990 Paga me uma cerveja LP, whilst Tlechi ope di bengui is another dance-floor classic, with its mesmerising looping guitar riffs, ebullient percussion and unforgettable vocals. Beba cu toca bojie is an equally buoyant puxa track featuring unrefined horns, thundering bass lines and pulsating percussion. A similar effect is presented on Vin ca nda cu nganga, whilst, in contrast, the graceful vocal arrangements on a memorable, classic rumba track, Bo cu sete ladron ni que bo, show that the group are more than adept at performing in a variety of styles and moods.
Antologia Vol.2 not only confirms that África Negra are unquestionably São Tomé and Príncipe’s most important and influential band but also, more importantly, brings more of their sparkling melodies, pulsating bass lines and African-influenced puxa music to a wider audience. Following a 50-year career, it is clear that they deserve a place in the annals of African musical history.
Antologia Vol. 2 (2nd August 2024) Bongo Joe Records
Bandcamp: https://africanegra.bandcamp.com/album/frica-negra-antologia-vol-2
