Cloons

Manu Dibango, Afrovision, Warner Brothers, 1976.

Opening with “Big Blow,” a hit single with some disco influence, “Afrovision” is a party I would love an invitation to. It’s lively, wordly, jazzy and funky all at once.

Manu Dibango led the creation of this album composing all the songs, playing the marimba, saxophone, synthesizer and adding vocals. Born in Cameroon in 1933, Dibango later moved to France to begin his college education. He is likely most well known for “Soul Makossa,” a track NOT on this album but regarded as the most sampled track in African music. “Ma ma-se, ma ma-sa, ma ma-kossa” sound familiar, any one?

The album is only six tracks long and I think outside of “Big Blow” - “Aloko Party” and “Bayam Sell’am” would be the additional bangers. Do not sleep on the title track though, it feels the most rooted in Dibango’s Cameroonian roots. There’s something so uplifting provided by the sounds of the marimba.

Dibango lived to be 86, passing away in 2020 from Covid. We are blessed his music lives on.