LÉVE LÉVE Sao Tomé & Principe sounds 70s-80s, by Various Artists

LÉVE LÉVE Sao Tomé & Principe sounds 70s-80s

by Various Artists

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Charlie Moonbeam A vivacious and impassioned statement of musical brilliance from Africa's tiniest islands. So rich. Favorite track: Africa Negra - Aninha.

bonnieprince Some absolutely amazing music from somewhere i'd never heard music from. Really merges a lot of strands of Brazilian and Afro music from the time, and adds in a local flavour. Don't sleep on this! Favorite track: Tiny das Neves - Cladênço padê cluço.

selma37th Fantastico!! kept on listening so, you know how it is, just had to buy it.

gerbenf great great great album!
Perfect compilation!

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1.	Africa Negra - Mino bô bé quacueda 07:40	buy track
2.	Africa Negra - Zimbabwe 03:21	buy track
3.	Sangazuza - Sun Malé 05:31	buy track
4.	Os Úntuès - Chi bô sá migu di védê 02:22	buy track
5.	Sum Alvarinho - M'konvètá dédo 04:19	buy track
6.	Conjunto Equador - Madô 05:30	buy track
7.	Tiny das Neves - Cladênço padê cluço 06:52	buy track
8.	Conjunto Mindelo - Taji océdo 03:02	buy track
9.	Africa Negra - Aninha 05:41	buy track
10.	Pedro Lima - Nga ba compensadora 08:05	buy track
11.	Sangazuza - Cortição 04:07	buy track
12.	Os Úntuès - Piquina piquina 01:50	buy track
13.	Conjunto Equador - Meu di plôcô 04:28	buy track
14.	Sum Alvarinho - Tólá muandgi 05:20	buy track
15.	Pedro Lima e Conjunto Os Leonenses - Esatela licu 05:18	buy track
16.	Agrupamento da Ilha - Bô gosa so txi 04:38	buy track

about

The two Portuguese-speaking African islands of Sao Tomé & Principe, located in the Gulf of Guinea, created an unique music called Puxa : a refined mixture of various musical components from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A blend of Semba, Merengue, Kompas, Soukouss, Coladeira patterns, often pushing forward with a voodoo-like energy, solid bass lines, delicate melodies and backing harmonies of the rich Sao Tomean melodic traditions. Very first compilation focusing on the golden age of these island’s sounds, the 16 tracks selected will surely set fire on all dance floors !

Léve-Léve is the first ever compilation devoted to music from São Tome and Principe, two small islands situated off the coast of Gabon in central Africa. The album unravels a story of liberation where the music of Africa, Europe and the Americas unify with a carefree spirit personified by a phrase the islanders use all the time: “léve, léve” (“take it easy”). With echoes of Angolan semba and merengue, of Brazilian afoxê, of coladeira from Cape Verde and dance music from the Caribbean, it is a sound fiercely proud of its island heritage, sung in local dialects and using distinctive local rhythms.

On this record you can hear the cultural and social history of São Tome and Principe, and how live music represented its beating heart. Once known as the “Chocolate Islands” (remarkably, these two tiny islands were the largest cocoa producers in the world, though now this title acts as a reminder of its colonial past), through the years leading up to independence from Portugal, music would be a fundamental voice of liberation and conviviality. Os Úntués were one of the first groups to make an impression, releasing a couple of 7 inches in Angola – the litmus test of success for any of the islands’ groups. They united unique rhythms and dances like socopé, puita and dança-congo – borne from the islands’ largely slave-descendant population – with the sound of pop music beamed in on the radio from Europe, even adding in a little bit of soukous and Brazilian instrumentation. Their main rivals were Conjunto Mindelo, who fused São Toméan rhythms with rebita, an Angolan style, to create high energy puxa, a truly original island rhythm.

From the mid-1970s, coinciding with independence from Portugal in 1975, the islands’ groups featured an even stronger African influence and nowhere was that more apparent than with Africa Negra. They would listen to the latest records from Gabon, Zaire and Cameroon, taking inspiration and trying out phrasing from the greats of Central African guitar playing, developing a devoted fan base off the islands, as well as on. A score of other bands would follow a similar musical path, with a few getting their dues overseas in Angola, Cape Verde, Portugal and across Africa.

Os Leonenses (led by the iconic Pedro Lima), Conjunto Sangazuza, Sum Alvarinho and Conjunto Ecuador were just some of the other bands that formed a lively home-grown music scene that lit up the islands’ bars and open-air shows from the 1950s through to the mid-90s. Regardless of class or age, they were responsible for keeping the population entertained come the weekend, with Sunday matinee shows the highlight of the week, the music not stopping from midday until midnight.

As a Portuguese island colony that was for many years populated with slaves brought from Africa, São Tome and Principe has much in common with other Lusophone countries and boasts a richly complex and idiosyncratic musical DNA. Whilst the musical tapestries of Angola and Cape Verde are well known, São Tome and Principe’s secrets were assigned to the islanders themselves. Until now.

credits

released January 31, 2020

Compilation, Research & Liner Notes : Thomas Bignon (Dj Tom B.)
Artwork : David Mamie
Booklet Artwork: Felix Vincent
Analog Mastering : Tim Stollenwerk
Vinyl Cut : Adi Flück
Artistic Supervision : Cyril Yeterian

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Les Disques Bongo Joe Geneva, Switzerland

Bongo Joe explores contemporary undergrounds to dig out extraordinary sounds and plows the furrows of time to unearth rare nuggets from here, there and everywhere.

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