Gone Clear

By 1976 Manu Dibango had gone from being a relatively well known musician in the Parisian music scene to having an international hit with “Soul Makossa” after legendary DJ David Mancuso started playing it regularly one summer at The Loft. After returning to Africa for a successful tour, Dibango landed in Jamaica for the first time and set up at the legendary Dynamic Sounds Studios. Working with some of the best musicians at the time (including Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar) and with production by Geoffrey Chung, Dibango released Gone Clear a few years later. In many ways this album exemplifies what made Dibango such a globally successful artist: with reggae in this case, but also with Cuban music later on, he was able to deeply and respectfully engage with local sounds while infusing them with his own style. African percussion, soulful vocals, funky basslines, and of course Dibango’s signature sax blend with roots reggae to make this a classic Dibango record.