Sound d’Afrique II: Soukous

Though Fela Kuti would be the recipient of short-lived attempts at an American breakthrough in the late seventies and again in the mid-eighties, there was little precedent for the two Sound d’Afrique collections that Mango Records issued in 1981-82, featuring music the label had licensed from International Salsa Musique. While the first volume was a continental sampler, the second had a tighter focus, showcasing Francophone West Africa’s premiere style, soukous—an extension of Cuban-style Congolese rumba, though only half the LP originated from what was then called Zaire (Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Mali yield others). As such, it’s more a reflection of where the Congolese sound went than a depiction of its formation—and its ingratiating lightness means that it remains a charming historical marker.