Maezmbe

Super Mazembe Kasongo/Ouma

Spooky guitar reverb, darkly romantic harmony and all around bizarro production make the song “Ilena” (along with its second patmy favorite here. The opening to “Pepeye” makes me feel like Side B comes in particularly stark contrast with Side A. The first side is a party; the second side make time for more creative introspection via challenging arrangements and such. I’m reading way too deeply into this…

You can buy this music here

 

A
Kasongo
Nanga
Ouma
Rosy
????

 

B
Pepeye
Pepeye (Reprise)
Prekete
Prekete (Reprise)
Ilena
Ilena (Reprise)
Shauri Yako

21 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

All Blog Spotsreply
June 4, 2007 at 3:52 am

nice blog

timboreply
June 4, 2007 at 2:36 pm

Top tape. I think I can solve the mystery of the last track on Side One. To my ears, the running order is Kassongo, Nanga Pt 1, Nanga Pt 2, Ouma, Rosy. Most songs in Kenya are released on 45s and cover both A and B sides of the disc – and to judge by the surface noise on this tape, it is taken from vinyl.

I’ve had a problem downloading two of the tracks: Prekete and Ilenga (Reprise, or Pt 2). They clocked in at 145kb and 104kb respectively, giving a playing time of 9 seconds and 6 seconds, which can’t be right. I’ll try again, but it might need a fix.

zimreply
June 5, 2007 at 10:01 pm

I think timbo is right on the track order for side one. I too am having the same issues with Prekete and Ilenga pt 2.

thursdaybornreply
June 6, 2007 at 4:32 am

dude, timbo, you are way more sharp than me. thanks for all your help.

zim, you too. i have fixed those two previously incomplete songs (Prekete and Ilena Pt 2)…

timboreply
June 7, 2007 at 11:01 pm

Thanks for the fix, thursdayborn. My happiness is now complete.

jeanlucreply
June 18, 2007 at 9:50 am

This comment has been removed by the author.

jeanlucreply
June 18, 2007 at 9:52 am

“Kasongo”, “Prekete” I like the most… best is “Ilena”…

To me the sound is very Zaïko influenced.

Beaureply
July 8, 2007 at 5:53 pm

the last three tracks don’t seem to have working links…

I’m really digging this so far.

Beaureply
July 9, 2007 at 7:41 pm

I found the issue with the last three tracks.

the link should be http://media-c02m02
not
http://media-c01m02

I figured it out with a stroke of luck, but hopefully more can enjoy those tracks!

thursdaybornreply
July 11, 2007 at 2:07 pm

i think i fixed the problem with the those last three tracks.

The Squeegeereply
November 2, 2007 at 7:02 am

cool post! the last TWO tracks are giving me “404 – Not Found” errors though… (Ilena Reprise & Shauri Yako) ~ do i need to alter the links? any advice? thanks in advance for any help or re-uploads, etc! :-)

thursdaybornreply
November 2, 2007 at 12:34 pm

yikes! ok, cool… i fixed those links. thanks

The Squeegeereply
November 2, 2007 at 7:07 pm

dang straight! thanks for the ass-kickingly QUICK FIX!! many thanks, T.S.

The Squeegeereply
November 5, 2007 at 2:59 am

i encountered another problem i should have previously noticed – the 5th track link, ILENA, does not work… all others appear to be ok… thanks very much in advance if this one can be fixed… love this stuff!

Andruidreply
May 6, 2008 at 12:54 am

OMG Shauri Yako!!

Its a personal favourite. Heard it on the radio when i was a kid and its been stuck in my head for like 15 years now. That and another cut called ‘Bwana Nipe Pesa.’

HalalHippiereply
May 27, 2009 at 10:42 pm

Awesome!! Heard “Kasongo” and “Nanga” 20+ years ago on the radio (albeit with different artists) and they been stuck ever since. Thanx….

Abdullahreply
August 15, 2009 at 4:15 pm

Thanks for this great music.

I can not download “Pepeye (Reprise)”, please can you fix the link?!

Thanks.

thursdaybornreply
November 21, 2009 at 4:32 pm

thank for the positive comments! i fixed that track just now, abdullah, thanks for letting me know.

MrMozambiquereply
December 1, 2009 at 9:14 am

Brilliant! These guys are fantastic and their stuff is so hard to come by (except for that great release that came out last year on CD). I’ve been looking for other stuff from them since I bought it. There’s almost nothing on the internet. Les Wanyika and Orchestra Les Wanyika are off-shoots from these guys and are superb as well.

Thanks again, ThursdayBorn.

Sethreply
December 19, 2014 at 9:37 pm

I lived in Uganda a few years ago. The story I heard was that Shari Yako was on the radio a lot at the time Amin was deposed, so the older people get very nostalgic about that song. I myself can barely listen to it, it makes me miss Uganda too much.

Lazarous lubolubo mwewareply
April 23, 2017 at 10:41 pm

The songs made me to discover my hiden talent of music,i think the guys are mavelous they’ve inspired me.

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