Yaoundé, in the 1970´s, was a buzzing place. Every neighborhood of Cameroon´s capital, no matter how dodgy, was filled with music spots but surprisingly there were no infrastructure to immortalize those musical riches. The country suffered from a serious lack of proper recording facilities, and the process of committing your song to tape could become a whole adventure unto itself. Of course, you could always book the national broadcasting company together with a sound engineer, but this was hardly an option for underground artists with no cash. But luckily an alternative option emerged in form of an Adventist church with some good recording equipment and many of the artists on this compilation recorded their first few songs, secretly, in these premises thanks to Monsieur Awono, the church engineer. He knew the schedule of the priests and, in exchange for some cash, he would arrange recording sessions. The artists still had to bring their own equipment, and since there was only one microphone, the amps and instruments had to be positioned perfectly. It was a risky business for everyone involved but since they knew they were making history, it was all worth it.

Includes booklet and downloadcode!

TRACKS:

A1 –Jean-Pierre Djeukam Africa Iyo A2 –Joseph Kamga Sie Tcheu A3 –Los Camaroes Ma Wde Wa A4 –Los Camaroes Esele Mulema Moam

B1 –Ndenga Andre Destin Et Les Golden Sounds Yondja B2 –Damas Swing Orchestra Odylife B3 –Charles Lembe Et Son Orchestra Quiero Wapatcha B4 –Louis Wasson Et L'Orchestre Kandem Irenée Song Of Love

C1 –Tsanga Dieudonne Les Souffrances C2 –Pierre Didy Tchakounte Et Les Tulipes Noires Monde Monderne C3 –Willie Song Et Les Showmen Moni Ngan C4 –Mballa Bony Mezik Me Mema

D1 –Johnny Black Et Les Jokers Mayi Bo Ya? D2 –Pierre Didy Tchakounte Ma Fou Fou D3 –Lucas Tala Woman Be Fire D4 –Ndenga Andre Destin Et Les Golden Sounds* Ngamba