Wanda Kenya
Wanda Kenya LP
Vinyl
Genre: Latin
EAN: 8435008864040
Regular price
€28,00
Unit price
per
Wganda Kenya was a group formed by Discos Fuentes with the idea of developing an African and Caribbean sound to appeal to the Colombian costeño market and add a little international exoticism to the label. - This 1976 album has become a collector's favorite waiting for a reissue, and it's not hard to see why, as it's full of Afro-funk, Congolese rumba and Caribbean-tinged dance floor burners. - This special edition includes two bonus tracks from the same period that didn't appear on the album but on 45s records and various compilations, as well as an insert with liner notes.
Pressed on 180g vinyl. - First time re-release. More info According to Fruko, Wganda Kenya was formed in 1974 at the request of José María Fuentes. Fuentes came to Fruko with a proposal to put together a group with an African and Caribbean sound to appeal to the Colombian costeño market and add a little international exoticism to the label. Fuentes wanted to create his own indigenous version of the rare (and often unknown) African and Antillean records played on the Colombian coast in outdoor picó sound systems in cities like Barranquilla and Cartagena, while opening up their markets to international tastes.
Fruko happily complied, becoming bandleader and bassist, while his pianist from Los Tesos, Luis "Tomate" Mesa, was recruited to play various electronic keyboards. Venezuelan singer Joe Rodríguez was enlisted as drummer, Mariano Sepúlveda of Afrosound played guitar, José "Cholo" Gallardo of Los Diplomáticos played saxophone, and several Tesos staffed the percussion section. Several Fuentes regulars became singers, including Jaime Galé, Luis Carlos and Joe Arroyo.
To match the exoticism and facade of foreignness, the singers often sang in invented languages that resembled indigenous Colombian, Haitian Creole, Dutch Caribbean Papiamento, or Nigerian Yoruba; sometimes they invented Spanish lyrics that mimicked the original foreign-language lyrics, often in a humorous way. Like almost all Fuentes bands, Wganda Kenya recorded numerous singles and cover versions that ended up on "Bailables" compilations, but it wasn't until the resounding success of a 45 record featuring their rendition of the Haitian song "Homenaje a los embajadores," released in 1975, that the Fuentes studio team was motivated to continue the project and release complete albums under the band's name.
in 1976, Discos Fuentes released the self-titled album "Wganda Kenya," considered by many to be their first complete album. Technically it was, at least in Colombia, but considering the release of "Wganda Kenya / Africa 5,000" by Miami Records the year before, it is not the band's first solo album. However you look at it, this record you now hold in your hands has become a collector's favorite waiting for a reissue, and it's not hard to see why, because it's full of so many Afro-funk, Congolese rumba and Caribbean-tinged dance floor burners.
All the tracks on this record, including the bonus tracks, are cover versions, including interpretations of songs by Haiti's original Shleu Shleu ('El evangelio'), Guadeloupe's combo Moderno ('An Nous Dansé Tumbelé') and Paris' Le Trio Africain Los Makueson's ('Yoro'), among many others. Like its sister band Afrosound, Wganda Kenya was ahead of its time, anticipating current global Afro-Latin funk in a way that is finding more and more fans worldwide. This special edition includes two bonus tracks from the same period that did not appear on the album, but on 45s and various compilations.
Pressed on 180g vinyl. - First time re-release. More info According to Fruko, Wganda Kenya was formed in 1974 at the request of José María Fuentes. Fuentes came to Fruko with a proposal to put together a group with an African and Caribbean sound to appeal to the Colombian costeño market and add a little international exoticism to the label. Fuentes wanted to create his own indigenous version of the rare (and often unknown) African and Antillean records played on the Colombian coast in outdoor picó sound systems in cities like Barranquilla and Cartagena, while opening up their markets to international tastes.
Fruko happily complied, becoming bandleader and bassist, while his pianist from Los Tesos, Luis "Tomate" Mesa, was recruited to play various electronic keyboards. Venezuelan singer Joe Rodríguez was enlisted as drummer, Mariano Sepúlveda of Afrosound played guitar, José "Cholo" Gallardo of Los Diplomáticos played saxophone, and several Tesos staffed the percussion section. Several Fuentes regulars became singers, including Jaime Galé, Luis Carlos and Joe Arroyo.
To match the exoticism and facade of foreignness, the singers often sang in invented languages that resembled indigenous Colombian, Haitian Creole, Dutch Caribbean Papiamento, or Nigerian Yoruba; sometimes they invented Spanish lyrics that mimicked the original foreign-language lyrics, often in a humorous way. Like almost all Fuentes bands, Wganda Kenya recorded numerous singles and cover versions that ended up on "Bailables" compilations, but it wasn't until the resounding success of a 45 record featuring their rendition of the Haitian song "Homenaje a los embajadores," released in 1975, that the Fuentes studio team was motivated to continue the project and release complete albums under the band's name.
in 1976, Discos Fuentes released the self-titled album "Wganda Kenya," considered by many to be their first complete album. Technically it was, at least in Colombia, but considering the release of "Wganda Kenya / Africa 5,000" by Miami Records the year before, it is not the band's first solo album. However you look at it, this record you now hold in your hands has become a collector's favorite waiting for a reissue, and it's not hard to see why, because it's full of so many Afro-funk, Congolese rumba and Caribbean-tinged dance floor burners.
All the tracks on this record, including the bonus tracks, are cover versions, including interpretations of songs by Haiti's original Shleu Shleu ('El evangelio'), Guadeloupe's combo Moderno ('An Nous Dansé Tumbelé') and Paris' Le Trio Africain Los Makueson's ('Yoro'), among many others. Like its sister band Afrosound, Wganda Kenya was ahead of its time, anticipating current global Afro-Latin funk in a way that is finding more and more fans worldwide. This special edition includes two bonus tracks from the same period that did not appear on the album, but on 45s and various compilations.
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