This week's blast from the past Tsonga Disco sounds come from the late, great Peta Teanet.
Peta was both King of the Hill and Cock of the Walk on the Tsonga (also known as Shangaan) scene from his arrival in the late 1980s until his tragically early death in 1996, shot by a policeman during an argument. He was only 30.
Peta spiced up his disco with a bit of the bubblegum pop that was so popular in South Africa at the time, which perhaps gave him a bit more crossover appeal than some of his contemporaries, but did so without sacrificing the sheer Shangaanosity of his sound (that is a real word, I looked it up).
I have rather a lot going on in what laughably passes for real life at the moment, and as a result I have let some things slide.
One of those things is the task is whittling down the pile of CDs that I have bought but not got round to listening to. Having nearly eliminated it at one point, it has now crept up to 20+ again.
So I am enlisting your help. Among the pile are two albums by acts that I had never heard of before but which I thought were worth taking a punt on as two-thirds of a '3 for £1' offer. I have picked a track from each of them at random, without having listened to either, and I am relying on you to let me know if they are any good.
The two albums in question are "Masri Mokkassar: Definitive Works" by Mutamassik, a compilation of tracks recorded between 1996 and 2004, and the self-titled album from 2010 by Drunken Balordi. Now over to you.
I have to be brisk and business-like today. Things to do, people to see, you know how it is.
Here is one song each from two of the Oldham brothers, William and Nedworth. Despite concealing their identities behind silly pseudonyms you can still detect the family resemblance.
As an extra treat I've added something by good old Uncle Spooner.
Instead of our usual music video, here's a fantastic clip about efforts to promote tourism in the town of Oldham from 1976, worth watching for the wallpaper in the council offices alone.
Welcome to the second in our brief series reviving this blog's original mission to bring Tsonga Disco to the masses.
But first a public service announcement. My celebrity pal Ruth from Kill The Sirens has alerted me to the fact that they are playing at an all-dayer at the Dublin Castle in Camden (or Cmdn as it is apparently now called) this Sunday. Details are on the flyer below.
14 bands for £10 is a bargain however you look at it. Unfortunately I can't make it but if you're free you should pop along and let me know how it goes. Kill The Sirens are due on about 5.45pm.
Now back to the disco. Last time out we featured the great king Penny Penny, who will be performing in London in early August. I will be there and tickets are still available.
This time round it is Benny Mayengani, who burst onto the scene with "Tiba Ben" in 2011 and has been a leading light in the Tsonga scene ever since.
He can be a bit of a bumptious Benny by all accounts but he knows how to bang out a tune, as these selections from 2016's intriguingly named "Vitanani Fire Brigade" album demonstrate.
"Go Benny Go" - Benny Mayengani (featuring Prince Rhangani)
I was browsing on Bandcamp the other day and came across a bargain which I thought I should alert you all to as a public service.
Strand of Oaks (or Timothy Showalter as he is known to his Mum) is one of those artists whose music I like when I happen to hear it but who I have never got round to digging into more deeply. I have a copy of his 2019 album "Eraserland", but that was it.
But no more. On his Bandcamp page you can find the official version of his 2010 album "Pope Kildragon" (for $7.99) and the demos for the album (for whatever you want to pay). I opted for the demos, and all I can say is if the rough and ready version of the album is this good then I'm going to have to buy the real thing.
On the subject of bargains, last week Mister F and I managed to wangle a couple of free tickets to see this up and coming beat combo. I don't know much about them but I liked what I heard. I think they might do well.
A couple of weeks ago we featured tracks from "Pay What You Want Vol. 2", a compilation album put together by the Akuphone label. You will have deduced from the title that there is a Vol 1, and I suspect it may not come as a complete shock when I tell you there is also a Vol. 3.
The three volumes are all available from the Akuphone Bandcamp page along with records by many of the featured artists. Not everything on the compilations is going to be to everyone's taste - and there are a few tracks that frankly I doubt are to anyone's taste - but there are plenty of goodies as well.
Here is a track apiece from Volumes 1 and 3. We have some 1980s pop from Laos followed by a German producer's reworking of Sumatran folk music. Well, come on, what else was it going to be?
The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted that I have a new profile photo. Some of you may also think the gentleman in the photo and his distinctive haircut look familiar. That could be because for many years I used an earlier photo of him for my profile (before a recent short-lived dalliance with Carlos Fonseca, founder of the Sandinistas).
The gent in question is Penny Penny, undisputed King of Tsonga Disco (well it is disputed by some, but not me). Why has he reappeared here? Well, because he has reappeared in real life! It has just been announced that he coming to London to play the Jazz Cafe on 6 August. I have my ticket and I am VERY EXCITED.
Papa Penny and his old producer Joe Shirimani are partly responsible for me being here. Way back when I started there was this quaint idea that bloggers, like politicians, should be motivated by a sense of purpose and not just a desire for attention. Many bloggers still are, politicians not so much.
Having recently discovered and fallen heavily for Tsonga Disco, not least due to Penny Penny, I gave myself the rather grand mission of bringing it to the masses. I was diligent to start with but over time as my sources dried up and my enthusiasms moved on I abandoned my mission, to my great shame.
In honour of Penny Penny's impending arrival we'll be going back to our roots for a while. Expect to see one Tsonga Disco post a week between now and early August, starting with the Great Man himself.
Links stay up for a month or so. If you are an artist or copyright holder and want me to remove the link, or if you want to get in touch for any other reason, e-mail me on leggies27@hotmail.co.uk.
