Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche

African style music, very special. Happy tunes.

It was pretty samey, but the musicianship was top notch.

witzig, mal Musik aus Afrika zu hören

Solid world music that meanders for a while on the album, but is never displeasing. I wouldn't need it on this list and I'm not sure I will listen to it much again, but I appreciate it.

African

Afro-jazz

This album goes well with a pina colada on beach vacation. Generic background music for doing the limbo on too much rum. Not really for every day listening and quickly turns to background music

Very happy album, I felt like I was on a beach somewhere…..

Of the 44 albums I've listened to so far, this is the most different one of the bunch without a question. I obviously didn't understand a single word the entire 58 minutes, but the music itself was such a big contrast in sound compared to other stuff I listen to normally. This is not an album I would listen to again, but it was fun listening to something from a different culture that I would've never heard otherwise. 2.5/5

Strange. I like it but don’t know how to classify

Not my kind of music

Not for me, one star.

too smooth for me

This seems like something that should feel more compelling than it is, and probably just suffers from being smoothed over in a very 1992 way.

Jesus...

Fine if not a little generic. Dudes a slimeball though. Way to fuck up the good will of your culture to the rest of the world.

There ought to be *so* much more world music in this project. I’m not entirely sure, though, why this particular album found its way here. It’s pleasant enough. 3.5?

This is the reason I love this project, getting to hear artists I would have probably never known about (although it doesn’t happen near enough) - I don’t think I’ve heard any Congolese music before so I had a really lovely time with this. Smooth and cool!

Bland

*I can appreciate the musicianship and positive vibes of this sound, but it doesn't have too much variation on album

I appreciate the music, but the songs could have been catchier.

fun

first listen beautiful but not much variety

Too long of an album for this kind of music

Island time! 100% okay.

Disliked this intensely

Repetitive but delightful vibe

Not sure why you would recommend a foreign album if it’s in another language. At least with reggae they’re still kind of speaking English this is African. It sounds like Caribbean music. Every song sounds the same to me are very similar should I say. I mean I guess it’s cool if you’re at a bar and it’s in the background, but I’m not playing this at my house.

great

Just when I was hoping for more non-english albums, this one popped up and from my family's home country. Some of the songs off this album bring back childhood memories of parties. Highly recommend

no lo escuché por fomeke pongame el 1 altiro y k weá

Papa bonheur 3.5 Désespoir 3.3 Koweït, rive gauche 3.3 Qui cherche trouve 3.4 Elixir 3.1 Porte-monnaie 3.3 Conte de fées 3.4 Obrigado 3.5 Dit Jeannot 3.1 3. Score: 322222222

01/03/2026 I'm all for embracing different cultures and musical styles... but this was pants. Spotify listeners: 396.4k

I am in no way qualified to review this album. This is just a standard average review

This list needs more world music.

Nope

Pretty nice listen, but definitely has some glaring 90s production. Wouldn't go back to this one.

Chilled n noice Not really my thing but not unpleasant

Pretty chill world music album. It's got a samba feel to it, and makes me think of like idk Carribean music too.

Sounded like a low budget Disney soundtrack.

Not my taste at all

I swear if I hear Poussa or Poussez or whatever else this dude said during every single C major African up-beat outro on this album again, I will lose it. Statutory rape doesn't help the man's case either. There's great music out of Africa - Yossou N'dour and Fela Kuti have been well received by me - but this is complete nothing. I'm sure the people of the Congo enjoy this, but what does this 58 minute 9 track repeat-fest of a record have that makes it eligible for a list of this grandeur? I don't need an answer to that. All I want is for this to get away from me and make way for Wu Tang (2/10, 1/5 on this scale)

Nice music but I don't think I'll be returning to it too often. Glad it was something different.

Ei ihan omaan makuun samba tai mikä tuo on olevinaan

Not my style of music but pretty good musicality

I like the change of pace for having some world music on here. I don't really know if this delivers though.

Neil young has a voice that captivates and keep you interested. Its soothing sound

Wow. A 5. Listened to it in the kitchen at 5 am and couldn’t stop dancing.

Don’t need to understand all the words to get the vibe. And I kinda dug his vibe. But because of the language barrier, I did find it hard to differentiate between some tracks. Rounding down from 3.5*, but that’s more my fault than his.

Fun African world music, and a chance to brush up on my French phrases.

Ok, nothing special though. Sounds like holiday music for sunnier climates.

I respect it, but it just reminds me of music you’d hear in the background of a bar in the tropics when you’re on vacation and too often does it overstay its welcome.

it's feb in the midwest, it's cold, i'm sick, this album is not the vibe.

Don’t know enough about African music but I find it hard to believe this is among the best they have to offer. Feels like self-parody and the songs are mostly indistinguishable

Hmm... On the one hand, music is universal, and from that perspective this was passable, I guess. On the other hand, if a track predominantly features lyrics, then those lyrics are part of the experience, and it's been too long since I've used my French to know what's being sung here to fully appreciate this. Didn't hate it, but didn't get much from it, either.

I’m not mad at the algorithm for giving me a break from the dad rock. This album was unexpected. I take that over another Elvis Costello or Bob Dylan album.

Sounds like a Disney soundtrack. In a good way. 4

No, thank you.

This was fun until it wasn’t. I was at work while listening so I’d have to stop and pick it back up over the course of 3 hours which made the album feel like it was 3 hours. It makes you feel like you’re at a Disney resort in the tropics but the specifically want an African vibe, so you’re stuck in this upbeat purgatory. This music was tight though

Sounds like under the sea music, me no likey. But not the worst thing ever. At least it’s musical

This was interesting but didn’t save anything. Above average working music though. Strong 3.

This is worse than a Disney soundtrack. It’s lame and it’s unpleasant. No thank you. The Black Album is way better.

I appreciate that I got to listen to this, but it doesn't resonate too much with me and a lot of people claim it's one of the signs that the book isn't that good at showcasing African music, mostly sticking to what they claim waters things down for Western perspectives. I've certainly heard more exciting albums in my life, even coming from Africa.

Fransk latin varme på en kold dansk snevejrs dag.

Jeg forstår ikke sproget. Jeg forstår ikke kulturen. Jeg forstår ikke musikken. Det kunne lige så godt være lavet i en anden galakse. Jeg er ikke egnet til at vurdere det. Men det gør ikke mig nysgerrig på mere.

Some parts of this were fairly corny, but a lot I liked! I appreciate the rare times this list delves into less Euro-centric music, especially for the change of pace. This was a nice one.

German Caribbean music?

I adore this genre of happy music! Excellent vibes

I want to like African music more than I seem to based on the albums in this project so far, each of them starts “oh this is great, I like this” and then about twenty minutes in, my ears become overstimulated by something in the notes or rhythm and I want it to stop. I get the same thing with piano music. Heigh ho.

Not bad

I know people that would like this but I’m not one of them. It’s impressive though how I can’t understand what he’s saying but I can definitely tell this if from the 90s.

I would have preferred Franco to be on this list

idk

Unremarkable. Honestly, irritating. I mainly was bored and wanted it to end. The same exact rhythm/chant occupied the tail end of several tracks and I groaned every time. Maybe this just isn't for me, but I really could have died without listening to this.

not my thing but i kinda liked it :)

Mildly interesting, but I just do not see myself ever coming back to this one.

certified pedophile

Lowkey nicht so richtig gehört, hat mich bisschen genervt, hab aber auch meine Tage Aber eigentlich hätte der maybe zwei bekommen, jetzt war aber alles voll mit seiner vergewaltigung also kann er auch einen haben

Das war damals neu und lustig - heute wirkt diese Musik recht abgeschmackt

Some sun on a rainy February weekend. These vibes always bring me back to Poindimié

Felt that the songs were too long and some songs blended in to each other

I never would have heard this record without doing this exercise. I am glad I got a chance to listen.

At first it seemed like pleasant background music. Then it started to grow on me.

It was pleasant enough for the first couple of songs but then got way too repetitive. And the songs are really long. I don't know how to rate this genre though so I'll give it a safe 3.

I'm trying to figure out how many African albums (not "Afrobeat," not Graceland) are on this list--10? 12? and determine whether this is really in the top 10 or 12 African albums. I'm guessing the answer is no--there appears to be no Angelique Kidjo?? Perfectly nice to listen to, I guess

2 sterne

hmmmmmmmmm, a little problematic don't u think Will I listen to again: 0%

Dance all night to those beats!

Fun listen.

I couldn't understand a word of this.

Another nice, relaxing listen. Good time vibes.

zvuči ko omot - mimasto, jeftino i loše

Not exactly my taste but not terrible.

Don't see what is particularly exceptional it's fine background music 2.5*

Instrumentals sound like free Casio demo songs and don’t really evolve at all over time. Vocals were fine and had some cool moments but after looking at the guy’s wiki it kinda ruined it lol

Teleports me to Disneyland. But its production isn’t that great. Solid but not great. Enjoyable but don’t need to listen to it again.

Fun peaceful vibes

Very interesting album. I loved his sound.

I know I’m hitting 3s pretty often but I’m not wowed by this. Can’t rate above a 3 on principle because this man’s a sex criminal

It just wasn’t good it did nothing for me

Just alright

It was fine but it didn't have too much goin on

I'm listening to royalty free albums you can't pronounce by abusive artists you've never heard of 2

Sounds like german "Schlager" african style...phew...

I don’t have much of a critical take on this album beyond the simple fact that it’s a pleasure to listen to. I don’t understand French or Lingala, so the lyrical content is lost on me, but the energy is unmistakably buoyant and good-natured. That, honestly, feels like the point. What this music does conjure is a very specific cinematic image. It sounds like the closing theme of a late-1980s rom-com adventure: the villain has been defeated in a third-act showdown, the long-lost jewels have been recovered, and our two protagonists are finally free to enjoy their victory. They’re snorkeling off the coast of Madagascar, luxuriating aboard a newly “acquired” private yacht (formerly owned by the bad guy, naturally). As the credits roll, a helicopter shot pulls farther and farther back. The heroes meet in the water one last time, share a long, triumphant kiss, and the image freezes before slowly fading to black.

No idea what is being said, but as always, music with a Latin or Caribbean vibe is always an enjoyable listen.

Reminded me of Bhundu Boys in places.

O álbum possui boas músicas muito tem gravadas, só que acaba sofrendo com o alagamento de algumas canções e do próprio Álbum. QoA Adonis New.

😂😂😂😂 can’t get over the title of track 1.

I don’t really have any frame of reference from which to accurately critique or praise this album. It’s from a genre and culture so far removed from anything I’m familiar with that any attempts to do so feels incorrect somehow. With that said I did find it to be both a fun and very interesting record to listen to. The Congolese rhythms are certainly groovy. I fear I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this one. Fun to listen to, won’t be seeking it out again though. 3*

Based on the apparent mix of French and German(?) orthography, my guess was that this artist was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that was correct. I am satisfied to have won this game with myself. Anyway. I'm not even sure really what this genre would be called, but I really enjoyed listening to this album. The first song, "Papa Bonheur", specifically, gave the feeling of being in an open-air market in Little Haiti in Miami or basically anywhere where it's hot and humid and people are gathered to share food and music and try to catch a nice breeze. It made me happy to listen to. Generally I like that this album tends towards pretty long songs and gives tracks their time to settle into really nice grooves. I would happily listen again, though I'm not sure if I will.

omg so tropical, I like it I wish I understood what he's saying

nice warm rumba with African sound. unfortunately not my style

I can’t listen to this. Sorry. Too depressed right now and it is making me even sadder. Wish I could meet him at his wavelength.

i dont know how to evaluate this album, so im giving it a 2

Solid, enjoyable, forgettable

Wish I had read the full Wikipedia page before I gave this nasty man clicks on YouTube.

While Soukous, or the very specific version of Congolese dance music (or any dance music for that matter) on this record may not be my particular style, you can definitely feel the rhythm here. There is no denying that vibes are soaring through this. On a day like today with the forecast projecting snow and freezing temps across a huge swath of the country and anxiety everywhere, maybe we needed some bright uplifting tones. There is dense musicality in this record led by Olomidé and his passionate vocals.

Poor choice for this list

Não percebi nada do que o Koffi cantou, mas gostei de tudo que cantou. Que vibe. Quem me dera estar em Punta Cana, na praia, a ouvir este álbum. É um forte 3/5 e se ouvisse na República Dominicana tinha sido 5/5, quase de certeza.

Not bad, not amazing. Cool dance vibes. Not sure if they've got spanish influences or if they influenced latin music. Regardless, there wasn't anything bad here, besides Koffi.

This is a real banger, solid grooves and vibes. It's a touch dated and it's not really revelatory but it's enough to make me want to listen to more and dig deeper. Really enjoyed this.

Why was every song so long for no reason.

i will never listen to this again, but thats a personal taste thing than a judgement quality. this is a judgment quality tho, 2/5

(Rapist) King of Ndombolo, but I love congolese music

Attention : enfin un album d'Afrique ! Il m'aura fallu 50 jours pour enfin en avoir un. Jusqu'à présent, je n'ai eu que des albums d'Amérique du Nord (en comptant Cuba) et d'Europe. Encore rien d'Amérique du sud ou d'Asie. Pour l'Océanie, je ne m'inquiète pas trop, il y aura bien un petit AC/DC, voire un bon Dead Can Dance. Et pour commencer à parler des musiques d'Afrique, on a du soukous ! Alors, je n'y connais rien et Koffi Olomidé est inconnu au bataillon pour moi, donc comme je le dis souvent, je serai pas forcément ultra pertinent dans mon avis. Je suis juste un peu étonné, mais d'après Rate Your Music, il y a beaucoup d'autres albums du genre qui sont mieux notés et plus populaires et plus anciens (donc à priori plus fondateurs). Bon, on va pas encore parler des choix de la liste, sinon on y est encore demain et j'ai pas encore parlé de la musique en elle-même. Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche est un album bien kitsch dans ses arrangements, mais qui est aussi franchement fun à écouter. C'est un petit peu long (58 minutes, quand même), mais c'est agréable à écouter et je retrouve enfin ce qui fait le charme d'une liste de 1001 albums à écouter : je me penche sur des trucs que j'écouterais probablement jamais de moi-même (ça change de David Bowie !!!). Koffi Olomidé a l'air de s'amuser, il lance des "c'est bon, ça" une fois tous les deux titres. Et si la prod a un peu vieilli, y'a un charme unique dans cet album. 3/5, à mon avis. Mais mais mais, qu'est-ce qu'on me dit dans l'oreillette ? Le monsieur a eu des affaires judiciaires pour des histoires douteuses avec une mineure et en plus il frappe des gens ? Hé, finalement, avec Bowie et Michael Jackson il est bien dans la lignée de la liste qui aime bien glisser des personnages problématiques.

Courtney: could be nice in a mixed playlist but it was a lot of really similar music all at once. It made me lose interest. Craig: “one big long Lion King”

chill tropical vibes but not my thing

Kinda groovy.

Hardly essential. Starts out pleasant enough and quickly plummets from there. Guy sounds like a real pos too.

Music to do housework to.

I don’t know how to rate this objectively because it’s not my music taste and i didn’t listen to the full album. I think i cannot give it a 1 because it’s not bad, but going off of what i like i can’t give it more than a 2

A lovely voice and a fun vibe.

#829. I really don't have anything positive or negative to say about this album. It was there, I listened to it. That's about it, I guess. I do have to say the album cover is creepy and I hate it. 3/5: acceptable

I am not qualified to rate this up or down. And man, my music-suggestion algorithm is really getting fucked.

Have you ever gone to a Thai or Indian place for dinner and they're planning some of the shittiest lounge-style music you've ever heard, but it's in their native language? That's what I felt like when I turned this on. But I didn't have a big plate of Congolese food to console myself with. Sad.

I like Afropop, so I'm always happy to be exposed to another corner of it. There are a couple of tracks on here I didn't like but mostly enjoyed the ride minus the in-your-face 80s production touches that didn't age super well.

3/5 - Aside from a few spots where it sounds like a Casio keyboard sing-along, this was enjoyable. Bright and upbeat.

No

Papa loves mambo

Interesting: another world music artist of whom I'd never heard. It's emininently listenable, although I wonder about the authenticity; whether it's adjusted to suit modern European tastes.

Really great energy. Makes me shake my shoulders.

Not really my favorite

Love the instrumentals and energy with them but they get a bit repetitive especially for the seven-minute songs. The vocals and pretty fun and there are a few songs I would come back to, but overall not the best I’ve heard like this before

glossy modern afrobeat - a bit canned, but good.

I enjoy some “world music,” but this one just felt like elevator music to me.

ai, essa capa feia não foi apelativa pra mim. só escutei duas músicas, que foram ok. em outro momento talvez eu escute de verdade.

Like many other albums

There’s talent but I can’t with the cheesy 90s overproduction

Had little interest or love for this today. Pretty meh on the whole adventure. For that, this gets a (probably unfair) 2 / 5.

Banger of an album cover. Top 100 Congolese artist of all time, that's for sure.

A fun bouncing around type of album but a bit long to listen to an album where I could not understand the words. Some of the guitar parts were really cool

It's not bad but I just don't think Congolese Rumba is my jam. Some guitar in the background is cool but was patiently waiting for this one to be over. Also nothing to do with the ranking, but just a quick check on this guys wikipedia makes it seem like this dude is a MASSIVE asshole. Tbh I'd lash out too if I was named after a drink.

Kongolaista rumbaa taas tähän väliin. Ihan hyvän mielen musiikkia vaikka en ihan kohderyhmää välttämättä ole. Hauska tuo syna mikä tuo tähän sellaista ysärikasari fiilistä. Parhaat: Qui cherche trouve, Conte de fees

Cool beats. Joyful upbeat music

interesting listen 3.5

This is cool, not much replay-ability

This is a new album to me, I'd never heard of it (or, indeed Koffi Olomide) before. It's OK, pleasant but not great.

I am not a fan of long songs, and have very anglo-centric tastes (outside some Polish and Korean music), but this isn't too bad. Kinda relaxing tropical feels. The problem is that it goes on seemingly forever and melds into a very samey collection of music.

Ok dette, men gleda meg stadig til det var slutt mens jeg hørte på.

God stemning, men ikke noe jeg kommer sette på igjen tror jeg. 2/5

Går an å høyre på, men set det nok aldri på igjen

Easy listening, men ikke noe for meg.

This was different than what I usually listen to - so was an interesting change of pace. Some of it reminds me of sounds I've heard on Paul Simon's Graceland - though maybe that's just representative of lots of African styles of music. I looked up to see if Paul Simon was inspired by this artist (Koffi Olomide) and couldn't find any connection. I know this album (1992) came out after Graceland (1986) but I thought there might be some connection between the artists prior to this one - but no. Also, it seems that Vampire Weekend has probably listened to/been inspired by this (or this type of music) - and I did see at least 1 reference to that fact when I did some searching. Both "Papa bonheur" and "Koweit, rive gauche" sounded cool to me and "Porte-monnaie" was fun. I did end up liking these 3 songs on Spotify - meaning I won't mind hearing them again in my rotation of songs on my playlists. It's a bit hard to get into, partly because I often gravitate towards lyrics - but I enjoyed some of it for sure. I did find myself distracted at times with some of the cheesy 80s synths sounds. And, given that I am not familiar with this, I don't really have anything to compare it to so I am not sure how this stacks up against other albums from the Congo or this genre in general. Liked songs on Spotify: 3/9 Rating: 2/5

I like the kwassa kwassa elements of Olomidé’s style but the synths make it sound like cheesy Michael Bolton mall karaoke versions of African music. It’s never downright bad but it would not make my list of 1001 albums to hear before you die.

This was alright. My rating has nothing to do with this not being in English. The music itself just didn’t hold my attention. I wish I could give this a 2.5, but I’m rounding down due to how unlikely I am to listen to this again.

Pretty sure I just listened to the same song 9 times in a row?? I didn't really like it the first time or the other eight. Top: Conte De Fees Not Top: Desespoir

I really enjoyed this!

Offensively inoffensive. It would be hilarious to learn that he's actually singing about some really heavy shit, because to me this is pleasant sounding to the point of being irritating. In fact, if I listen to too much more of this it's going to put me in a really bad mood.

It's nice to get a stop in the Congo along this project's musical tourism itinerary (apparently the only Congolese artist and album in the "1001 Albums" collection), but I always feel at a disadvantage with the Asian- or African-based albums in this collection, and this is no exception. At times he sounds an awful lot like the Barry White of the DRC, and the unfortunate choice of a 90s album lends a karoake style to the backing music. Interesting to read, though, that "'Papa Bonheur' was listed among the '100 Greatest African Songs of All Time' by the Kenyan weekly magazine 'Daily Nation'" (from the Wikpedia entry for Koffi Alomide). I suspect my surprise at this factoid reveals much more of my ignorance about what goes into a great African song than anything else.

enjoyed it and probably unable to appreciate it fully due to my own cultural limitations

We've got to realise that music of a shithouse can still be appreciated despite the shithouse being a shithouse.

Yeah, I’m sure this is good if it’s on the list but it did nothing for me

Ágætis bakgrunns tónlist, ekkert leiðinlegt lag en heldur ekkert sem stendur upp úr

Grípandi taktur ... en í 58 mínútur. Of langdregið.

I have no reference point for this kind of music as I’ve never barely even heard any before, so it’s surprisingly hard to give an opinion about it. Doesn’t help that I’m listening to it in the middle of the darkest and coldest winter and not while laying on a Senegalese beach. That said, I think this is exactly the kind of music this list SHOULD have more instead of, what, seven Bob Dylan albums. More interesting and remarkable music from every corner of the world, please. I’ll give it a three just for actually being on the list.

Pretty cool and funky

Upbeat world music is always fun. Here, we've got what I assume is Congolese rumba, but it sounds very similar to Latin music in terms of structure. Can't really speak on the lyrical themes, but the rhythmic guitar and drums really lay the groundwork for a lot of these tracks and make you wanna move your hips. Gets repetitive and drags a bit near the end, though.

Ok some of the music is catchy

jamming

I enjoyed the hell out of this. It’s thrown my understanding of what my music taste is out the effing window.

Not my kind of music

Fun

fun afro

All vibes

Nice sounding album, very relaxing for background music.

340/1089 - I'd like this more if every song was around 2 minutes shorter and half the songs were in something other than C major. I'm not against long songs at all (I'm a huge classical music fan) and I bet it's really fun to hear this group live but I don't think jammy music translates well to recordings. Between a 3 and a 4, this is very 80s sounding and feels somewhat New-Wave-ized and inauthentic. I like New Wave but this got to the point where it sounded like a bunch of flip-phone ringtones.

Koffi...I'm sure there is a time and place for this album but the time is not 20:26 CEST and the place is not Woluwe Saint Lambert. Boom...roasted! Hey Koffi...the track list of this album reads like a list of Brussels Metro stations. Boom...roasted!

I tried but this just ain't for me. The aggressively lame album art doesn't help at all either. I'm not claiming to know anything about Kwassa Kwassa/African music but I gotta assume there are better representatives than this. Seems to lack the energy I was expecting, almost sounds like someone making what they think it should sound like? I could be way off base but I didn't care for this. 2 stars

cute but definitely not my thing

Not a bad album. Unfortunate about who the artist is as a person, but I’m not going to dock points because that would be hypocritical, because of how I will be rating future Beatles/Michael Jackson/name any artist with a controversy. Anyways, the album features laid back but still upbeat African beats and rhythms. Unfortunately, I don’t speak French, so I can’t evaluate lyrical content.

Oh boy, this one is tough. To be completely honest, I think I don’t have enough exposure to this style of Central African music to really lock into it. Really, the only song that I was 100% into was “Désespoir.” I think it’s well-played, and I do groove to it and enjoy it, but it rarely stood out like other African albums included on this list have, which I have similarly less worldly-exposure to speak on. I think I not only need to sit with Olomidé and this record more, but maybe even explore more of his discography. From what I can gather, this might not even be his best record. That doesn’t mean I hate this, though. It’s good, just maybe not for me. Which is fine, obviously, but also hard to talk about, because I also don’t have anything negative to say here. Just not fully clicking for my white girl ass, which, like…duh.

Always down for some interesting world music.

I think enough has been said about what kind of person the artist is, so I'll just try to separate the artist from the art. So, with that said, this really does feel a bit like African music produced to appear to a white audience, particularly with the production. It does, somehow, have some of that 90s sound that I don't like, despite being music from a different continent. The musicianship is really good, and the singer is also pretty good to listen to. The production ends up being a big enough issue for me to keep me from really having a good time listening. Favorite Song(s): Desespoir

Pretty generic, overuse of crappy-sounding synths.

Pretty fun, but can be repetitive.

i have no real frame of reference for this to form a nuanced opinion i can get down with it though it does sound quite dated but that's almost a good thing

See on täpselt selline asi, mida ma kuulaksin kuskil Viljandi folgil ja täiega vaibiksin kaasa. Sellist asja kuulaksin pikalt. 4/5

Just beautiful. It does sound a little of its time in terms of production sometimes but it's charming. Really, really good beats too.

Very fun and upbeat album. 3/5

Initially pretty into this. However, it did wear out its welcome over the course of an hour. All the songs feel like they should be half as long. I guess this makes sense if you're dancing to it though. It's still a fun album, and I like it more on a track-by-track basis than as a full album. 3/5

A Koffi le conocimos gracias a Papa Wemba y sus Viva la Música. Yo prefiero a Papa Wemba, o a Youssou N'Dour , pero el éxito de Koffí es indudable. Al margen de la portada, su música animada y bien tocada, es agradable e invita al baile.

Completely forgettable. Not jarring, just tepid.

Hmmm, slipknot to this one. This is a terrible album cover. Guessing it’s African pop music. No - more Caribbean for sure. Ah from Congo and yes they speak French. Sounds like hot, hot, hot. It’s well produced but not my bag, man. And it’s toooo long.

This definitely outstays its welcome. After a few songs the pattern is well established but doesn't stretch to any interesting which the length of the songs would suggest. Pleasant enough in small doses.

Liked the vibe, added to my library.

Well... I cannot seperate the artist from his actions. Read about that after I had listened to most of the album already. Otherwise I would have thought about listening to it at all. He won't receive much from my stream but do I want to stream music of such a plesasnt person? Not really. The music itself: Hard to rate for me, might have ended up with 3/5 but do not want to give it a second listen.

I know i listened to it on my commute but i don't really remember it.

Delightful, but about 18 mins too long. Good but 58 mins for this kinda thing is insane. Cut the second song and the last song and you got a stew going

The music itself is a 2. Sounds incredibly dated and not that interesting. Gets a 1 because of how awful the artist is

Not surprisingly, I'd never heard this. It's danceable and groovy -- but a bit on the repetitive side. I thought the suggestions that came after the album finished (at least on Qobuz) were more interesting.

Have to say African music isnt my favorite genre. with it's snappy music, i can see why it's popular. If you google Koffi Olomide, apparently, he is a huge deal and is the largest selling African artist of all time with more awards and statues than one can think of.

The album was pretty much a 'you heard one song, you heard them all". It was cool to listen to though. Not something im familiar with.

Hate to be that guy but I had no clue what I was listening to. Impossible to rate since I literally do not believe I understood one word. I could not rate as good or bad so I gave it a 3.

This album reminded me of Sebastian from The Little Mermaid! Thus, I’m giving 4!

Decent, even though old mate appears to be a PoS. Mid 2s.

I probably would have given it a 2 perhaps a 3 on another day but the guys a rapist and did an astro world before it was cool.

Light and happy background music

Started off interesting but faded after the first two songs Standout songs: Papa Bonheur Desespoir

Another situation where I like the art but not the artist. Assholes can be talented musicians!

Several of these songs started and made me think the production was dated and bad, but then each one of them warmed up and won me over, mainly because of Olomide's voice and the repetitive rhythm. I enjoyed this quite a lot, though it could have perhaps done with being 15 minutes shorter. Solid three..

Afro-Pop Lite. Definite African elements, but it's so damned bland.

Couldn't make myself finish this one.

No correlation to the music (thank God I searched the album first)

Afropop. The soundtrack used by a cruise ships entertainment crew to keep their guests alive and kicking

Music for a sunny beach club somewhere exotic (sipping a cocktail). I found it hard to engage with on a grey winter day in UK.

Very repetitive resort-style music. Just taking this album at face value its veeeery boring. It’d be fine in a beach setting but just sitting down and listening to it is not fun. I’m gonna be hearing “Pousser, poussa” in my dreams tonight. Just not good at all.

Best Track - "Papa Bonheur"

A breath of fresh air in this stuffy list

Not a fan of this, made me bored and didn’t feel like dancing. Was just waiting for it to end.

I really appreciate that this generator occasionally throws up some obscure artists from other countries representing styles of music that I know nothing about this. Browsing Olomide's Wikipedia page, I see a slew of genres that I know nothing about including soukous, Congolese rumba, tcha tcho, kwassa kwassa, and ndombolo. I don't even know where to begin trying to unpick all of this and I'm sure it could lead down a very big rabbit hole of exploring music I know nothing about. And one day I might. I actually quite liked some of this, particularly the opening track, although I can't put into words why exactly. A bit further down the Wikipedia page, we learn some unsavory things about Olomide unfortunately, particularly infidelity, assault, and alleged statutory rape. Now look, the history of recorded music is filled with people like that who got away with their crimes and continue to be celebrated. I do find it hard to completely separate the art from the artist. I might have given a generous 4 stars because I love being exposed to something totally different, but as with some other artists, I'm knocking off a point because the personal history makes it harder to listen to them. If the generator was going to give us a Congolese artist, I really wish they could have found someone a bit less creepy, as it reflects poorly on all of those genres that most people won't know much about. Konono No.1 would have been my pick for this list.

massive banger

This guy’s criminal history gives new meaning to “Papa Bonheur”

I have no idea what they're saying, but it's a fun vibe and makes me feel like I'm on vacation somewhere new.

Shit person, shit album.

It sounds like royalty free vacation music the predatory travel agency in your local strip mall plays on its promo videos. Kind of a vibe.

Couldn’t wait for this to be over

Kind of interesting, but it just wasn’t my vibe. Sort of felt like the music in the background of a cheesy cop movie in the mid eighties.

African pop. It gets on my nerves. I was looking for the off switch during the second track. I'd much rather listen to real African music, and I don't like that either. I definitely won't be listening to this again. 1/5

Ok so this album makes me want to go on vacation. It’s a win there. Other than that, I don’t get it. I don’t get it as to why it’s on this list. Does every genre of music deserve representation? I don’t think so. This music may move you in a drunken state but the album doesn’t hold up like a candle being naked farted on. Poor production really kills it I think. It’s heavy on the treble . Nah, not a pass for me.

TIL that the DRC has the largest population of french speakers in the world, more so than France. Anyway, that's probably the only thing I'll take from this album. It's fine and can be good as background music at a bar, but it's not something I'll seek out.

I don’t know why but I loved this album. Such a vibe

Nicht wirklich meins.

I guess it’s not for me. It’s already almost an hour long and felt longer. It’s clearly the result of skill and artistry but it didn’t do it for me. Maybe I’m not versed well enough in this genre to parse what makes this special; a lot of this sounded the same to me. Also seems a little dated for a 1992 release.

I do not have much fondness for the synths of the early 90s.

This album is a lot of fun. Upbeat and dancy! I like the length of the songs being 6-7 minutes and can imagine this being incredibly good fun live to dance to. However, I do think the album is a bit samey and on first listen not each song is particularly distinctive - but that could change on multiple listens. Pusa...pusé!!!!

= The Beatles

Day two of this project having me discover something I like !!!!!!! I was already a little predisposed to / had listened to Congolese music and really liked it, and this has the elements of it that I like - it does have a little more 80s/90s dated production in some cases but not overall dated just moments - adding to my iPod I will return to this. Really do not understand the harsh musical critiques of this in other people’s reviews - it’s upbeat and fun !!

Каждая песня затянута до бесконечности. Был бы этот альбом в два раза короче, мой рейтинг был бы в два раза лучше. Лучшая песня - Papa bonheur.

Kinda fire

The vocals are nice and there's some interesting instrumentation, strings I didn't recognize. Pleasant listening.

This feels like music playing in the background of a Super Mario game. It was pretty pleasant. Felt very 80s island music movie sound. Through no fault of the music, it sounded cliched.

I love getting music selections that I would otherwise in my life, probably never hear. This album was pleasant to hear, something different and idyllic with songs longer than the western pop music for something seemingly accessible from Central Africa. That's all I can really say about it because that's what it sounds. For an hour. It's completely cromulent. I'm more of a fan of Afrobeat/that Nigeran West African scene as a percussion lover. I don't know, listen to this album on a beach in good weather I guess.

Dette kommer veldig nære å være musikk som er skreddersydd for å torturere meg sakte. Hver låt høres ut som et cut fra en dårlig Disney-film. Alle de gode egenskapene til albumet er druknet under et slør av pseudo-sentimental '80s bullshit. Jeg tror mye av problemet ligger i sounden jeg med mangel på fagterminologi kaller "tropisk." The Smiths har laget én skikkelig drittlåt, og den heter Golden Lights. Problemene jeg har med den låta, er definerende for denne skiva. Mulig den fortjener 2ern fordi jeg liker aspekter av dette, men tror det er et forsøk på å gaslighte meg selv og at jeg bare bør si det rett ut: dette er dårlig (men ikke like dårlig som Golden Lights).

Jeg tror dette kunne vært mye kulere om det ikke var produsert så livløst. Høres like 90s ut som coveret.

Har veldig lyst til å gi dette en høyere score. Det er veldig mye kult her. Men som et album er det litt for svakt. Det er for langt og litt for repetetivt. Det er mye kul musikk her og denne skiva tenker jeg funker fett på en rolig fest, men som album er det ikke spennende nok.

Nothing I can be too analytical about here since this is so out of my wheelhouse and in a language I don’t know anything about (which I’m thankful for, more non-English albums pls). But I enjoyed my listening experience. Much like the album cover, some of the production is a bit dated but that’s the only gripe I can come up with. 3/5

A Congolese singer singing Latin. That's an interesting mix. While I can't understand a single word he's saying, Koffi Olomide croons his way through 'Haut de gamme/koweït rive gauche' in a comfortable fashion. This is the kind of music that would be a great soundtrack on your tropical island adventure somewhere. Makes me wanna chill in a hammock with a straw hat, Hawaiian shirt and a beverage out of a coconut. It's a quaint record. Best songs: Conte De Fees, Desespoir

I was primed to really like this one, as I've enjoyed the other albums by African artists on this list. And this isn't bad at all - there are just a couple of things keeping me from completely enjoying this. The repetition paired up with the song length really bothers me - these songs *should* run 3 to 4 minutes at most, and instead they recycle themselves for 6-7. There just isn't that much music here. The highlight to me is the second track, which is gloriously early-90s. It's incredible. Also the cover art looks like they spent about 5 dollars on it, and I kind of love that. Koffi's voice is great, and the musicianship is nice. But the songs themselves wear on you. THREE STARS

If this was a list of the worst album art, this one would be near the top for sure.

Like a calm blend of calypso and salsa mash-up with a sprinkle of French and a dash of castillian thrown in to spice it up a bit. Koffi is a good international add to the 1001 Must Hear List as I would not have heard this otherwise. Always liked the steel drums. Glad for the listen. (2.1*s) Did I hear an electric uke?

It may be that this album popped up too close to Femi Kuti for me to enjoy another exotic, jungly beat production. A little more Caribbean feel to it and I didn't like it nearly as much. Koffi and the other featured artists fell flat. Felt bored with this and wanted to hit skip...1.18 stars.

Another unknown foreign album. Sounded like a bunch of African musicians got together and had a good time. It's all over the place but not bad. Wish I could have understood some of the lyrics to find out what it is they are singing about but the music is fun enough for a while before you tune out. It's got vibes, I'll give it that, which is about all you can ask for on an album that otherwise I would never been exposed to. Not bad, not great. 1.49 stars

Didn’t understand a damn word but still grooved to it. Upbeat tunes. Danceable. Good shot of balky.

It was chill and nice. I don’t know if its the pinnacle of this type of music.

Þetta er voðalega mikið disney eitthvað. Greip mig ekkert alveg en er samt ágætlega mikið stuð.

Poussee!!!

I cannot give this a 2 or 1 because some songs are good. But I would if I could. 3/5

All these songs seemed a little similar for me. Maybe if I understood the lyrics I would have dug this more. The guitar tone was pretty neat though. Favorite song was Desespoir.

Before I listened to this, I saw that this guy was convicted of statutory rape (of a 15yo backup dancer). That makes it difficult to separate art from artist, so I won’t. This sounds like the kind of cliche music that White Lotus would use to establish the scene for a new season set in Congo (or, if we’re honest, anywhere in Africa). It’s the kind of carefree and danceable music people look for when they’re dabbling in World music, and I’m sure there’s another, less controversial, musician that sounds just like Kofi Olomide whom I could listen to without the inner conflict. I genuinely don’t care if it’s just a cover band either, as long as they’re from Africa and not sex criminals. Let’s maybe find them for the next list update?

A great example that understanding the language is not a requirement to enjoy music. This is a ton of fun, but I’m just not sure I’d go back to it in a hurry. Best Track: Papa Bohnheur

This was fun, sunny, upbeat and well done. Some forays into slower and more keyboard based stiff didnt work, but it was a pleasant hour

A pleasant change. My french isn't good enough to understand most of what is said, and the instrumentation is very '80s standard MIDI', but the rhythms and vibes make for a stark contrast from the lumpen 70s rock that makes up most of this list. I can't honestly recommend it as I didnt 'get' most of it, but it was a pleasant diversion and I'd happily listen again.

???

It feels like I'm in one of those weird "world novelty" stores in the mall from the 90s. Like I can buy a rain stick and a "Sounds of the Amazon" CD. Not a fan. Like... is it over yet?

I enjoyed discovering this genre of music. Need to explore more Ethiopian music.

Honestly found this quite hard to get through. Maybe in part because I couldn’t understand the lyrics but also because most song didn’t really change much and push up against the 7 minute mark. Still, can hear how this style of music influenced artists like Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend.

not that good, kinda boring and repetitive

Fun vibes. Made me feel like I'm on a beach but not my vibe

Sounds vibrant and full of sunshine, some digital '90s sounds and productionstuffs on a bunch of bright, bouncy tracks Fun listen

It felt exciting at the beginning but more or less faded to the background

Man am I on a string of mediocre albums. This adds to that pile. That this is in French doesn’t bother me. It’s just that it sounds like music I could hear in any cruise ship in the world. Boring and repetitive.

Probably the best non English album I have listened to so far. It has great rhythms and I liked the upbeat atmosphere it provided. The language barrier definitely was a setback as I couldn't understand one song but that didn't make the album unlistenable. I will give it a 3

Good, not great. Without knowing his entire catalog, the 90s production value makes me wonder how much of his success was driven by the local music industry. The Casio style keys, accompanied by the electric drums, gets in the way of some beautiful music.

A very strong entry in the non-English set of albums from this project. This album is bursting with life, very fun to listen to. The songs are too long for my taste, and the non-English lyrics do limit my ability to fully connect with anything here.

Tough to rate cultural music like this, but its fun and has a good vibe so it's at least a 2.

I don't have much to say about the quality of this guy's music, nor will I comment on his many controversies (it is pretty bad though). What I will talk about how god-awful this album cover is. The horrible composition of it, the random-ass fonts, the stupid fucking photo of Koffi. This is easily one of the worst album covers on this entire list. It's not even charming in a campy 90s way. Truly egregious stuff.

Good but maybe not my thing. Give it another go maybe.

Fun enough. I can't say I was floored, though this was very new to me. As a Talking Heads fan I found it interesting to hear so many guitar riffs here which have similar sounds to what they were exploring. Obviously they were influenced by Afro-beat and not vice versa, but always to see your favourites' influences. Happy to see some world music on the list, this was the first artist I've gotten who had never even heard of and likely never would have listened to.

It's fun to get some different global representation. This was catchy and easy to have on without devoting my full attention. Was I blown away? No. But I also didn't dislike it.

This was not a bad album, but it wasn't that exciting to listen to, although there were moments that would make you do a shakey shakey. Overall, it's alright, but only as a background listen.

This is one of the weirdest picks on the list lol. This guy kinda seems like a khia, the 2.53 rating on RYM and 6-7 minute long songs scared me off a bit, but I did actually kind of like this. It's just pleasant.

(4) Koffee Alomide is a Congo musician. This is a four star because according to the Rolling Stone Record review guide: the best introduction to an artist’s work for curious listeners.” This is my first time listening to him, but not my first time listening to the Congo beat. “Agbepa is considered one of the most significant figures in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music.[11][12] His lyrics often explore themes of love, politics, technology, success, infidelity, religion, chicanery, and disillusionment.[13][14][8] Through his music and stage performances, he introduced the slower style of soukous known as tcha tcho[15][16] and popularized a flamboyant fashion subculture called La Sape, alongside Papa Wemba.”

Some of the World Music albums I've listened to have been real eye openers and fun. This one is okay. Some nice melodies and sounds. Nothing special though.

Aggressively 90's, but not necessarily in a negative way. Did feel like it overstayed its welcome after the first few tracks.

Obviously did not understand a word. The energy was upbeat and his voice is great, but it's a little too soft for my tastes.

Something very different to the usual UK/US sounds - really enjoyed would listen again/explore other stuff by Koffi Olomidé

Fine but it didn't grab me. There are albums from the late 80s and early 90s whose production sounds timeless, but this isn't one of them.

****A fun, easy listening, and upbeat album