Reviews (page 3 of 7)
Good. Went on for way too long and all the songs sounded the same. Normally I like international music but this was too long and too samey. Low key disappointed.
Didn’t understand a damn thing he said but it was nice, vibey, mood music.
very joyful afro-French-Caribbean vibe here.
2.5/5 - The high energy reminds me of a particular recurring situation from my primary school years: There would be some kind of free time activity, like a music class or drama production, where the teacher would put on upbeat music almost identical to this. They would then ask everyone to start moving their bodies, to which all students would look back and forth between each other awkwardly and stand frozen in the middle of the room. A mutual vow of silence would be settled on by practically everyone in the room, only broken by a forced attack on an unlucky individual by the teacher prompting them to start doing something, to which the rest of the crowd would follow along out of fear of being the next one singled out. Strange activity would continue with occasional hushed awkward laughter and uneasy looks until the music would suddenly cut and be broken by silence and wholehearted relief by all involved. I do not wish to return to memories like these. ------ Personal Rating Scaling Reference Chart: ------ 1 = Dislike, no thanks 2 = Not my taste, but still objectively good music 3 = Tolerable / OK background music, but not preferred 4 = Pleasant to listen to, but not necessarily preference (</= to) 5 = Liked this enough to consider listening again in future ----------------------------------------------------
6/10
Hard to get into this one cause I have no idea what they’re talking about. But it sounds nice and would be good background music for a tropical getaway.
I can't say I understand the album but for a first listening it was pleasant. A great time exploring some albums I will never heard of 3/5
More enjoyable than I thought it would be
Iets te pielerig en monotoon
Probably deserves better than a 3
Between this guy and Serge Gainsbourg, this generator has given me the absolute lowest opinion of the French
A nice relaxing sounding album the music is really good nice vocals but the chilled instrumentation is the winner here
Kind of fun.
The sterile production slightly hinders the sunniness of the material
# Koffi Olomidé - *Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche*: An In-Depth Review Koffi Olomidé's 1989 double-album *Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche* stands as a significant, if deeply divisive, entry in the canon of Congolese music. Selected for the influential *1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die* list, it serves as both a gateway to soukous for Western audiences and a point of contention regarding the genre's authenticity and the artist's legacy. --- ## Music, Production, and Sound The album occupies a fascinating and often uncomfortable space between the vibrant rhythms of Congolese soukous and the polished, commercial production of late-1980s Western pop. Musically, it is undeniably rooted in the soukous tradition: it's built on infectious, danceable guitar riffs and propelled by a driving rhythm section. The music is bright, melodic, and often euphoric . However, the production is where the album makes its most controversial decisions. The album is drenched in a distinctly "90s as fuck production" . It features heavy use of synthesizers, prominent reverb, and a clean, almost sterile sound that many critics argue sands off the rougher, more organic edges of traditional soukous. One review compares its sound to "royalty free vacation music" playing at a resort, while another notes its resemblance to "Super Nintendo songs in CD quality" . This aesthetic can feel inauthentic to those seeking a purer African sound, but for others, it represents an intelligent and tasteful fusion of European and African musical sensibilities . A particular critique is aimed at the track "Désespoir," which is singled out for its sickly-sweet, R&B-influenced balladry, described as a "horror show" that sounds like "the kind of music a nine-year-old would imagine adults having sex to" . ## Lyrics and Themes As the album is sung in French, its lyrical content is often less accessible to an international audience. For many listeners, Koffi Olomidé's voice becomes another instrument in the mix, contributing to the overall melody and vibe rather than conveying specific narrative meaning . However, when listeners do tune into the lyrics, they can add a layer of discomfort. The delivery on several tracks is described as being "way too into the lyrics making them sound creepy even though I don't know what he is saying" . This perception is inseparable from the artist himself, whose controversial personal history casts a long shadow over the listening experience. The topics of love and longing in his music are haunted for many by the knowledge of his criminal conviction . ## Influence and Legacy As a representative of Congolese music, the album's legacy is a paradoxical one. On the one hand, its inclusion on the *1001 Albums* list has introduced countless listeners to soukous who would not have otherwise encountered it . It is a significant entry point, and for many, it is a lively, infectious, and thoroughly enjoyable record . On the other hand, it is criticized for representing a "watered down" version of the music, made for a Western audience . Critics argue that the album is a poor choice to represent the rich musical landscape of the DRC, as it feels overly commercial and "tepid" compared to other, more authentic African sounds on the list. Its legacy is thus tainted by accusations of cultural compromise and the artist's personal conduct . --- ## Pros & Cons **Pros:** * **Infectious and danceable:** The core soukous rhythms and melodies are genuinely upbeat and engaging, making it an easy and enjoyable listen on a surface level . * **Effective gateway:** It serves as a non-intimidating introduction to Congolese music for a Western audience, piquing interest in the genre . * **Skilled musicianship:** The musicianship is of a high quality, and the blend of African and European elements is, at times, successful and tasteful . **Cons:** * **Dated and over-produced:** The heavy reliance on 80s/90s synth sounds and reverb can feel "offensively inoffensive" and like a "cruiseship" soundtrack, stripping the music of its vitality . * **The "Désespoir" factor:** The album contains at least one track, "Désespoir," that is widely considered a terrible, saccharine misstep that drags down the entire record . * **The artist's shadow:** For many, the album is rendered unlistenable due to Koffi Olomidé's criminal conviction, making it impossible to separate the art from the artist . * **Cultural compromise:** The album is seen by some as a commercialised, "tourist-friendly" version of soukous, failing to represent the authentic musical spirit of the DRC . **Overall, *Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche* is a frustrating listen.** It's an album that will make you dance while simultaneously questioning its authenticity, its place in musical history, and your own complicity in consuming it.
it was a nice groove while driving but i don't see myself returning to this at all.
there's some really good music on here. the second song, " désespoir", was a nice little chameleon of a song and a good example of why sticking with something can be worthwhile. the first 3 minutes feature some of the most godawful, 80s synth sounds imaginable, but then they open into some pretty great afrofunk. really nice album overall
Musica africana arreglada para el público internacional. Resulta agradable e inofensivo.
This was pretty good musically. Obviously I have no idea about what the lyrics say but I moderately enjoyed this
Isn't really my thing. It's exactly what I think about when I think of music from central Africa, and it's very melodic and beautiful at times.. I just don't know when I would realistically listen to this.
Surprisingly, pretty enjoyable, despite not understanding a word.
Need to listen to him more 👍
Very novel to listen to
Had to check the book on this one as there wasn't a lot of information online. According to the book, Olomidé has become the best selling artist on the African continent, and is particularly popular with women. He sings mainly in Lingala and French (I understand the French parts, it's pretty straightforward stuff for romantic and dancefloor music). He has over 24 albums, so why this one? Probably because it was a hit with Western audiences (assuming so, based on this book's approach). I'm not an expert in Ndombolo music, and I admit I'd never heard of this guy until today, so I'll say this - this is a fine, poppy, smooth effort, that quickly grows on me the more I get into the groove. I might give more of his stuff a chance, but it's a little too polished here for it to be an all time favorite. With that said, shit like Duck Rock should have been replaced for more African content such as this, Mbaqanga, highlife, etc. as it's great to discover pop music from around the world. We need a book of 1001 albums for every continent and subcontinent!
BOMBA Fun to listen to, cool rhythms, love the glass breaking sound effects, love the sound changes half way through
Nice vibe
Not bad. With a little less 80s cheese this album could be very good.
The energy was totally there and had my attention throughout.
Pretty decent world music.
I thought this was good, however i couldn't really distinguish between the different songs after a while. just very samey. I think if I knew what the lyrics were saying it may be a different story.
Really interesting genre that I would love to explore further, just not from this guy. There is so little African music in this book and yet they felt the need to include the pedo. Maybe would raise it a star if the artist didn't disgust me. It's much harder for me to separate art from artist when the artist is still alive. I do really like African music though so I'll still give it 3 stars. Favorite Track - Papa Bonheur Least Favorite Track - Koweït, Rive Gauche ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pretty good
Cool album. Not really my thing. I find it pleasant, but not something I would seek out.
Enjoyed this while playing it, but it didn't stick with me at all.
3 porque não é mais uma white man band dos 60
I love these African tunes. But I have heard better
I don't understand the lyrics at all but the music is good. 3 stars or C+.
Needed a conga line to enjoy this one.
A fun dancey album, but held back by its sameness that's made worse by the near full hour-long length. Favorite Track: Qui cherche trouve
Fela Kuti for soccer moms
Pleasant music to listen with a few songs standing out. Not sure I would seek it out again to play it, but I would listen to it again. Conte de Fees was my standout. 3 stars
Latin Sounds, die Texte auf kongolesisch verstehe ich leider nicht ;-) Entspannte Musik, angenehm zu hören. 3/5
A decent album from the Congo that suffers from a lot of 80s production tropes. Fun if you can get past that.
Good album. Very good rhythms.
Kann nicht viel dazu sagen, ganz ok.
pleasant! interesting and different. not 100% my thing but i had a fine listening time. felt a little mocked by all the smooth, easy breezy vibes while working at my desk but that's not this guy's fault!
interesting music with great positive 90s vibes, but doesn't warrant a full hour of active listening imo. great for background work music though. makes me wish i were on a beach somewhere, and i don't even like the beach. favorites: désespoir, koweït rive gauche
Интересный музыкальный опыт, никогда ничего подобного не слушал, Яндекс даже крутил только подобную после альбома, вот такое это уникальное
It might technically be very good, but the music did not speak to me and I didn't really like it.
This eas nice. It shows my age perfectly but it reminds me of the kids shoe gullah gullah island on nick Jr from a billion years ago. That might be my own ignorance because of the afro centric themes in both but I dont think im that far off. Cameroon and Angola/Sierra Leon are at least in the same corner of the continent. But back to the album at hand. Its just pretty fun. Not anything im looking to listen to all the time but it was a nice listen here. Nothing stood out that much for me but it was solid from start to finish. I knwo almost zero French so im at a loss on what's going down bit I get the island vibes. Even though its not an island. It has that feel. Very laid back and chill. The production is also very indicative of the time. It feels pretty 80s. But all in all its solid. Does what it set out to do well enough. Worthwhile listen
upbeat, danceable, curious, of its time.
Enjoyed this & was happy to learn more about continental African pop music. This isn't too dissimilar to what you'll hear on African radio stations but I imagine Olomide is the biggest name in the genre given his presence on this list and also his (dicey!) Wikipedia page lol. It's not extraordinary or playing around notably with texture but it's a good sample of what's big & has a light danciness to it that I appreciate. Would love to listen to this while playing the low stakes tables
It's not bad. No clue what he's singing about, but it's got a nice beat, his voice is good, smooth and warm. It feels a bit over produced, like they spent time cleaning it up for the record, not bad but it's noticeable. Kinda takes something out of it. Good put on and dance around your house music.
Favorite Track: Papa Bonheur
He is not afraid of a preset rhythm on his keyboard but that does not stop the album from being great - which is a pity as he is so problematic .
A fun exploration into the Congolese styles of soukous and kwassa kwassa! Definitely a bit Westernised, but I'd definitely prefer that over having nothing from this region at all.
Ok yeah a quick trip to his Wikipedia page shows that this was a very flawed individual, but this was a pretty fun album overall!
Can I just say that I unironically adore how straightforward and under-designed the cover art is? It captures the exact lofi, loose and free vibe of the music, and while I don't think the album's a "masterpiece" - not that it has any pretensions of being one - this mf had me moving the whole way through! One hell of a good time! Standouts: Papa Bonheur • Désespoir • Conte de Fées • Obrigado
An extremely breezy and pleasant album, perfect for summer, but not enough variety to justify its length.
Genuinely enjoys the music, just got a bit same-y after a while. Very fun though!
This was great, sounded like a carnival. Really cheery.
Really lovely, didn't understand the lyrics but I was tapping my feet pretty often
The first Congolese artist on the list (I think), this album has lots of energy and peppy songs. The lyrics seem to be both in French and some African language, so I have no idea what he’s singing about. Koffi went to college in France so it’s logical that he knows French. Apparently he was/is very influential and sold out a performance at a 20,000 seat French venue.
Fun! Lingala? And French? Or is it just that spoken Lingala has a bunch of French influence?? I think it's *not* just that, though, because the titles/choruses/"main ideas" are more often in French, so it seems like a stylistic code-switch. Very cool. A linguistics dataset for me. Plus 'Élixir' is (almost?) totally in French, and that's the most straightforward love song here. Honestly, there's more African albums on this list than I expected (at least 3). Everything here has good energy, even 'Désespoir', which you'd think might be a mopefest. If I'm understanding them right (which I definitely may not be), every song is kinda like "Mom! Nobody likes me! But - I love {girl's name (different one in every song)}! Everybody dance!". Oh, and there's one about how money isn't everything (everybody dance!).
A bit like listening to Graceland without the good bits! That’s harsh to be fair. You can’t help nodding your head and tapping your feet to this music. The joy is palpable and very infectious I really enjoyed it.
An excellent album. Fun, wide ranging, lots of genres, proof you don’t need to understand the lyrics. This is what I wanted from this project, learning new bands and albums from diffferent styles and countries.
I'm not a big fan of his voice when he's singing slower songs or singing higher pitched but I really enjoyed the more upbeat songs and his deeper singing voice. Favourite song: Papa bonheur Least: Koweit, rive gauche
Number: 147 Date: 05/30/2026 Artist: Koffi Olomide Album: Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche Year: 1992 Style: African Soukous Familiarity: None (1) Rating: 3 Before: ======= Another never heard of. That makes 3 days in a row. I'm thinkg Caribbean or African? During: ======= Wow, this guys been pretty productive, with over 70 albums listed in his discography on Spotify. Let's compare that to my all time favorite, Mark E Smith, aka The Fall. OK, calcuating...the Fall have over 100 albums listed, which is 42% more. So, still on the first track after 6 minutes and I can say that the music is entertaining and has it's place but not something I would ever go out of my way to listen to. I can't imagine I'll ever listen to this album again after today. After : ======= I decided not to rate the indvidual songs as it al sould pretty much the same to me. 3 my personal rating 4 suitability for this list 5 impact ----------------------------------------------- 4 composite rating
It’s fun and lively! Once or twice it dips into a little of that early 90s r&b.
Lowkey rhythms and excellent vibes. I definitely liked this more before I read the other reviews about him being a sex criminal :-/ Fav song: Koweït, rive guache / Élixir
Maybe we should separate the art from the artist. Maybe. It's a debate I go back, and forth with myself. The album itself is one I appreciate, but one I don't have the urge to listen to again either If you're going to protest Koffi Olomide by giving this album a one star due to his repulsive actions, that's fine. However, keep that same energy for John Lennon, Jimmy Page, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Kanye West, and other mainstream artists in the Western part of the world. Favorite Track: "Papa Bonheur".
Yeah I guess you could say I popped a bonheur listening to this
Not my thing. It was fun sounding music, like something you'd hear at a resort or while at a party, but it was hard to connect to it since I didn't know what was being said and I'm not used to these sounds.
This was a delightful melange of instruments and vocals that simmers and blends well, even though I do nott understand the language. Soukous, is one of the more pleasurable true audio discoveries I've learned about from this list. Regarding Koffi Olomide, his self control issues are troubling, and he does seem to have some self destructive habits, though I would note that he was subsequently acquitted of the statutory rape charge. Furthermore, I've always tried maintain a practice of separating the art from the artist when judging works. Musical ideas are more than the source of their origin. I do think this album is worthy of being on the list.
Popular, too uniform. Prisoner!
Pretty middle of the road. Feels like the guy who made this list felt it needed some more African music and just found some lounge music.
At a risk of sounding uncultured, I found the songs to become repetitive as the album went on. As a non-speaker of French, it then became a difficult album to listen to as I couldn't immerse in the lyrical content. Koffi obviously has a fantastic voice and is a key figure on the Congolese music scene (despite his reported misconduct). The music is very danceable and was perfect for a bright, sunny morning coffee and breakfast moving around the kitchen, but I probably won't revisit this one again.
Not something I'd ever go out of my way to listen to but I had a good time!
On the plus side, a lively bear and something a little different. On the negative, statutory rape. How to decide?
Gezellig!
Ok.
Music was chill, listened a few times.
Review - really nice record from an artist I'd never heard of. Exactly what I was looking to get out of this list. Score - 6.5/10 Need to listen? YES
Off the beaten trail. Fun and upbeat, with a Latin sound.
Some of this slapped. Some of it was the same song and lost me along the way. Fun though.
53/100. A sound built for movement, driven by intricate melodies and a steady groove that rarely lets up. Koffi Olomidé leans into consistency, creating a smooth and flowing experience.
I like it; I like west African music
The album was upbeat and kinda fun, yet somehow every song ended with the exact same 2 minute long repetitive, vulgar sounding in a funny way, shout. It definitely sounds like you should be on the beach or on a cruise listening to this.
Not unenjoyable, and it's not a sound that's alien to me, although this has an 80s sheen to the production that's not really a sound I gravitate too. But it's more the kind of music that I find is better to listen to live, in the early afternoon sat in a sunny festival field drinking cider. ... so if you're reading Koffi, book something this summer in the Haute Savoie region of France and I'll be there!
I'm not familiar with Congolese music, more with Nigerian. A fine album, wonderfull representation of that areas musical scene, clear influence in Cuban music.
Groovy, good beat, fun summer album. I don't really understand the genre.
Spends way to much of its runtime sounding like the soundtrack for a beach themed party game on the Wii
This was extremely fun to listen to, it’d be hard not to be uplifted by this. Sunshiny tunes. 3.5/5.0 Best Song: Qui Cherche Trouve
This was a lot of fun, not my usual bag, and it can't imagine ill chuck it on again soon, but it was a fun listen. Music that is impossible to feel sad to.
Bit samey but bouncy and boppy - easy background music.
It's cool. It did all sound like one song, but it was a good song.
Some vibes, 5/10
This album was another data point for me that I like subSaharan African music more than North African, although it's all good stuff. This style of music is so jovial and energetic it's hard not to enjoy. The guitar melodies are always so cheerful, and the percussion sections are rich and polyrhythmic. I love the shakers; I employ you to listen back to Jacob Colier's "Nebaluyo" where he breaks down the kind of shaker rhythm that can be found in Africa and South America even further into a quintuplet feel. Another quality of this style is that it is very jam-like: there are often not many distinct sections. For the songs on this album that did have distinct sections, it was almost like they were divided into separate songs. The style of composition makes it easier for the songs to wash over you as the same groove can drag on, but music is so uplifting. I usually don't mind . The artist description on Spotify was in French, but I was able to glean that they're from DRC. I didn't know that was a former French colony as well. This one sits somewhere between three and four. For me
Not previously familiar to me. It's nice enough, and also nice/refreshing to hear something a little different. But I'm not sure this one stands out, (amidst all of the music from Africa -- or even just Congolese music), or deserves to be on the list (my sense is that it does not belong). Actually, now that I've listened to the whole thing, I'm struggling to give even 3 stars, and tempted to give only 2. (Would go 2.5, if I could.) Probably meant more for dancing (?); for listening, it's pretty forgettable, at least for me. I guess I'll go with 3 stars, partly because I'm glad for the diversity on this list, but it's a close call, and I suspect (believe) there must be MANY other much better choices that could have been made. Side note: it's possible that part of my (personal/subjective) problem is with Congolese rumba, which (after, admittedly, not a lot of exposure) strikes me as kind of (tending to be) formulaic, and not super interesting, musically (?). Not sure I know enough to say that, though (probably not!). If either of you ever come across excellent Congolese music, please let me know. Actually, I can think of one: Konono No. 1, "Congotronics"- check it out, if you're not familiar.
Can't really compare this to much else. I don't listen to enough Central African music. I'm happy to be exposed to it, thanks to this list. It's not an English rock band. yay It's cheesy at times (mainly the singer doing the low voice embellishments) The rhythms and grooves are fun fun fun ça c'est bon ça
A great background listen
Very fun album. Enjoyed my listen but not one I would listen to again. The end of each song was also slightly repetitive but it’s not a genre I’ve listened to before so it may be that’s part of the style or my ear is not accustomed to the slight differences
Some of these aren't bad at all, good fun and had me tapping my foot. There are a couple of times in the album where it got a bit dull but overall, this is ok
Catchy stuff but I agree with another review that it's kind of made for tourist level music.
I enjoy world music. I enjoy hearing things from different cultures and experiencing those sounds. This was fine, but as I've said about other world music I've been assigned on this site, I hear better stuff regularly on NPR. And, it's not like anything on this guy's Wikipedia page makes me think he's worthy of being included here.
Some fun non-English-language music.
muy bueno, muy chill
El sonido general no está nada mal; rescato bastante el ensamble instrumental. El gran problema es que me resultó imposible conectar porque la barrera del idioma es total, dejándome completamente afuera de las letras. Si a eso le sumamos que cada tema dura más de 6 minutos, la escucha se vuelve demasiado densa.
Cool. Something I've never heard of. Admittedly, the WTF album artwork isn't giving me high hopes, but I want to find something new I can love. It's fine. Never need to hear it again.
There’s something rather enjoyable about this - it’s upbeat, joyful and altogether fun, and it’s hard not to want to do a little bop whilst you listen. My main criticism is it goes on a bit too long, nearing a full hour so it’s perhaps a bit much. Realistically I wouldn’t return to this but doesn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy a listen.
Crazy album art. Top 10 worst album arts so far. Anyways, I hope I'm not the first person to ever hear Koweït and hear the Never Meant riff in it. Where's the mashup? Dude's a gross human being awful pedophile piece of shit but the music is danceable and fun. Am I insane or is this whole album in C Major? Conte I think is technically in Am, at least in the beginning, I wonder if there's a reason culturally since all the songs are played on western instruments. Anywho, it's not something I see myself returning to but there is definite value here. It's far too samey/repeating itself to be considered a 4 or even high three, but hitting it with a two feels disingenuous.
not my jam but easy to listen to.
not my usual but a vibe
I enjoyed this and found it diverting enough. Don't know that I'll seek out more like it, but good enough.
One of my very favourite songs ever- Nothing But Flowers by Talking Heads - sounds like it was ripped directly off one of the tracks on this album. Good to hear the OG I guess.
If you like curaçao, you’ll like this.
Vibey Congolese music it is today.
I really cannot judge if this is good music, as I personally just don't like this genre. But within the genre it could be good.
Trevlans
3 mysigt
1001?!
What’s not to like
2.5 stars At first I thought it was a 2 star album. But it’s a bit of a bias against albums in an unfamiliar language. I gave it a little more space as I listened and I was grooving along to it. Some of the repeating bits throughout were working for me. I don’t know if I’d listen again but I appreciated it.
Not sure who this Koffi dude is but so far this is pretty jammin. It seems to fluctuate between cheesy and jammin. Overall not a bad album but not really my taste. I'd say I liked about half of the album mostly the more upbeat songs.
Not really having a chance at understanding the lyrics, I enjoyed the beat and flow and mood of the music.
Going in I knew this was going to be something different. Tried to keep an open mind as I tootled through the tracks. Started OK but wore me down towards the end. Recordings are good. The musicians are talented.
Fine, just not my cup of tea.
Dançante
It was pretty samey, but the musicianship was top notch.
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
Strange. I like it but don’t know how to classify
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?
*I can appreciate the musicianship and positive vibes of this sound, but it doesn't have too much variation on album
fun
first listen beautiful but not much variety
Island time! 100% okay.
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
I am in no way qualified to review this album. This is just a standard average review
This list needs more world music.
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.
Nice music but I don't think I'll be returning to it too often. Glad it was something different.
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.
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.
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
This was interesting but didn’t save anything. Above average working music though. Strong 3.
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.
German Caribbean music?
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 would have preferred Franco to be on this list
not my thing but i kinda liked it :)
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
Fun listen.
I couldn't understand a word of this.
Another nice, relaxing listen. Good time vibes.
Not exactly my taste but not terrible.
Fun peaceful vibes
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
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.
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*
omg so tropical, I like it I wish I understood what he's saying
Solid, enjoyable, forgettable
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.
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.
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.
chill tropical vibes but not my thing
Kinda groovy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
I really enjoyed this!
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.
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
Not my kind of 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!
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.
Pretty fun, but can be repetitive.
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.
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.
Liked the vibe, added to my library.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
= The Beatles
Kinda fire
The vocals are nice and there's some interesting instrumentation, strings I didn't recognize. Pleasant listening.
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.
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
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.
I cannot give this a 2 or 1 because some songs are good. But I would if I could. 3/5
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.
I enjoyed discovering this genre of music. Need to explore more Ethiopian music.
Sounds vibrant and full of sunshine, some digital '90s sounds and productionstuffs on a bunch of bright, bouncy tracks Fun listen
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.
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 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.
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
Pretty forgettable, definitely some nice instrumentation on here though so it's not bad
Perfectly fine, inoffensive, happy stuff
One of the more unique albums listened to so far.. the percussion rocks throughout, and i love how Afropop acts often use instruments like the electric guitar in a much different way to rock or western styles. Its a breezy, airy sound thats more about the rhythm, with repetitive but joyful and bouncy little riffs and noodling. But then on the other hand, this record has some songs that repeat the same phrase for like five mins that wasnt that interesting to begin with. On the songs that I was feeling the groove, i really enjoyed listening, but others dragged
Would never have listened to this otherwise! I enjoyed the vibe, a couple songs were very Luther Vandross
According to Wikipedia, he is one of Africa’s most prominent musicians, but I had never heard of him before. After listening to the album, it sounded exactly like what many people would imagine as “African music.” If he was the one who helped shape or popularize that image, that’s quite an achievement. Personally, though, it’s not really my taste.
Don't know anything about this; found it a very enjoyable listen
Solid but just not exactly my main groove. Some great songs while others were just okay
uplifting, joyful, healing
Sucks this guy’s a sex offender. T’was some happy shoulder shakin music.
Very funky, not sure if good, but it made me dance
Aight
Interesting.
This was nice. I found the mix of (what I assume are) traditional acoustic instruments and full on 80s production a little bit jarring. There is some good funky electric guitar to like. Awesome rhythms
Cool to see the DR of Congo represented! This was a pleasant listen. Some sweet percussion and a nice groove. I got a kick out of the fact that he was often singing in French. 7/10.
Cool to hear something quite different. Apparently Koffi is also quite influential to Congolese people pushing what was done in music at the time.
Im not sure I have much to say on this one, but what I do have to say is that the album art is honestly kinda fuckin great in some kind of way, idk. The music? I think it was good overall, a nice listen through. Id be interested to do a deeper dive into music from Africa, as I dont have a lot else to compare him to. Id give it like a 6/10??
Fun island vibes. Not being a speaker of Portuguese, I have no clue what any of the songs were about, but they were definitely a solid vibe. Good for listening in a beach or at a pool.
Nice. Good in the way that West African pop rock is always enjoyable. That irrepressible guitar sound over lovely melodies and great vocals telling a story that sounds interesting, even though it’s in a language you don’t understand. Unfortunately, this album is a little too poppy and not so creative (it becomes redundant at times). There’s definitely better Afro-Pop in the world. It’s a 3.
It's fine. Pretty pleasant for background "world" music.
I really have a blindspot with non-western music.
groovin, boppin, and I'm not sure how they did it...but its also jimblin.
Bop after Bop. There was a song in a minor key, which threw me off guard, but otherwise this is what people think of when they think African Pop.
Weird
The music is fun and lively. Some of the reviews here have cracked me up. It is very much made in the 90’s and in turn, sounds very much of the 90’s. I think the album would have benefited from a bit of editing. Taking some of the six minute plus songs down to three or four would have improved the pacing. 3/ 5
6.5 to a 7
This one really depends on what I’m doing while listening. 2.7
Highlight Song/s: Desespoir This one has a really cool tropical sound to it. But my god, does this album really seems to last. That may be because this is completely out of my norm.
Very fun! Upbeat and buoyant. Some of the production reminds me a lot of Graceland era Paul Simon, especially on Despoiré. ✨
Wouldn’t be the first album I’d choose but I did appreciate it. It’s a great big world out there with all kinds of music. Duh. This reads familiar.
I don't really know enough about Congolese music to judge this properly, but I found parts of it pretty danceable and uplifting. I don't think I'd listen to it again, but glad to get something different from the generator for a change!
Decent, slightly 50s vibe to this. Makes your head want to bop.
Groovy, feelgood music. Don't really have any competence to say anything about this. Kind of enjoyable music on the background and most probably great stuff live.
This is a perfectly nice little album, but I don't feel like I needed to hear it before I died.
C’est cool mais rien d’exceptionnel. Ça va
I gave this two listens. It didn't really rise above background music for me, but it was fine. I'm vaguely curious about some of his other music just because there's SO much of it spanning so many decades. Might be interesting to see what other kind of styles he picked up. Glad I listened to it.
This is a fun and upbeat album, the groovy percussion gives it a good rhythm and you could imagine this guy puts on a party The long tracks wore a bit thin for me by the end, I wouldn't revisit but enjoyable enough
Nice and cheerful
probably better than I give it credit for but could just not get into it.
91/1001. I'm surprised how little world music, especially African music, is on this list. I think this my 2nd album in both categories so far. (This also means that there hasn't been any Brazilian, Jamaican, Columbian, Cuban or any other Latin brilliance, no Indenesian / Balian music, no Siberian throat singing, no mysterious voices from Bulgaria, etc...at least yet). As far as this album goes, a few things: firstly, there always will be a new African superstar, who I've never heard of (and I've tried to listen to quite a lot of African music). Secondly almost all African music I hear is interesting: full of polyphonic melodies and rhythms, call and responses, groovy jamming and excellent musicians. Still, for me at least, Soukos, Highlife, Sungura and many other clean guitar picking music genres lack a sense of danger. The most well known artists kind of sound like they are tailored for western audiences, although that is probably not true. But this is what happened listening this album. I can imagine it being played at a world music festival with a culturally conscious, upper middle class whiteys drinking prosecco and dancing their fat and guilt off. Nothing wrong with that I guess? Groovy music - danger = 3
I liked this and enjoyed having it in the whole time. Hard to judge beyond that given how unfamiliar I am with the genre.
This album is just totally okay. Not at all bad, quite enjoyable, but also not very attention grabbing at all. It's just there
Good
I wish I had been in the right headspace for this. I think there are some solid jams on here, but the day I had nothing but doom would do.
I’m really on the fence about this album. On one hand, I’m super stoked to finally have a non-Western album on this list. Non-English and non-Western music in general are so dramatically underrepresented that I feel they should get an automatic 4 or 5* just for existing and allowing people to broaden their horizon. On the other hand... I don’t really like Koffi Olomide, and I think it’s a really weird pick. It’s not that he’s "tailored for Western audiences" as some reviewers have suggested – he’s a HUGE deal in Africa, a legendary singer in his own country. But he’s also very far from being the most interesting or original African artist in my opinion. Musically speaking, it’s very uneven. He has a fantastic voice, no doubt about it. I always enjoy his singing. But the conga instrumentation is awfully basic, and the songs tend to be very repetitive. From a strictly musical point of view, I’d probably have rated this album a 2*. Taking all factors into consideration, I’ll go for a generous 3*. But I wish this list would have picked Malian blues or Ethio-jazz instead of a modern mainstream artist.
Interesting….
The first 2 songs were great, then it kinda fell off. Always a treat to discover new non Western artists though! Tracks to Track: Papa bonheur, Desespoir
First time listen. Enjoyed.
Very fun.
It was alright, quite an upbeat album. Which helped set Monday morning on a good track, but won't be back for another listen
Pretty groovy, but each track starts to feel extremely repetitive.
Good vibe
first congalese album
Breezy, uplifting melodies for sun-drenched days. Calypso vibes to me, which is probably not right, but there's an obvious African connection there. Désespoir and Conte De Fees shine the brightest, but there's nothing really had here, albeit the runtime is maybe too long. Doesn't feel like music I should have listened to alone indoors would headphones on.