Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche

This was just not for me. Also from reading wikipedia he seems like a garbage person.

African beats. This album was okay. It's amazing how many African albums I've had so far. It's truly a genre of music I don't understand but I can appreciate the artistry.

Gonna keep it short and sweet: the guy is pretty shit and I won’t want to endorse him in anyway. The music doesn’t deserve much praise either with it being boring and lacking of energy.

Belle voix, arrangements répétitifs mais entraînants, beaucoup de douceur

world, skørt, dog lidt intetsigende

It's OK but nothing remarkable. No standout tracks or themes. And then I read the wiki and this guy may be a terrible person. 1/5

He sounds like a real charmer. The difference between this and Clapton though is this is fun to listen to. Oh... Oh wait, track 2. Oh it's ok, it got better. The 90s production that kicked it off was too much. Oof, same situation with track 5. I enjoy the guitar noodlings and vocal harmonies. I feel like I can get better examples of that elsewhere (in fact I left it on and Spotify played some afterwards), but this was decent to have on in the background. By track 7 though I've basically tuned out.

This was surprisingly decent for not understanding a word of what was said. This had more Caribbean vibes than African but I found it to be decent background music. It’s hard to rate something accurately when you don’t know what is being said but the instrumentals were enjoyable. 4.0/10

Weird that this is on the list. Not good as far as African music goes, and not good as far as dance music goes. 2.5/5

I enjoyed this

4+/5

Not bad. Enjoyed a bit I think.

This did seem a bit repetitive but I was still bopping along

a nice cup of Koffi

fun

I kind of hated this. Way too long and gave me a headache. Bongos are the only thing I really like. 3/10

koffi wrote these special songs for his precious mama. the most not my thing I've ever heard. Koweït, Rive Gauche

French dance album

Well I'm not really qualified to judge Koffi Olomidé"s music but here we are. Enjoyable but seemingly didn't stand out. Pleasant enough to enjoy on a hot summers afternoon. Wish I hadn't read his wiki profile.

Very nice and I can see how it might have influenced Paul Simon and others to incorporate this sound in their music. 3/5 just because it isn't something I'd choose to listen to often.

It's catchy and fun but other than Desespoir (which slaps) it felt like the same slightly boring song over and over again.

It’s my second album in a different language, but unlike the Suba one, it doesn’t feel interesting to someone who doesn’t speak the language. I love stuff like The Incredible Beat of Soweto - a compilation of real-feeling African music. However, this just feels tepid and too produced; it doesn’t get to the rawness that makes this type of music good, and it lacks the warmth. Probably a 2, but I’ll rate it a 1 because he sucks as a person.

Was interesting to start with but went on for a bit too long

Good hot drinking music

nope

I Like the cheerful vibes

Pretty nice while jamming in the background. But far from an essential record to listen to me. 5 out of 10

One could stretch and try to qualify it somewhat in the Yacht Rock zone if it didn't, you know, suck.

Not a fan. It's cute if you're looking for music to play on a beach. But the songs all seem so similar that they kind of melted together. Not the type of music I would seek out but the kind of music I would bop to with a margarita in my hand.

Couldn't get through it

Like being drugged on a childrens birthday party. Funny at begging, tiresome in the stretch. 1.9

3 - some of it is fun but I don’t have anything to compare it to

Good fun and maybe because the sound is the new to my ears - but fresh and just simply puts you in a good mood. A tad long but not too much - I’d definitely pick this one up again

Fun album but this type of music is just not for me.

Interesting and different, didn't really hook me though

Está bien pero no me veo escuchándolo

No ty

I felt that this music was very funky and fun to dance along t, listen to the lyrics and just something new. It isn’t totally up my alley for something I would enjoy listening to but it was good.

Sweet jacket on Koffi, but a little more effort for the cover could have been put forth. Highly enjoyable and pleasant album - I wouldn't say I got chills from the music but nearly the entire hour is both easy to listen to and mostly not boring ("Obrigado" is where it begins to tire me, maybe the repetitive nature of the last songs or the fact that we're pushing 50+ minutes at that point). Overall excellent clarity with the instruments although it's a bit heavy-handed with the reverb... I'm finding that I like non-English albums much more than I realized - vocals/lyrics are too often distracting - with my not understanding them they become an instrument melding in with the rest of the music - nice. 6/10 3 stars

The cover is a 5

Music was fun enough I suppose, but pretty difficult to have any of it land meaningfully. Favorite track: Elixir

It's alright but really nothing special, not sure why its here ove rmany many other things.

Something about the album cover itself is screaming, "Graphic design is my passion." I think it's the three different fonts paired together because it is an odd choice to say the least. I was not expecting the album to open as happy sounding musically as it did. I don't speak the language the album was recorded in so I'm missing the lyric translations, all I can really say is it sounds good.

Yeah I'm not bothering.

Right at the intersection of corny and earnest that I find kinda charming. I wouldn’t play this album again on purpose but if a song from it came on the local public radio station at 9:30 PM I wouldn’t change the channel.

Sounds like music that plays when you call a utility company and they put you on hold. I don't think that the "world" music genre is for me.

Infectious guitar, even if it does eventually all sound the same. Very danceable. Like listening to John Peel in the 1980s!

Not bad, but not my style.

Man, I had a *great* one-line review making a pun out of the title of the first track, but then I read about this guy and his sex criminal status and realized that joke would make light of his crime and reflect extremely poorly on me if I published it.

haut de gamme / koweït, rive gauche was a refreshing listen. i have lamented the lack of world music part of this project, so koffi olomide's presence is very appreciated. but despite my excitement, i want to be fair in my review. this album was quite fun. the beat was fast but playful. it could be soulful, or deep with african music, or even encouraging the listener to dance along. this album makes for a good introduction to this kind of music, and it's no wonder olomide is so well known in all of africa. 3.5

So my feelings on this album seem to be a recurring thing, as I read a lot of similar reviews. Yes, this album is interesting. To a North American, it even seems novel and exotic. But that's the thing: I don't feel like I have an appropriate scope or context to critique this album, or its significance on this project. Albums like this certainly deserves to be on the project, but whether or not this specific album is an appropriate or worthy inclusion, I can't say. I think a relative amount of the album is lost in cultural translation. To someone like me, this is thrown into a catch-all genre of "world", which is essentially saying "everything that isn't western music". To the people of Africa or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this is NOT something as simple or impersonal as "world" music. And maybe this is a bigger conversation, but I think music like this should be reflected with a more appropriate, specific, and culturally accurate genre than "world", especially in the context of this project where we are critiquing albums. MAYBE then, people like me would be even somewhat more in a place to be commenting on this type of music. All that said, I did enjoy what I heard. I guess just don't ask me to actually critique it, because I do not feel like I'm in any kind of position to do so.

Not quite a 4 for me but almost. I liked having it on in the background

Very repetitive African folk music inspired pop with late 80s production, which is a mismatch. The bass player is really good, but overall the music is very cheesy. Favorite song: Porte-monnaie

Not my style but not horrible

This album caught me pleasantly by surprise. Very African good vibes, like classic African sound from the 90s. 7/10.

Was looking forward to this, as was completely new to me. I put it on while working and have to admit that - sadly - nothing really jumped out at me. Should give it another listen sometime. Was pleasant enough.

I would have preferred more Congolese rhythms rather than the Western influences that appear to be stapled on to some of the tracks. The better moments are when the slick US soul production doesn't feature. I've got limited knowledge or reference points. It's probably best to take it for what it is: an uplifting album, not quite my thing, but still decent.

really not my thing. only one song got my attention - Conte de fees, which had cool guitars and all. other than that, did not really find this interesting.

When I saw the album cover I instantly knew this album was going to be fantastic, any person who puts all their effort into the music and absolutely none into the album cover always produces feel good music

I got kinda put off reading the wikipedia page about the artist... Seems okay

Well, some world music. Okaaaaaay.

Soukous (ritmos africanos). Ni fu ni fa.

Absolutely nothing about this did anything for me. It sounds like a "safe for the tourists" soundtrack at a cruiseship bar. I can't, in good conscience, give it a one-star review because the actual musicianship isn't bad, but I also can't, in good conscience, give it anything more than a two-star review. The only thing exceptional about this album is how exceptionally soft and boring it was.

It's a bit of a vibe. It's a very Sfinks festival type of music, where I might want to pay attention to a song or two, and enjoy it well enough before wandering over elsewhere to grab a beer or avoid the weed smells, or just wander around to see if someone I know is nearby and has literally anything to say

Une pochette de très haute volée, visiblement réalisée par un expert du logiciel Paint. Il y étale toute sa technique, utilisant plusieurs polices d'écriture et plusieurs couleurs. Il arrive même à donner à certaines lettres un contour blanc grâce à l'astuce suivante : écrire le texte une deuxième fois, le mettre en blanc et le poser sur un calque qu'on viendra placer en dessous du texte d'origine. Du grand art.

Koffi Olomidé vient nous offrir un album respectant absolument tous les codes de l'africanaiserie. Tout est soigneusement calibré pour satisfaire notre Robert national, adorateur de la culture africaine. Là où Koffi vient apporter sa patte personelle, c'est au niveau du mix de cet album. Il n'a en effet pas hésité à rajouter de multiples bruitages de coups de pieds tout au long de l'album, en voici quelques exemples: "Toulougoumi djima limbi sangaaaaa *swoush paf* (bruit d'un coup de pied retourné venant toucher le visage de sa cible)" "International bongo boussa boussa *PANG* (coup de pied rapide et précis porté au genou de sa compagne)" "Dja dja musique ahhhhhh solange camara *whoop bing* (coup de pied sauté venant s'enfoncer pleine puissance dans l'estomac de son fils)" On en redemande.

Dunno

Nice beats

It's a treat hear music that I otherwise would never be exposed to, but I'm pretty sure there are better examples than this. There are moments that are nice to bob your head to, but generally this isn't very notable. It's certainly not an album that I NEEDED to hear, you know?

Didnt fell like listening to this but the artist is a pedo and i didn;t like the first 30 seconds of the first song so 2/10 (would be 1/10 but the album cover is funny)

Amazing album. Just not something I would normally listen to. Still, a great listen.

I absolutely loved the first song on this album and I'm excited to check out other culture's music. Overall not bad, I'm happy to have listened to this but it was a little underwhelming after hearing the second track and on.

Pleasant album with enjoyable sounds throughout!

From the time this album starts, I think I'm gonna watch some 90's sitcom. Then the vocals begins and it's apparent that I"m about to watch a Pixar short about a raspberry that fell off the vine and is about to get eaten by a worm, but manages to escape. Then I read his Wikipedia page and noticed that he was accused and found guilty of statutory rape. And I thought ... you know the music I've heard so far is enough to make a judgement on this album...

I thought that “Haut de gamme” might mean “hate the game,” as in what you should hate instead of the player. Apparently it's more about high-end, luxury, or upscale fashion and culture. I guess Koffi Olomide’s outfit on the album cover fits that a bit. But Olomide’s high-end luxury style didn’t click for me as well as the Femi Kuti album I listened to right before this. Olomide was apparently very influential in African music, and especially in Congolese culture, but mostly what I will recall is the various feuds and legal issues he encountered later in life that I read about while listening.

Mostly happy upbeat music which is at odds with how he is described in his wikipedia article (multiple assault charges and a conviction for statutory rape). I have a history of docking stars for artists who use their status to exploit others and no exception will be made here.

The music is fun. I don’t speak the language so that limits my enjoyment. Koffi also sounds like not a great dude (multiple assaults and a conviction for statutory rape). Be a better human, Koffi.

meh i dont care for koffi

Papa bonheur

It's a no from me

en wat duren die nummers lang, pfoe

Ik ga op safari en ik neem mee... Nou in ieder geval niet deze plaat.

Leuk voor een keer, maar verder, neuh.

Beetje zoet maar wel lekker.

Loved it. French afropop? Yes

Wasn’t sold on this at first, but Desespoir really hooked me. Instrumentation is interesting and lively, really glad I listened to this.

Cant rate

If I stumbled across this being played live at an outdoor festival in the summer I would probably dig it, but completely does not fit the vibe of the Pacific Northwest in the fall.

A sound very outside my comfort zone, but so far I'm kinda digging it. There's just enough French used in the dialect be8ng spoken that I keep expecting to understand it more than I do. Hmmm, overall I'm not huge on it but it was a pleasant new experience. 3/5

I can tell when something's corny, even if I don't speak the language. Best track: Obrigado

This is different. Bad different, all songs sound so similar with the synth and is just boring.

Not my cup of tea

Unfortunately I found this record really boring and really far from my taste.

Huh?

Nice vibes :)

struggling to think of much to say about this so im not going to

J'ai bien aimé le vibe et cet album était très bon dans son style. J'ai bien aimé le francais aussi :P 3.85

This actually had some really catchy bops on it, but I don't speak the language so hard to fully get behind the album. I was grooving along to the instrumentation though, so I'll give it a 3

Það er ákveðinn ferskleiki sem fylgir þessari plötu. Góð tilbreyting frá vestrænu tónlistinni. Mæli með!

I normally give a 3-star, middle-of-the-road rating to most of these world music albums, simply because I don't feel like I know enough about the genres/cultures to rate it. However, I didn't like this one. Even without speaking the language, I get a real creepy vibe from this guy. Also, the music and his vocals are subpar.

great!

Jag njöt av de extra mycke då ja visste att ja aldri kan lyssna pånytt

Nice, the synths and electronic drums haven’t aged too well

Super Mario Odessey OST

Good album, one and done for me but worth the listen.

The early 90's synth piano sounds on this record really have not aged well. Other than that, this is a great record. Not in my wheel house but good for what it is. I just struggle to get over those synth drums and trumpets.

Pas capable

Vampire Weekend owe a lot to this guy.

It's obviously a big deal, but it really wasn't my kind of thing. I think it's the sound of the thing, which has a lot of the vagaries of the worst of the late eighties and nineties - flat synths and over emoting. That said, when the tunes get a beat on, you definitely want to shake your arse, so that wins it back for me a bit.

This might be a lyrical masterpiece, but I don't speak French... Also, it's island music the whole way through. Not my favorite.

I’ve never delved into Champeta music, but I am now very intrigued. I had a fun time trying to figure out which language they were singing in (when not French). I think I was able to pinpoint Lingala.

Hermoso

2.5 stars, not my thing

A little repetitive, but was decent background music.

I mean maybe a two but then I looked him up.

First track was kind of fun but then I found it somewhat unlistenable. Just not my thing.

New to me and enjoyed the something different, but probs not going to deep dive his catalog.

Not my style but seems fine for what it is.

Delightful album! Hard to feel anything but joyful, start to finish.

Liked very much

Eh, didn't keep my interest.

Very interesting, a different sound than I expected.

I liked this! I probably wouldn’t listen again but I enjoyed the uptempo, positive beats.

Chipper background music to work to

Es simpático, pero no sé por qué no tuvo efecto en mí. Eso sí, se agradece este tipo de inclusiones en el listado. Ojalá existieran muchos más en lugar de esos discos de artistas americanos sobrevalorados.

I'm not the right person to give this a review, it sounded very good and musically was fine m, but I just know I won't listen to it again is its not my thing

Very different from what I typically listen to. Not something I would choose, but worth checking out.

Really liked the sounds and rhythms of this album. I have to admit that my scant experience in African music has come from artists like Paul Simon, specifically his Graceland album. Loved the African music sensibility of Graceland and was happy to listen to Koffi Olomide for a lesson on what real Congolese Soukus music sounds like. I particularly liked Koweit Rive Gauches and Desespoir.

Riktigt dansant och roligt. Det svänger!

Conversational baritone singing - very nice and easy to listen to. Vairety of rhythms are fun. Enjoyed this one greatly.

3.7 - High energy West African pop music. Bouncy guitar fills, flowing rhythms and rich bari-tenor vocals. A few cheesy-sounding ballads but overall a pleasant listen.

Enjoying it, having a difficult time understanding the context of why it's on the list.

The music's okay I guess, a bit dated perhaps, but he sounds like a real piece of shit as a person.

Difficult to enjoy a lot of it, but it's not bad. It's just me.

Meh

Has some nice beats. Maybe heard a little zydeco in there? Wasn't really inspired by it. Just a reasonably nice listen.

I couldn’t discern what really distinguishes this from a whole lot of pop-ified World music I’ve heard by the by... It’s all competent musicianship, good singing (though of course I can’t comprehend a word). But it couldn’t help but fade into the background for me. Upbeat but relatively insubstantial.

Disco completo foi perdendo o interesse, mas fica claro a importância de se conhecer.

Tydzien francuzki na liscie, bo kolejny krazek z tego skrawka europy, tym razem cos calkowicie podziemnego i nietypowego, bo kongijsko francuzka muzyka w stylu soukous, ktora nalezy do gatunku okolo folkowych, ale samo nagranie brzmi bardziej jak polskie szlagiery z tv silesia w wersji dla ciemniejszego sluchacza, wiec prasne instrumentale, spiewanie przeplatane zawolaniami i chorkowaniami, pan Koffik to wyjadacz tego gatunku z tego co prezentuje jego dyskografia, ale jest to muzyka raczej dla specyficznego kregu sluchaczy, wiec jeszcze bardziej dziwi pojawienie sie na liscie takiej pozycji, prawie godzinna plyta, gdzie zrozumiec z tego nie idzie nic, granie nie cieszy ucha, wiec nuzacy odsluch, kolejny w tym tygodniu, nic na plejke i nic w glowie z takiego picka raczej na dlugo nie zostanie, jedynie sama sylwetka pana Kiffika, bo na okladce tego albumu z 92 wygladal jak wioskowy grajek, a na spotifaju ostatnie albumy prezentuje sie jak prawdziwy G, zrobil forme na starosc

7/10. Pretty good

Boring but inoffensive. 5/10

What da

MUSE MUSA! SASI U BOSA!

People giving this a 1 while criticizing the artist's past transgressions, at the same time handing out 5s to albums with Lennon, Paige, Bowie or James Brown, I see you.... If we manage to separate the art from the artist, we get a lively, upbeat, infectious, dance-able record that serves as the de facto representative of soukous music on the list. I don't know enough about the genre to judge weather it serves as a fair representation, but I do know that Congolese music as a whole is very much worth in depth exploration.

Really solid

All I need is a cold Kalik and I'm transported to the islands. It might actually be the wrong island, actually. Hmmm... well, I could listen to this while bonefishing with some Kalik in my cooler.

Definitely hard to fully appreciate everything in world music where you don't understand the lyrics. The vibe certainly seems very island and laid back... and i know I'm an idiot for saying this, but it makes me think of what an album would sound like if the Sebastian the Crab (from The Little Mermaid) made a smooth album. Enjoyable.

Reviewing this album obliges me to once again expose my ignorance of non-Western music. Koffi Olomide is one of the biggest stars of African music from the last few decades, and I was completely unaware of him until now. I also knew nothing about soukous, which is the Congolese-based style of dance music which he is a spearhead of. From what I can discern listening to "Laut de gamme", it relies on simple repeated motifs and hooks, deft guitar improvisation, prominent lead basslines, and- if we're lucky- a coda characterised by a sudden lift in tempo and urgency, as the vocalist growls and then shouts out "Poussa, poussez!" over and over again. So far, so likeable, but it's a shame the late 80's/early 90s production cuts through some of the arrangements and distracts from the heart of these songs. Every number is stacked with dated whistling synths, plastic-sounding drums, and Casio keyboards a-plenty. Listen to the intros of "Desespoir" or "Elixir" for a prime example: flat, lifeless, lacking the passion or raw energy I'd like to hear from soukous elsewhere. On top of this, the songs feel a little thin and don't do much to merit their extended length. Only one song here is under six minutes, and none of them particularly feel as though they earn their length outside of a dancefloor. "Koweit, rive gauche", for example, is a treated acoustic guitar loop for the entire song. Tender, but dull. It isn't all bad, though: some of the guitar work is virtuosic and jubilant. The bright, buoyant lines running over the back half of "Desespoir" and "Dit Jeannor" are some of the highlights of the album. There are also some great guest vocal spots in "Dit Jeannor" which add some much needed variation: while Olomide has a serviceable singing voice, he rarely explores anything between a soft croon or a lecherous rasp. I'm intrigued by soukous as a genre, and there are some good moments to be cherry-picked from this particular album, but in the end it was too much to wade through for me. A quick read about Olomide's personal transgressions- which I find difficult not to mention here- dissolves the chance of any further effort I might have made to get into his music.

Couldn’t vibe with this

A pleasant listen. Soukous always makes me think of my college days, because the local college radio station played a lot of it. This is such joyful music, you can't help but be in a good mood listening to it. A little repetitive from song to song, but still pretty fun. Fave Songs: Papa bonheur, Qui cherche trouve; Desepoir; Obrigado, Conte de fees

Quite enjoyable, pretty lengthy, but very nice to listen to

Pretty sweet , nothing amazing.very holiday buzz off it

Like Graceland without Paul Simon.

I'm not wild about most foreign language music. If I was sitting at a coffee place in South Africa, I'd be game for hearing this music. Sitting in an office in MN? Not so much...

Pleasant

I like the music a lot. However, i don’t really like the vocal style. Feels like island music so it would be something good to listen to while sitting near the ocean while having a Mai Thai

At first, I went into this record genuinely curious and was left feeling that this was mostly okay. Sounds samey at points but don't discard the craft that went into this album; the bright sounds that come out of this are worth the listen. Favorites: Papa Bonheur, Désespoir, Koweït, Rive Gauche.

Not the sort of music I'd ever find myself going back to. It was fine though

A lot of the music I really love is influenced by this style of music. I can hear early Vampire Weekend in this down to the tone of the guitar and the lines played (I think the mixolydian mode is used quite a bit in both). Overall, I found this album to be enjoyable and accessible and it helped me to connect Afrobeat as played by western musicians with how it’s played by Africans. Both forms are similar and involve borrowing from the traditions of the other.

I mean it's nice and all, but it just makes me think of background music in some gift shop.

Admittedly I don’t speak French, but nothing sets this album apart from others in the genre

Not my cup of tea

Nice rhythms but without being able to understand the words much of this sounds the same to me.

This is fine but I dont really have enough reference points to evaluate it in any fair way.

Koffi Olomide is a new artist for me. This is a very happy sounding album, with some interesting rhythms throughout the album. I enjoyed listening to somethin new, even if I couldn't sing along. With only one listen, the album falls somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but I did like it enough that I'd be willing to have a second listen.

the non standard "world" music albums are always cool i guess kind of albums, as in its interesting to listen to but id probably never listen to it again.

I've come back to this to fill in gaps to find a very much recognise that cover and have obviously already 'done' this one. Presumably it made no impact. Therefore don't know if it should be 2 or 3.

Loved the first song! After listening to this album for 15 minutes I stopped realizing that I was dancing on the chair; however, it was like a hypnotic, monotonous dance. A useless movement. After hitting the 30 minute mark, the experience was nothing but an insipid joy.

Love the mix of guitar and FM synths. Could see myself getting into this more.

No thanks

Música de Congo, admito que por mi propia iniciativa no la habría escuchado. En algunas partes parece canciones que hubiera compuesto Juan Luis Guerra (escuchar Desespoir).

Mostly enjoyable afrobeat. At least the parts where they've managed to keep the keyboardist away from E. PIANO 1 on his DX7.

Jaunty music from a dubious man who is probably available as a handyman at a price you can afford!

jaunty! (reads bio) oh no

keyboards are heavy on the 80s overproduction

Interesante y agradable

Jammin

Irirlevant. From the wikipedia page: 'In 2019, He was found guilty by a French court of statutory rape of one of his former dancers when she was 15 years old.[8] He was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence in absentia, as he did not attend court in France'. It would be zero stars.

Loverman soukous, it has its uses.

I had to look this guy up on Wikipedia as I'd not heard of him. I can see that he's a bit of a cad from the antics listed on his page, but his music has a lightness of touch that makes it really pleasant listening

A bit like a Congolese Lionel Richie (in music vibe only - I can't imagine Lionel karate kicking a backing dancer). 2.5/5

It felt kinda bland tbh

its Caribbean jams 2.5

I can see why this is on the list, big rhumba album and I do like a lot of the sounds, but looked into the guy and he's a convicted child rapist, so fuck 'im.

Great album. Had an amazing time and was fully relaxed.

Reminded me of when I had XM and they'd do a reggae/dance channel in the summers. Or dance lessons in college. Fine as a novelty, but very same-y over an hour.

Pretty good danceable African music.

Interesting, enjoyed the music, good Afro beat and upbeat

p681. 1992. 1 star Well, the cheesy synths and arrangements haven't aged well on a lot of the tracks. Nothing much to like here. This was the first album on the list that I struggled to listen to all the way through. Not my thing at all.

Felt like being on holiday

My opinion about the music is irrelevant. From the wikipedia page - 'In 2019, He was found guilty by a French court of statutory rape of one of his former dancers when she was 15 years old.[8] He was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence in absentia, as he did not attend court in France.'

This is some uplifting, upbeat, refreshing music. I listen to the album twice in a row.

Best Song: Qui cherche trouve. Slow groovy dance rhythm yeah. Worst Song: Dit Jeannot. A bit too far out in space, instrumentally. Overall: Optimistic toe-tapping music that does nothing to grab your attention, for better or worse. Beautiful mess of an album cover though.

Nice change of pace

great. i just love having some bloke whisper sweet nothings into my ear in french. the bits that sound like a nandos backing track were fun for a bit, but i hated the bits where he was doing western ballad style noncey R'n'B stuff. i retract my previous comment from songhoy blues, i am not a world music guy.

I must admit that this record immediately took a stranglehold of my heart. Its playful elegance put me in mind of when Ralf Little tickled my virgin anus with a feather duster all those years ago. What a little angel.

It sounds like we're in Nandos...apparently.

The enjoyment of music is tied to when you listen to it, where you listen to it and who you listen to it with. I listened to this on a Kenyan beach while sipping cocktails. That's the setting that this album is made for. I very much doubt I would have enjoyed it quite as much if I was listening to it on a wet Thursday in a Bolton Nandos.

med risk för att låta hemsk men det blir för mycket afrika.

Sounds like Ariel and Sebastian jammin it out.

Cool that this album is on this list but not much of a fan at all. Mostly boring 90s African music,

Never heard of this chap before but he's been making recordings since 1983 and I counted 29 albums on wikipedia. The music on Haut De Gamme is pleasant and unassuming, the polyrhythmic grooves provide an upbeat platform for Olomide to sing over. Meanwhile there is usually some exotic sounding instrument playing a cheery motif as a counter melody. As with a lot of what is classified "world music" it's sung in the local dialect, meaning you have no idea what the songs are about, so you concentrate on the mood of the music, which is joyous and feels a little bit spiritual. The vibe is relaxed and lacking bite so it does occasionally veer into lounge territory. Of course, whether that's good or bad depends on the listener. On the whole it is quite an enjoyable lightweight album and I relish the thought of seeing/hearing this performed in a live setting at an outdoor festival (with a beer or three) in the middle of summer instead of a cold winter's day in February (with a cuppa tea)! Terrible cover art mind.

Unexpected surprise. Couldn’t understand a word but really enjoyed the rhythm

Just found myself switching off. Maybe live it was a set of great tunes to dance to sorry Koffi.

Didn't really gel for me, might've been better at a summer festival chilling before the headline acts

Very womad. Benign background music.

Wow, l'œuvre d'art dit tout! J'ai d'abord aimé les rythmes pop, puis je me suis ennuyé.

Was hard to finish, very Afro-French inspired, just not my speed

Bluesy, sleazy, and fun. Jesus…Chicago, Waitin for the Bus, LaGrange all classics. This set them up for a lifetime of great boogie.

Bonus point for best album cover

Kinda jovial music but ehhh.... sounds super cheesy. Does get a slightly better rating since it's from Africa and that is a nice change. 2.5/5

I didn’t like it as much as I thought I wouldn’t. I heard an african album once and they aren't all like this one. (4/10) FT: Désespoir

Its allright 2/5

Some french, some other stuff. Pretty good

I don't even know who you are. Jaunty album doe

-Background of “Papa bonheur” sounds like the Bloons TD Music -Ok the whole album is just like reggae/dance-esque music in French lol -The bridge of “Conte de fées” actually picks up to be pretty groovy with the high pitched whatever grooving along -Very end of “Dit Jeannot” got kinda cool -The whole album is just like reggae/dance-esque music in French lol

Fijn apart album met onbekende muziekstijl, maar zou het niet nogmaals aanzetten

groovy as fuck, 8/10

Meh

Happy music! I love this style of music - call it soukous or jit, it's impossible not to want to dance

Listening to this my first thought was, "Ah, now I see where Paul Simon stole the music for Graceland!" But I see that this album was actually recorded quite a few years after Graceland. I guess that's just the style. I enjoyed the music, especially the more upbeat numbers. 3 stars.

For years I'd wondered why The Kinks were so lauded, but it turns out this is it. Their legacy echoes through the 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond. The album itself paints a picture of Britain at a particular point in time, where things didn't feel so great, to the point where a young hopeful Brit might uproot their entire life and move to the other side of the world, in search of a better existence. Arthur is about what's left behind and also the things that you can't ever leave behind. Well crafted pop, including the scorching opening track "Victoria".

Awesome music that feels nostalgic in a strange way, not that I ever visited the Congo but it really puts you in a specific time and place.

I had no idea what to expect with this one but I bloody loved it.

Shite and Wikipedia suggests he’s a total prick.

One star haut of five

I don't know the name of this genre of W African music. This sounds like a 90s generic version of its own genre. C

Ah yes, music for white people who have carved African salad tongs aka music played at free trade stores aka music written for white people who watch PBS aka music for anthropology and English professors to get their rocks off on the dance floor aka music played at the local Zoo’s summer concert series. I don’t want to tear this down because it is such happy music. It definitely got my toes tapping. But the dated 90s synth just assassinates any pleasure in my ears. I’m going to be nice though, 3.

In the interest of saying something nice if I'm going to say anything at all - it's the best French-language Congolese dance album I've ever heard.

Definitely out of left field. Not my type of music but not terrible.

Average beach vibes

Great Jams

Disco raro e interesante. No sé si lo termine de escuchar pero voy a escucharlo de vez en cuando.

42. Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche - Koffi Olomide 9 tracks. It's African Salsa if such a thing exists, but it's toe-tappingly catchy & decent. I wouldn't choose to listen to it, but I also wouldn't turn it off. 3/5

French, early 90s sound.

Gut gemacht, auch ganz ideenreich, aber irgendwie nichtssagend. Mir will sich dazu keine richtige Meinung bilden. Auf ein 2. Mal habe ich keine Lust.

Eve is such a good influence :) I'm learning to appreciate this kind of music much more! Honestly super fun and unique, at least to me.

Rating: 7/10

Festive, not my usual. I appreciated hearing it but don't think I'd come back to it

I don't know what he's saying, but it sounds fun

0 stars. Not my genre not at all.

Good tunes

muhtesem

Ilk iki sarkiyi dinledim sadece, gercekten must miydi bu album

Major key jams with a nice mellow vibe. Quite same-ish after a few songs.

I was instantly attracted to soukous when I first heard it decades ago. In the late 90s I got a pair of tickets to a soukous show at a very intimate venue. It was hard to find someone to come with me. The typical reaction was: "wtf is soukous?" I eventually found someone but from the looks of it many others attending the show were less successful finding a date; there were only around 50 people there. Travelling to another continent is much harder when you’re from the DRC. I expect the musicians that played that gig have to pursue a detailed Visa process from just about everywhere they travel to and it's unfortunate that a multicultural city like Toronto couldn't find more than a handful of people to attend. Unlike Mali and South Africa, DRC never had a Ry Cooder or Paul SImon to tell the North Americans they should check this out. I don't remember who was playing at the gig I went to, but they were much better than Koffi imo. The guitars were sizzling that evening. I'm not a big fan of the ballad-like songs that Koffi plays so only like half the songs. Nonetheless, the guitar licks that the soukous players all seem to have in their repertoire make this an enjoyable listen.

I didn’t give this much of listen due to time. I like the more rhythmic, call and response sections with guitar, less so the poppy pieces, where it sounds like he borrowed George Michaels’ electric piano player. I’ve probably listened with regularity to only about a dozen African artists. they would get higher score than Koffi.

Very pleasant African pop that makes you wanna shake your booty. Nice rhythms and good vocals. But I would reach for some Miriam & Amadou or Fela Kuti before this

Étnica. Melódica.

Didn’t know anything about Congolese music before listening. Can’t understand the language. Yet, I found the music’s joyous, uplifting rhythms and soothing vocals enjoyable!

I'll have to admit, this is very different from music I normally listen to. It was very refreshing. I don't know if I would put this on and listen to this every day, but I would imagine listening to it every so often; it was very "joyous."

I tried but just couldn't get into it. I love lyrics, it's part of my listening experience and my french is so out of practice. But unlike opera (or a good Rammstein tune), vocals didn't just fade into the background or blend in with the music. And I think that's because the music was also very cheesy; like Super Mario meets all inclusive Caribbean resort.

This was a weird album. I liked Koffi's voice and the positive vibe of the music but it wasn't very interesting. One track in particular (Elixer) was 5 minutes of the the exact same riff and you can tell that they didn't even know how to end it because it just faded out. The album also suffered from some bad production. Mainly a little two much high end especially on the fake drums. Or maybe they were just over-produced real drums that sounded fake. Either way, not good. Some of the harmonies were nice, especially on the last 2 tracks but overall not an album or artist I would listen to again.

It was the same song 9 times. Giving it a 2 rather than a 1 because at least it was nice background music.

Enjoyable, uplifting

I like this style of music.. not a compete triumph but I’m feeling generous!

Good stuff

Great African music from the early 90s. My naive comparison would be the Paul Simon's Graceland but without Paul Simon.

I don’t know enough about genre to know how influential or important this genre is. It’s not really my type of vibe personally - but it’s kinda funky I guess. :)

Interesting and pleasant enough but I really lack context for this to fully appreciate it. I dig the MS Paint cover though.

Boring and repetitive. Same tune throughout the album. Tries too hard to be poppy. But it's a series of groovy dance tracks, and I'd be willing to hear a track every once and a while. Just not the whole album at once.

2-3 star, can’t knock it but it’s not going to be something I’ll revisit, but still enjoyed aspects

Det här var då inte något jag hade snubblat över i vanliga fall. Genren "soukous", är kongolesisk dansmusik. Jag fick scrolla igenom Koffi Olomides gigantiska diskografi (35 album, varav 30 egna, på 36 år) innan jag hittade denna, med vad jag antar är Koffi själv, iklädd någon sorts formel-1-jacka (???) osäkert pekandes mot mig på omslaget. Vill inte ge efter för klyschan som säger att all afrikansk musik måste beskrivas med "rytmisk", eller liknande adjektiv. Men, visst, det svänger väl ganska bra ibland. Och Koffi Olomides röst kan beröra en vid några få tillfällen, som t.ex. i slutet av Koweït, Rive Gauche. Det låter sorgligt när han pressar ur sig sina "Lewu lewu lewu", men jag vet inte vad något betyder i detta album. Jag tog mig igenom den knappa timmen utan att någonting gjort något större avtryck, tyvärr. Bästa låt: Koweït, Rive Gauche, då det enda jag minns direkt efter lyssningen är "Lewu lewu lewu"

Not bad, but doesn't sound special to me. Dude's voice is damn great.

It is to slow to be pop and to fast for slow music, so “not quite my tempo”. Don’t like the french 2.5/5

upbeat tropical, the music is good lyrics are in a language I don't understand. Not really my jam.

Dance music straight out of Africa! More specifically, it's French Soukous music from the Congo. Not my type of music at all, but it wasn't bad.

New one to me (both the album and the artist). I enjoyed this one. Hard not to bob the head or tap the foot along to the whole album. I happen to really enjoy listening to the French language, spoken or sung, even though I can't speak it, so that added a sweet layer to the music for me. Great music.

Not my kind of music.

Nice but sort of repetitive

não é meu estilo de música, mas não é ruim

Eh, I can appreciate it for being different. Doesn't blow my mind or anything, also it's not the best example of this genre

ой бля, да идите нахуй, это даже иронично воспринимать не получается. кто вообще способен это слушать, я хз, самая раздражающая музыка на свете. доставил только момент с 50:38 по 51:15 (я хз, какая это песня), где вокалист превращается в Пьера Вудмана и орёт «ААААААА», «СОСИИИ», «СУКА, СУКА, ПУТА, ПУТА»

Не, этнический чил я уважаю. Но латинский как-то пока больше заходит, нигерсий на его фоне теряется. Не особо интересно, порой надоедает однообразностью, хотя прогнал только пару раз. В целом, будь менее навязчивым, вполне себе видел бы как ост Цивилизации, возглавляешь нацию Зулулэнд, берёшь под контроль Шаку, и вот как в современность попадаешь, эта шляпа играет. В общем, имеет право на существование, на возвращаться, вероятно, не стану.

Fun vibes, but it is so 90’s it hurts, and the songs overstay their welcome every time.

No conocía al artista pero fue muy interesante encontrarlo en esta losta

Enjoyed this album…….easy listening

It’s fun, it’s fresh, it’s different & its French!...I think? Anyhoo, I would’ve never listened to this album in any other instance than for this review so that in itself is a plus for broadening my mind. I am glad I listened to these European pop songs which induce a feel good vibe with their Caribbean calypso reggae flavour. Would I want to purchase this album or choose it out of line up to play again though?...probably not. 2 Stars!

So upbeat and happy! Loved it

When I think of African music this is what I imagine. The music Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend obviously ripped off. BT: Papa Bonheur, Qui Cherche Trouve, Port-Monnaie

Not for me. Very different from what I'm used to. Too poppy for my taste

Cinco estrellas no son suficientes. Ya vi que ni les gustó tanto Os Mutantes, esto seguro les dio hueva. En fin, es hermoso.

Would give it zero if I could.

Fine, some songs were very good, but overall forgettable outside of those

La verdad me deleitan las guitarras en el soukous; sí me dan ganas de bailar jajaaj. En esta nota, me gustó bastante Qui cherche trouve y la segunda parte de Désespoir y el final de Conte de Fées. Mood: Kwassa Kwassa todo el día y toda la noche.

2.5

This right here reeks of the 90s and makes me want to go to the beach, I love it

Weird but well done

This guy sounds like he's having a ripe old time of it, but the music got quite boring, quite quickly. I bet it's great to dance to, but I'm listening to this whilst I work. Any road, I can't dance. A quick look at this guy's Wikipedia page and, wow, he seems like a real piece of shit.

This was awesome. Perfect relaxing music with bits of excitement. There was a great variety between each song but all felt perfect for the beach or a relaxing shindig. I've said it before but these are the albums I'm trying to get on this list. Really liked Desespoir but cruised through most of the rest as well.

I liked it because it's cool to know new artists that I never knew, but the album itself is so monochromatic. Good songs to dance to, maybe some important message that I don't understand, but just a good album.

Música "africana". A veces me recuerda a Juan Luis Guerra.

Disco alegre (aunque esto pareciera estereotipo de la música de África o del Caribe), con ritmos que suenan a artistas de Senegal o Camerún que he escuchado antes. Quizá no aprecio mucho que haya pistas muy largas, pero definitivamente como música ambiental funcionan bien. Es un disco al que regresaría sólo en momentos específicos, pero no para oír diario. Mis canciones favoritas: "Koweït, Rive Gauche", "Qui cherche trouve" y "Conte de fées". 8.5/10

A vibe

Fuckin love this

I am truly impressed with the amount of non-western music that is on this list. I loved this album, a unique sound, and very melodic. You can hear some of the French/Belgian influences there, but this is really its own thing. As with a lot of African albums on this list, I do not really feel qualified to rate this in any sort of objective way. But I found this so groovy that I HAVE to give it at least 4.

I could not get into this one. It just doesn't feel like anything special to me: background music, and nothing more

I think I listened to the right album? Or at least its closest equivalent on Apple Music. This is really enjoyable music! Not sure why this one was picked, but I'm always happy to see something other than rock or new wave show up. I couldn't tell you if this is groundbreaking or influential, but it's a very pleasant listening experience. Lots of great grooves that make me want to dance. Favorite tracks: Papa bonheur, Porte monnaie, Dit jeannot. Album art: Released in the early '90s, but looks incredibly '80s. Good, colors, good font. Koffi's fit is astonishing. 3.5/5

Easy breezy. Not my thing but fine. Boy, you really realize just how insanely long most albums are doing this experiment, don’t you?

Dope