Back in 1982/1983 Berlin's Burkhard Seiler released two records with African Music on his Zensor label. We loved to visit him in his small shop on Grossbeerenstraße, where he sold Punk, Industrial, strange noises, Dub and Abba.
As I was already infected by African music I discovered the Kalambya Sisters as release no. 07 on his label.
When I tried to buy this music in Nairobi in 1986 nobody was able to tell me about the group.
It was Doug Paterson who gave me the following information in 2004: "They were two, sometimes three, women singers who worked with the Kalambya Boys Band. I remember one Mary Nduku, another was Florence. In 1989, I did a CD compilation that includes a different song from the Kalambya Sisters (The Nairobi Beat, Rounder Records 5030). They come from the Kamba speaking area of Kenya to the east of Nairobi. The group broke up in the late 80s or early 90s. Katelina was a big hit so had you asked at the time it was popular in Kenya, most people would have known about them. I saw them perform several times. These days, this style "benga" music is not as well known in Kenya and it's more localized among the people speaking the language of the music."
Enjoy!
Another single can be found over at Musik City.
Thank you for this wonderfully sweet recording!
AntwortenLöschenThank you very much for this one. I have heared it first time on bfbs in john peel's saturday-night program and have played it several times in the african night disco, first in the Backsteinfabrik in Waldemarstrasse, later in the Kuckuck close to Anhalter Bahnhof and at last in Böcklerpark. Yes,yes,yes,I remember there a little shop in Grossbeerenstrasse with the name Scheissladen. Got always nice music there.Now after some years I have lived in several african countries, from the west to the east, with more knowledge of different styles, listened to so much more music since the berlin days&nights 30 years ago, I still love this song: Katalina
AntwortenLöschenGreat. hat a delicious music.
AntwortenLöschenHugs from Colombia.
:-)
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