Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Vol.4 (1993, K7, GPL)

OK, let's look a little further outside the African continent, from Youssou to Nusrat is faithwise not such a big step, as both use Sufi in their music.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / نصرت فتح علی خان‎ (Urdu) / नुसरत फतह अली खान (Hindi) nicknamed "The King of Kings of Qawwali", with Qawwali being the devotional Sufi music.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Vol.4 (1993, K7)

Travelling in north-west India in 1996 picked up this K7 in Udaipur. As usual I was searching for some good local music and this one was strongly recommended by a friend who helped me find my way through this marvelous town. As the texts on the sleeve were mostly in local writing, there was very little I understood from the sleeve. But the music was and still is brilliant!!
for me understandable info from K7:
Vol.4 / Side A-B / Ahamadabad = Ahmedabad (former capital of Gujarat, India) / GPL = Gujrat Pvt. Ltd.
Language: probably Hindi, Urdu or may be local Gujarati?

So after searches on the internet didn't bring up any clues, contacted the people from NusratOnline.com, and they kindly replied with the following info:

Side A:
a1.Kamli Wale Nigahe Karam Ho Agar
      a song asking for attention from Prophet Mohammed PBUH.
      it is believed that Prophet use to wear black blanket, kamli means blanket.
a2.Saari Daulat Khuda Ki Madine Mein Hai
      a praise of God Song
      first line literally means "All of God Treasures resides in madina.."
Side B:
b1.Nami Danam
      poem by Kwaja Ameer Khusro (1253-1325)
      English translation at allpoetry.com/Nami-Danam...

The text on side of your K7 is in Hindi. Nusrat's line of work is enormous & almost impossible to collect, I must confess that even I was not knowing about the songs from Side A of this K7 before I received your mail.

Regards, NusratOnline.com

Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan - Kamli Wale Nigahe Karam Ho Agar (K7-a1, partly)

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Vol.4 (1993, K7, GPL Ahamadabad)

Later searches based on the NusratOnline info brought a discography including:
"Nigah-e-Karam Vol.21" (1981, K7)
tracklist: 1.Kamli Wale Nigah-e-Karam Ho / 2.Sari Daulat Khuda Ki Madine Main Hai / 3.Nami Danam Che Manzil Bood

So most likely my K7 is a (pirate?) copy of a cassette from 1981, that makes sense as the picture on the sleeve looks to be from a younger Nusrat, than what can be found nowadays.
Nusrat died in 1997 August, so one year after I bought this K7, here you can read his in memoriam by real world.
For his 67th birthday (2015.Oct.13) google even made this:


"the person who opened the world's ears to the rich, hypnotic sounds of the Sufis"  

Edit (2016.Feb.27):
Google statement with doodle:
“Thanks to his legendary voice, Khan helped bring "world music" to the world."
Well that's the Americentric view of things, would be much better as follows:
"With his legendary voice Khan helped the closed "western public", to open their ears to music of all parts of the world!!"

Youssou no XIPPI but LIVE (1992)

Had in mind to jump over the border into Senegal and post one of the XIPPI K7s of Youssou N'Dour, bought the first one in Senegal in 1992 and the second in 1993/94 in Guinee.
Remember that when listening for the first time to No.1, I was a little disappointed, mostly because of less percussion and some of the lyrics being in English. But after more playing came to the notion that in whatever language the vocals the music is great. And actually some of the lyrics were and still are very good also, at least the English ones, as I still don't speak nor understand Wolof. For example in The Same (Benela) from No.2 Youssou sings about music (reggea, rumba, r&b, etc) and people all around the world being "The Same", "everybody has a heart", everybody gets the feeling".
That's a still and always will stay very valid statement, especially in these times of "Refugee Crisis", where too much is spoken about REDUCING the NUMBERS, while reality is kept silent: refugees are PEOPLE having to leave their HOMES in order to be able to LIVE a decent LIFE!!

  

Youssou N'Dour at Glastonbury 1992.Jun.28

  

Glastonbury 1992 Poster

Preparing the XIPPI post, found out that both K7s are already posted elsewhere and also still available (links at bottom of this post). So decided to post something else from Youssou.

Some time ago I could catch from Dutch radio a live concert from Youssou at the UK Glastonbury Festival in 1992, which is the same year as the K7s, so nicely fits together. He played first 4 songs from XIPPI, then contined with some older ones and a duet with Peter Gabriel. It's a concert at a western pop festival, where his Mbalax music is received by a very enthousiatic crowd, so anybody thinking about complaining for the music being "less African", please listen to and try to understand Youssou in "The Same" from XIPPI No.2!!

Youssou N'Dour - Fital (1992.Jul.28 at Glastonbury)


Youssou N'Dour & Super Etoile de Dakar - 1992.Jun.28 Glastonbury Festival

setlist: 1.Fital - Useless Weapens / 2.Marie-Madeleine La Saint-Louisienne / 3.Country Boy / 4.Demb - Africa Remembers / 5.Shakin' The Tree / 6.Set / 7.Toxique / 8.Yo Le Le / 9.Nelson Mandela

  

XIPPI No.1 (1991, K7)

  

XIPPI No.2 (1992, K7)

PS: here find the links to the XIPPI posts
*XIPPI No.1: dial-africa.blogspot.nl/2011/04/youssou-ndour-xippi.html
*XIPPI No.2: dial-africa.blogspot.nl/2011/06/youssou-ndour-xippi-vol-2.html
In my live download I also included a comparison between the two local XIPPI K7s and the international CD Eyes Open, for which all tracks from K7s were remixed. Made this comparison a longtime ago when thinking about buying the CD, which I didn't do because I had all tracks (OK, except one) already on my Senegalese K7s.

Enjoy Youssou's Mbalax Manguetically LIVE!!!!

Tour of Africa 2 (from Nigeria to Ethiopia)

OK, after a good days rest, lets continue the Tour of Africa

Mangue's Tour of Africa - stage 10 to 19 - from Nigeria to Ethiopia

first we go inland swinging towards the most delicious Fuji garbage
NIGERIA: Ch.Dr.Sikiru Ayinde Barrister - Refined Fuji Garbage (excerpt)
then south east direction to greet the guitaristic Congolese rumba
CONGO: Aurlus Mabele & Loketo - Rosine
continue with some more and sweeter soukous
ZAIRE/CONGO: Papa Wemba - M'Fono Yami
a long stage down to the urban mbaqanga sounds in Joburg
SOUTH-AFRICA: Soul Brothers - Bayeza
turn northward for the musical mbira queen of the Shona people
ZIMBABWE: Stella Chiweshe & the Earthquake - Sawura Wako
now south east towards the break dancing marrabenta at the Pacific beaches
MOZAMBIQUE: Dulce & Orch.Marrabenta Star - Tsiketa Kuni Barassara
up along the Pacific for the laid back swinging ubongo beat
TANZANIA: Remmy Ongala & Super Matimila - Kipenda Roho
with handclapping taarab sounds to attend a wedding at the Tanzanian/Kenian border
TANZANIA: Zuhura Swaleh with Maulidi Music Party - Jino la Pembe
a big leap north into the Sahara sand for rhythmical swing with orchestral arabic melodies
SUDAN: Abdel Gadir Salim All-Stars - Bassama
the last stage up the Abyssinian plateau with tinkling strings of the krar
ETHIOPIA: Seleshe Damessae - Worio Wata
finish at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa

VA-AFRICA_Tour of Africa N-W-S-E (side B)

background info to read on the rest day: see part 1
in download full tracklist of original ANSS box, so you can see what I left out
everybody liking this concept, feel free to organize another route for the next Tour of Africa!

PS: no cutting of tracks, so one continuous trip! (in two stage parts)

Tour of Africa 1 (from Algeria to Nigeria)

OK, now let's make a "Tour of Africa", a sound trip all around the continent.

Tour of Africa - stage 1 to 9 - from Algeria to Nigeria

start is near the Mediterranean listening to pop rai with fantastic trumpet sounds
ALGERIA: Bellemou & Gana El Maghnaoui - Milouda [more at k7matik]
down the Atlantic coast for marvelous drumming speeding up at the end
MOROCCO: Gnawa Musicians of Marrakesh - Baba L'Rouami
inland through the Sahara subtle swinging with the great singer from Mali singing her love
MALI: Oumou Sangaré - Ah Ndiya
heading westwards to the banks of the Senegal river for a fantastic interpretation of a traditional
SENEGAL: Baaba Maal - Mariama
a little south to Dakar listening to the liquid voice of mbalax singing about Africa and some famous leaders
SENEGAL: Youssou N’Dour - Fakastalu
down along the coast for some folkmusic made on the streets of Freetown
SIERA LEONE: Abdul Tee-Jay's Rokoto - Rokoto Frenzy (excerpt)
continuing south-east for a drumfull accordeon coup on the way to Abidjan
IVORY COAST: Le Zagazougou - Allah Ma Diana
going inlands wistling with the flutes and moving with the drums to reach Bobo-Dioulasso
BURKINA FASO: Farafina - Lanaya
under the swinging sounds of Afro-Juju to Ogun State in western Nigeria to enjoy a well deserved rest day
NIGERIA: Sir Shina Peters - Omo Mbo / Omo Lere Aiye / etc (medley)
-- rest day -- end of K7 side A --

VA-AFRICA_Tour of Africa N-W-S-E (side A)

some background info to read on the rest day:
Made this tape in the 90s based on the compilation "Africa Never Stand Still" (1994, 3CD). Found the track order to jumpy around, so made my own selection of the tracks I liked most and ordered them like a musical tour through the continent. Still really love this tape, really feels like travelling around, meeting musicians, all with their own musical style, and feeling the different flows. Now it's here for you, enjoy the Tour of Africa!!!
PS: no cutting of tracks, so one continuous trip! (to be continued.....)

Sona Diabate 20020125 - Paris BBC Radio Session

To stay in the family, after her sister Mama, now Sona Diabate. This time not a K7 (haven't got one), but a recording of a radio session.
Andy Kershaw live from Paris for his BBC Radio 3 show broadcasted 2002.Jan.25. (source: peel.wikia.com)

Sona Diabaté was born in Tiro, Guinea in 1959. Her father, the famous singer Hadj Djeli Fodé Diabaté, passed on their family's music legacy by teaching Sona to sing and to play the balafon. After attending school for several years, Sona began her career as a griot singer. Her music training included singing with and learning from Miriam Makeba, who was living in Guinea at the time. She joined Africa's first all-female band "Les Amazones de Guinée", as singer and rhythm guitar player and plays on their famous 1983 live recording "Au Couer de Paris" (one track on very first post).
During the 1980s Sona kept turing with Les Amazones and recorded several solo albums. Unfortunately in 1990 Sona developed a serious illness which took her three years to recover from. She made a great comeback, however, in 1996 with "Gare-Gare". Invitations to play in the USA and African festivals in Europe soon followed.
She became known to a wide audience in Germany when she performed as opening act for Miriam Makeba and Papa Wemba at concerts in Berlin and Wurzburg in 1996.
After a year-long stay in Guinea, she returned to Europe with twelve new songs, four of them featured on Argile's "Mandingo Festival" (2000, CD), the remaining on her solo CD "Tounkana" (2001?) and Sona joined the German
world music group Argile well-equipped to display her talents.

Here to get you in the mood one song from her session:


Discography of Sona Diabate:
-1983: Les Amazones de Guinée -  Au Cœur de Paris (LP, Syliphone #SLP.76)
-1983: Sons de la Savane (LP, Syliphone ‎#SLP.77)
-1988: Sona Diabate & M'Mah Sylla - Sahel (LP, Triple Earth #Terra.106)
-1988: Kankele-ti (1988, LP, ‎#pam.06) reissued on CD as "Girls of Guinea"
-1996: Gare-Gare (CD, Popular African Music #pam.404)
-1998: Argile feat.Sona Diabate - Live In Africa & Europe (CD, Bibiafrica #85642)
-2000: with Argile - present Mandingo Festival (CD, Bibiafrica #97092)
-2001?: Tounkana (CD?, Bibiafrica/Indigo?)
-2002: Les Soeurs Diabate (Mama, Sayon & Sona) - Donkili Diarabi (CD, #pam.406)

SONA DIABATE 20020125 - Paris BBC Session

Enjoy the session, andeat one from my basket!

Mama Diabate - La Biche du Manding (1993, K7)

Hello, back again after some trouble with my cassette player. It didn't work at all, first thought some electrical problem, but finally after opening it, it appeared that the "belt" was of the wheels. So put it back on it's place closed the player and happily everything's working like it should be!!
Now here's another K7 from Guinee by Mama Diabate, La Biche du Manding. To avoid any misunderstanding and for all of you, who like me don't speak french, "la biche" means "hind" (female deer).

Mama Diabate - La Biche du Manding (1993, K7, #AMC011)

Couldn't find a lot of info about our singing "Hind":
Mama Diabate is a Guinean multi-instrumentaliste, born in Bagna in the region of Faranah (see Kerfala Kante). In 1970 Mama Diabate began playing the music we called Sankaran kono (Bird Sankaran). She is the only woman and the only musician artist to be able to play six traditional instruments, among others: bolon, kora, doundoun, dan, balafon, djembe and guitar. She played with the Horoya Band de Kankan and later went solo. She also has performed together with her sisters, Sona and Sayon, as Les Soeurs Diabate, in 2000 they played at the Afrika Festival in Hertme.

Bought this K7 in the early 2000s not in Guinee, but in a 2nd hand shop here in the neighbourhood, and despite the not so acoustic backing really like it.

Here (again) the live recording from the sisters at the Afrika Festival:
Mama, Sayon & Sona Diabate - 2000 live in Hertme


Short discography:
*La Biche du Manding (1993, K7, #AMC011)
issued in 1995 on CD as: Mama Diabate - Koffi Cola Nâ Yo (1995, CD, #pam.oa.205) with different trackorder
*Nambiyo (1994?, K7, AMC #BDGA.9408) (find it here)
*N'na Niwalé (1995, CD) (see comment by NGONI, 2016.Feb.27)
*Les Soeurs Diabate - Donkili Diarabi (Guinean Lovesongs) (2002, CD, #pam.406)
*A Dèdyn (2003, CD/iTunes)

MAMA DIABATE - La Biche du Manding (1993, K7, AMC011)

Tracklist:
a1.Koffi Cola / a2.Djouya / a3.Congben //
b1.Moo Gnoumaba / b2.Yeye Nina / b3.Sabou

And as popular african music informs us: the title track does not advertise a certain soft drink but strongly condemms polygamy, recorded 1993 February in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Enjoy the Sounds of the Hind!!