VA - Angola Soundtrack 2: Hypnosis, Distorsions & Other Sonic Innovations 1969​-​1978 (2013)

It’s almost difficult to understand as we sit in relative comfort with all manner of musical devices at our fingertips, listening to what we want, when we want, that some music out there has been made in the most oppressive of circumstances. The music featured on this compilation was made by oppressed musicians in Angola during troubled times when such carnival music was outlawed in the years before the country gained independence from Portugal in the mid-1970s.
Between 1969 and 1978, Angola’s recording industry consisted of three recording companies and between them they managed to produce 800 records, mostly singles, some of which have been hand-picked for this collection, which follows the release of the initial Analog Africa 2010…

…compilation Angola Soundtrack which came with the proclamation ‘Listening to these tracks may cause addiction and provoke heavy rotation!’ in compiler Samy Ben Redjeb’s sleeve notes. Such a health warning should perhaps come with this second instalment too.

The music here is dance music with an infectious optimism, brought about by the anticipation of eventual, if not immediate, emancipation. With a strong sense of community spirit and a positive competitiveness, the musicians on this compilation set out to better each other’s musicianship, with startling results. With the sub-title ‘Hypnosis, Distortions and Other Innovations’, that sense of intimacy and playfulness comes over, as does the common goal of freedom for both musicians and their audience alike. The 21 selections here join the original 18 in a celebration of music from Angola’s troubled past, including artists such as Os Angos, Tony Von, Urbano De Castro and Elias Diá Kimuezo. — Allan Wilkinson Northern Sky