Jeanine Claës, Aziz N’Diaye, Philippe Lincy — Soleil : “Rythme Et Danse”
Hello diggers!
Today I’m excited to bring you a particularly interesting album: “Soleil: Rythme Et Danse”, produced by Jeanine Claës, Aziz N’Diaye & Philippe Lincy, and released on the French label JC 5947–1 Records in 1980.
This LP is all about quality African-inspired rhythms, with a selection of songs featuring unique percussive grooves played on traditional drums like the djembé, tama, congas and bongos.
The record was originally created for students of dance — including a new wave of French actresses such as Isabelle Adjani, Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Valérie Kaprisky — who participated in a series of sold-out classes at the American Centre in Paris, led by dancer-choreographer Jeanine Claës during the 1970s and ‘80s.
During that era, Claës started a revolution by launching an African expression dance class with the support of some of the best drummers in the genre, the likes of Boubacar Badji, Sidiki, Amara Soumah, Fodé Cissé, Marcus Dramé and Bourama Kouyaté. All talented musicians and members of the Grands Ballets d’Afrique Noire exiled in Paris.
With a lot of their traditional sounds not very well-known or popular in Western Europe at the time, the group had to convince several conservators of the American Center to get their works accepted.
Fortunately for us, they succeeded, and were allowed to produce the six tracks recorded on this album.
If African music, percussion-filled rhythms and rare grooves are your jam, “Soleil : Rythme Et Danse” might just be your discovery of the day!
Happy listening!
Discover more great grooves and help preserve our global musical heritage at www.kollektivx.com.
