Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), located on the south bank of the Congo River—a mecca for African music—and Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo on the north bank of the Congo River, which has played a key role in spreading Congolese music across the continent: Congo Funk! was born in these two cities between 1969 and 1982. A labor of love from Analog Africa, which carefully selected 14 tracks from a pool of approximately 2,000 songs.
In 1974, James Brown’s performance at the “Zaire 74” music festival—organized to build excitement for the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman boxing match—had a powerful impact on the youth of Zaire at the time. This inspired young people to take up electric guitars, and from then on, African Rumba evolved into a movement—centered on the younger generation—seeking a new, psychedelic, and funky sound. This album is a valuable record of Congo Funk!, which emerged and developed independently through these circumstances, and serves as a powerful collection of African Rumba, psychedelic funk, and Afro grooves. (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)