Les Groupes d’Animation Féminins du Gabon

By the 1980s Congolese music was enormously popular in most parts of Africa, and artists like Zaiko Langa Langa, Papa Wemba, and Kanda Bongo Man had helped popularize the fast paced, infectious sound of soukous across the continent. In Gabon President Omar Bongo, who had been in power since 1967, understood the immense power of a catchy song, and decided to make soukous part of his propaganda toolbox by creating large female choirs and dance troops dedicated to singing the praises of the regime all over TV and radio. The songs on this Secousse compilation were released between 1982 and 1989 on a state-run label, and show the form soukous took in Gabon, mixing Afrobeat, funk, disco, and local sounds and a heavy dose of politics. On “Abaga Mbouga” for example, disco string arrangements and a funky groove are added to the characteristic Congolese guitars, while on the lovely “Yaya Omar Bongo,” with its infectious sebene (the instrumental climax typical of soukous which encourages people to get to their feet and dance), female singers exalt their president Omar Bongo over razor sharp guitars, a steady 4/4 beat and syncopated bass lines. No wonder Bongo chose this music as his political instrument — even without understanding the language, it’s impossible to be unmoved.