Bleep

There’s no shortage of stellar compilations exploring the lost and rare music of 1950s northern and eastern Africa, but few eschew the outsider’s stereotype of Congolese music from the era like Soul Jazz Records’ Congo Revolution. Far more than merely exploding with splendid jazz, funk and latin tones from the divided nation, Congo Revolution documents a crucial moment in Africa’s decolonisation throughout the 20th century, as each thunderous rumba riled moods to fever pitch prior to the Congo’s independence in 1960.