Fire – Alfred Thonga, 1987

🎵🌟🎸🔥💔 Maurice Foty – from the famous duo Tim & Foty – was behind the Lanceleaux & Foty label, which popularised « pop bikutsi » in the 1980s. The label also saw the emergence of the new wave of Mako-USA, a sort of concentrate of makossa and high-energy disco, mixed with soukous colours. Among the short-lived but highly acclaimed artists, Alfred Thonga exploded onto the scene with his track Fire, which was a big hit in Douala and Yaoundé. His voice is reminiscent of Douleur, and the singer is accompanied by the crème de la crème of Afro-Caribbean music. Michel Alibo is on bass, Valéry Lobé on drums and the guitars are Congolese, played by Diblo Dibala and the late Rigo Star. Yes, the guitarist who cut his teeth with Tabu Ley and Viva La Musica, and who was called upon to play on a host of Afro-Caribbean productions (Kofi Olomidé, Bozi Boziana, Mbilia Bel, Sylviane Cédia, Dominique Panol and dozens of others), passed away yesterday. This is a small publication in the form of a tribute, but we will have many more opportunities to mention his name.