The Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon has spread to Africa, but with a difference. Re-emerging African bands also spent years in recording exile, but returned less with a sense of unclaimed historical import than with a readiness to hit the dance floor. The latest rediscovery is the intense Afropop of Bembeya Jazz. Their new release, titled "Bembeya," relies on complex rhythms that quickly cut through any lingering nostalgia.
Bembeya Jazz was one of the first groups to rise to prominence in Guinea after it gained independence. Many African states in the early 1960s made it a priority to support indigenous art forms as the countries swung from colonialism toward their own style of nationalism. Music was an essential part of that transformation, with big, new bands blending traditional elements into an electric setting. They not only expressed the sense of an emerging culture, but also got potential voters out and dancing. In this era, Bembeya Jazz became one of the most popular groups in West Africa.
In the 1980s, however, after economic downturns, the bands were denationalized, forcing players to find their own sources of funding. Keeping a large, touring dance band together became nearly impossible. Without exposure to the international market, many African acts found it hard to make ends meet. Bembeya's lead guitarist, Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabate, was one of the few to survive on his fame -- which secured him work with other groups in Africa and Europe -- after the group split up in 1988.