https://youtu.be/BJ1jBUHGwto
https://youtu.be/dvijoOy8U0w
https://youtu.be/zPgDtzjtHDw

Following the acclaimed 2017 vinyl reissue of the Noir et Blanc album, we’re excited to present a special edition of Zazou Bikaye’s second record, Mr. Manager, which only ever came out on vinyl, in 1985. This edition comprises nine additional tracks, including six previously-unreleased recordings, and three which were only included on limited-edition singles.

Stemming from the encounter between Congolese vocalist/composer Bony Bikaye, French musician/producer Hector Zazou and modular synth wizards CY1, Zazou Bikaye made history with their debut, cult album Noir et Blanc (1983), a groundbreaking Afro/electronic experiment which has been adulated to this day by generations of music fans and musicians.
In 1984, after the release of Noir et Blanc, Zazou Bikaye turned into a proper band, and started developing their own special brand of digital Afrobeat/Afrofunk. Hector Zazou took on the task of writing and programming the music, and Bony Bikaye expanded on the more extrovert side of his vocal styles. They set out to record a large number of tracks, five of which came out in 1985 as Mr. Manager, a 32-minute mini-album.

The record was acclaimed when it came out on Crammed (see press quotes excerpts below), and it also benefited from domestic releases in Japan, and in the US (on Mark Kamins’ Pow Wow label). Zazou Bikaye played concerts around Europe, and did a memorable couple of shows in New York. Two of the tracks from Mr. Manager (Angel and Nostalgie) became underground club hits in the US and Europe.

As for the rest of the tracks which were recorded at the same time (with additional sessions in 1986), they were intended to come out on a full-length album. But Zazou Bikaye moved on and eventually recorded and released the Guilty album (1988). So several cuts were left aside, unfinished. Only a couple of them ever came out, in remix form. We have rediscovered some of these forgotten recordings, which t.......
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