Mysterious Angolan Folk Rockers...

Almost two years ago now, during my time in Portugal, I picked up a mysterious 45 from Angola credited to a group called "Os Gambuzinos" (something akin to "wild geese" (as in chase) in English). The picture sleeve featured 3 Angolans on an electrical tower, in impressive threads: bell bottoms, wide collars. It seemed to be from about '68-'72, an interesting period for Angola, then going through its rebellion against the Portuguese colonial dictatorship.

The A-Side contained one of the strangest foreign recordings I've ever heard-- a sort of folk/rock/mod hybrid, lo-fi but confidently delivered-- you can hear it here:

os gambuzinos - aida

The record is in terrible condition, but the a-side, with its outrageous burst of sax, had me intrigued...

I scoured the internet for information but I could only turn up bits and pieces about the group existing in the early 70's in Angola. Finally today through a google search I came across another recording of the band, once again with a definite fusion of western pop and local sounds (the song itself seems to be a standard of the merengue scene). It comes from a fairly common compilation of Angolan music from the early 70's. As to what happened to these guys or if there's an LP hiding in the vaults somewhere, no sign as yet...

os gambuzinos - kalumba

stay tuned...