The spiritual daughter of Francis Bebey, with whom she had sung, Rachel Tchoungui is considered one of the divas of Cameroonian music. Her first hit, Numa Dig, dates back to 1974, but it wasn’t until 1986 that this eponymous album, Rachel, came out, on which she is very well surrounded. On it, the singer reviews Afro-Latin rhythms, moving from makossa to merengué, with her characteristic phrasing, which sometimes has lyrical overtones. Vincent Nguini directs the album and plays guitar, with an impressive brass section featuring Roger Kom, Féfé Priso, Jimmy Mvondo and others. Above all – and this is quite rare on Cameroonian records – it is Paco Séry who officiates on drums, assisted by Jean-Claude Ebongue. These two are obviously masters of their trade, and immerse themselves with relish in the ewondo rhythms of Central and Southern Cameroon, bikutsi and elak – because yes, Rachel Tchoungui also covers Anne-Marie Nzié’s songs, of course. Add to this the fact that the album comes out of Studio Johanna, and that behind the recording is a certain Jacob Desvarieux, assisted by the indispensable Ambroise Voundi…
Rachel – Rachel Tchoungui, 1986
