Ozila 2001 – Ozila, 1977

🇬🇳 🎷 🎸 🪩 🌍 In the second half of the seventies, the trend was towards fusion, particularly between tropical music and the contemporary musical currents of the time—rock, disco, jazz… This is precisely what Ozila, an Afro-Caribbean group formed by Guinean Jean Tamegnon (also known as John Ozila), offered, alongside his colleagues Jim Mac Douglas (yes, Douglas Mbida) and Jimmy Mvondo Mvélé, one of the era’s leading brass players. Formed in Marseille, Ozila would not have been the same without the contribution of Jacob Des-Varieux, who made one of his first appearances on record here. In 1977, Ozila 2001 was the group’s sole album, a powerful blend of Afro-rock and disco that could rival any transatlantic production of the genre. The single featured the title track and Honey Honey on the B-side, both irresistible on the dance floor, but one should not overlook Sweet Music, the disco-gospel Jesus, or the Afro-infernal beat of Free People. Unfortunately, the group did not achieve success and disbanded after this album. Nevertheless, several of its members quickly became part of iconic projects, most notably Kassav’.