Filed under: Algeria
Chab Houcine Chabati – also know as Chabati Le Jeune or simply as Chabati – was born on June 6, 1959 in Chaâbat el Ham, Algeria. His real name was actually Belkacem Bendaoud. This single was records with Groupe El Azhar as his backing band. In the 1980s, he released a cassette that produced and recorded at Studio Rachid et Fethi. He later moved to Givors near Lyon in France – where he lived until his passing.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number N° 0014 on Ennachat of Algeria. No release date listed.
Filed under: India
India is not the first place that comes to mind when you think about Christian Rock, but Christianity is the third largest religious group behind Hinduism and Islam. It’s only about 2.3 percent. But that percentage of the current population of India – roughly 1.4 billion – is still well over 30 million.
The band consisted of Kamy Melvani, Hugh Peters, Lionel Satya and Lawrence Vincent. Other than that, I have not found anything else about the band.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number S/EMPE 101 on EMI of India, released 1981.
Filed under: Trinidad & Tobago
Here’s another artist who only put out one single. The Olympic Firebirds were from Trinidad. The A side is a cover of “The Theme to Love Story” – also know as “Where Do I Begin?” – originally popularized by Andy Williams. The B side is a cover of a Three Dog Night instrumental.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number A-972 on Antillana of Trinidad. No release date listed.
Filed under: Mauritius
♬ Banano
Christian Tossé was from Mauritius. This is his only release. The A side – “Madame Zean” – can be found on the Strut compilation Soul Sok Séga.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number GT 75012 on Green Turtle of Mauritius, released 1977.
Filed under: Laos
♬ K. Viseth / ກ. ວຶເສສ • The Beautiful Land of Xiangkhouang / ຊຽງຂວາງແດນງາມ
♬ Chanhom Panchapharoum / ຈັນທນ໌ຫອມ • Don’t Play Around with Me / ຢ່າມາອໍ້ແອ້
This album is a Laotian compilation of singers with the Vang Vieng Paratroopers Band.
The first artist is K. Viseth / ກ. ວຶເສສ – who we have covered previously. The second is Chanhom Panchapharoum / ຈັນທນ໌ຫອມ ປັນຈະພາຣົມຍ໌ . On the record, she is listed only by her first name – Chanhom / ຈັນທນ໌ຫອມ.
According to an article by Radio Free Asia, Chanhom Panchapharoum got her start with the Luang Prabang Police Band before joining the Vang Vieng Paratroopers Band. The song posted here was her biggest hit. As of the publication of that article, she was living in Vannes in the Brittany region of France.
Many thanks to the ever helpful Peter Doolan of Monrakplengthai for the translations and information.
Released by ວົງດົນຕຣີຣາບອາກາສວັງວຽງ of Vang Vieng, Laos. No catalog number or release date listed.
Filed under: Eritrea
♬ Intezifelit Nere / ኢንተዚፈሊት ነይረ
Much like the mystery of the Kothari Records catalog, Fikre Records also poses many questions. For catalog number FR1, the label was spelled Fikkre. For FR2, Fikre co-released the single with Kothari. And then there’s FRK4. Was the K added to the catalog number because it was also co-released with Kothari? There is no mention of Kothari anywhere on the label. What about FR3? Or was it FRK3? And then there’s this record, which is on Fikre-T. The catalog numbers for this one don’t match up with anything. And where did that T come from? Who knows?
As for Osman Abdurahim… The only information I was able to find was a Spotify listing for his latest single from 2021.
If you have any further information about these artists or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number 2G1KW 16996 / 2G1KW 16997 on Fikre – T Records of Asmara, Eritrea, released 1971.
Filed under: Sri Lanka
Maxie Leonard was from Sri Lanka. What little I have been able to find out about him was from his nephew’s YouTube channel. He apparently released a few singles and dies roughly 20 years ago. But that’s it.
If you have any further information about these artists or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number S. S. 31 on Saraswathi Record of Columbo, Sri Lanka, released 1974.
Filed under: Morocco
♬ Elli Yachak Ezin / اللي يعشق الزين
Haim Abitbol / حايم بيطبول – also seen as Botbol – was a Jewish singer born in Fez, Morocco in 1936. His father Jacob Abitbol was a leader of the malhun musical tradition in Fez. The family name Botbol / Abitbol means “father of the drum” in Darija.
As a young performer, he excelled in various styles, from aita and chaabi to Gharnati and raï. He was a multi-instrumentalist, but excelled with the oud and bendir. With his family – including his father, his brother Marcel on the violin, and his brother Claude on percussion – he formed an ensemble performing classical works and poetry. From 1950, he formed a duo with the Algerian Salim Halali, covering a number of Maghrebi classics. In the 1960s, he incorporated various influences into his music, including malhun, gnawa, salsa, reggae, and funk.
“Elli Yachak Ezin” is a cover of the Spanish rumba “El Porompompero“, first recorded by Manolo Escobar y Sus Guitarras in 1960.
Catalog number MB 281 on Boussiphone of Morocco. No release date listed.
Filed under: Vietnam
Băng Châu was born Nguyễn Thị Xuân Mai on August 1st, 1950 in Bà Rịa which at the time was in the Indochinese Federation – now Vietnam.
In 1969, Bang Chau dropped out of school and went to Saigon. She got her break into show business working with Duy Khánh – who she was rumored to have had an affair with. Her biggest hit was “Qua Cơn Mê” / “Through the Coma” which was written by Trịnh Lâm Ngân. In 1971, Băng Châu starred in the movie Trần Thị Diễm Châu directed by Lê Dân making a big debut in Saigon cinema.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
No catalog number or release date listed. Released on Bón Phương of Glendale, California.
Filed under: Togo
During the years that they were active, Togo’s Orchestre Abass only released five singles. With the three additional unreleased tracks that are on Analog Africa’s “De Bassari Togo” LP, that is a total of 13 songs they recorded. – and most of them are killer. – especially the songs that were released on Polydor of Ghana.
The band was led by Malam Issa Abass who played guitar and organ. This song – which is the B side to “Honan” – is led by one of the band’s songwriters Thon A. Komlan.
Catalog number DC N° 2 on Disques Chic of Dahomey – now Benin. No release date listed.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 
