OSIBISA RELEASE FIRST NEW MUSIC IN TWO DECADES

Godfathers of Afro-rock, and the first ever black band to make it at The Marquee Club, unveil the first single from their new album, exactly 45 years since their debut UK chart hit ‘Sunshine Day’**. A tribute to Manu Dibango, who died of Covid last March, ‘Douala’ is a celebration of life during these isolating times.

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Osibisa* are back! Almighty global godfathers of Afro-Rock for over half a century, and the first black band to ever break The Marquee Club exactly 50 years ago (1971) – announce their first new single in over two decades. ‘Douala’ released 5 March, is taken from their new album ‘New Dawn’ (out 23 April). With the ink still drying on the band’s new poignant record deal with Marquee Records, it’s the first new fresh music to come from the band in two-decades (and on a major label in over 30 years).

Vibrant, upbeat and oozing with utter joy, ‘Douala’ is the much needed burst of happiness that we’re all grappling for during these pandemic days. A tribute and celebration of the life of legendary Cameroon musician, Manu Dibango, who died of Covid on 24 March last year (and who’s world-wide hit, ‘Soul Makossa,’ was covered by the likes of Rihanna, Arthur Baker and Michael Jackson), ‘Douala’ is a jab of sheer joy. Written by Osibisa’s, Gregg Kofi Brown and Kari Bannerman, ‘Douala’ bursts into life with Osibisa’s signature eclectic vibe, fused with big band instrumentation, woven with flecks of that Afro-rock beat that we’ve all come to expect from these icons; with the added surprise of the band’s new female vocalists. Brown and Bannerman were inspired by ex Osibisa bassist, Jean Dikoto Mandengue, when writing the song. Douala was Jean’s hometown and his vibrant humour and personality resonated strongly during the songwriting process on this track. The first single lifted from the new album, ‘Douala’ celebrates the core essence of life.

‘Douala’ hot foots the band’s first new album in two-decades, ‘New Dawn’. Reformed, revamped and reinvigorated, Osibisa of 202I, takes flight from their pioneering Afro-rock ties of old. With a collection of x14 original new songs, ‘New Dawn’ is undoubtedly the strongest, most vibrant Osibisa sound to date, as it delivers a richer, more eclectic diversity of music than we’ve ever heard before from these icons. Written predominantly by Robert Bailey and Gregg Kofi Brown, ‘New Dawn’ is Osibisa's first album to be distributed by a major label (Universal) in over 30 years.

The single ‘Douala’ is released on Marquee Records/Right Track Universal on March 5. The album ‘New Dawn’ is released on the same label on April 23.

About

Editor’s Notes:

Osibisa are a Ghanaian Afro Rock band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians.

Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, funk, rock, Latin, and R&B and highlife. They were originally signed to MCA Records.

Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in London, alongside such contemporaries as Assagai, Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Demon Fuzz, and Noir, and were largely responsible for the establishment of world music as a marketable genre.

**Sunshine Day was a track originally released on the 1976 Welcome Home album on Bronze

Records. It reached No. 17 in the UK charts in January of the same year.

Source The PR Stable

February 17, 2021 5:48am ET by The PR Stable  

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