Midi, Maxi & Efti - Midi, Maxi & Efti (1992)

Midi, Maxi & Efti were a very curious and very brief pop act from the early 1990s. It consisted of three 16 year old African girls, twin sisters Midi & Maxi Berhanu from Ethiopia and Freweyni "Efti" Teclehaimanot from Eritrea. Separately the twins and Efti moved to Sweden with their parents, and they lived and met in the same Stockholm suburb. Somehow they were discovered by Alexander Bard, then best known as the mastermind behind bizarre pop group Army Of Lovers. He and his partner in crime Anders Wollbeck (they would eventually form the group Vacuum together) decided to write and produce an album for the girls, even though they displayed no vocal talent whatsoever. LOL But with fellow Swede act Dr. Alban having success with his ragga-pop and Ace Of Base, also Swedes, getting ready to release their equally catchy (and soon to be popular) reggae-pop, the climate seemed right for just such an act, and the girls were cute to boot! The single "Bad Bad Boys" was released to limited success in Sweden. But that success was apparently enough to get the attention of Columbia Records in the US, who signed them immediately, as unlikely as that would seem. The track got some attention in North America thanks to it's inclusion on the Beavis & Butthead television show and the soundtrack for the movie Untamed Heart. Another single, "Masenko", was featured on the soundtrack for the Michael J. Fox film For Love Or Money. They released a third single, "Ragga Steady", but it, like their other singles and album, remained a novelty, and the girls soon broke up after a quick tour. All I can find of their whereabouts now is that Midi & Maxi live in England, and Efti is still in Sweden, getting ready to release a solo album! We can only hope!

Video for Bad Bad Boys (Version1)

Video for Bad Bad Boys (Version 2)

Video for Ragga Steady

Download Midi, Maxi & Efti

1		Ragga Steady
2		Poppadink Tribe
3		Masenko
4		Basement Boyfriend
5		I Got Riddim
6		Go Girlie Go
7		Culture Of Youth
8		Bad Bad Boys
9		Jamma On Da Savannah
10		You Can Make It
11		Sisterhood Of Africa
12		Ragga Steady Dub

Lamya - Learning From Falling (2002)

Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to see most of the artists featured here perform during their 'heydey'. Lamya, however, is one whom I did have the pleasure of seeing live. Upon arriving in San Francisco I noticed in the local paper that Lamya was performing a short set at Tower Records. I raced down to Tower just in time to see this exotic beauty perform, singing with the voice of an angel and pounding two large drums! She was singing "Empires", the most successful single off of her album. It was a great performance and she was a delight. Lamya moved from Egypt to New York, apparently being inspired by a TV interview with Madonna. She was soon asked to sing with Soul II Soul, and then did back-up for Duran Duran and David Bowie, among others. She was signed to a major label and the hype machine went into overdrive. Every magazine and TV show was interviewing her, before she'd even released anything, focusing on her exotic looks and opera-trained voice. After being remixed, "Empires" became a huge dance hit. Two other singles, "Black Mona Lisa" and "Never Enough" failed to generate the same heat, though, and critics were disappointed with the album. No album could have lived up to that much hype, and it's genre-defying music (think eclectic electronic soul) seemed to scare the public away as well. She has laid low since, but I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing more of her at some point in the future. You can't keep a good woman down!

**UPDATE: Sad news. The beautiful and talented Lamya died on January 8, 2009, of a heart attack. She was only 35! She was planning on releasing a new album in 2009, but unfortunately it may never be released. Very sad indeed, but we will remember her with fondness and I will cherish that I actually got to see her perform live. R.I.P. beautiful lady. Go HERE for more.

Video for Empires

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1		Empires
2		East Of Anywhere
3		Black Mona Lisa
4		Never Enough
5		Judas Kiss
6		Full Frontal Fridays
7		I Get Cravings
8		Splitting Atoms
9		Never Such A Long Time
10		The Woman Who
11		Perfect Girl
12		Pink Moon

Los Umbrellos - Flamenco Funk (1998)

Here is an act that I actually saw in person during their heyday - not performing, but signing the wall at Toronto's most celebrated record store, Sam The Record Man. Two gargantuan girls in brightly coloured knee-high boots and cowboy hats were kind of hard to miss. I didn't really know who they were, but I grabbed this CD for $1 years later and soon found out. The album was produced by a crew that were primarily known for making euro-house music. That's what I expected from this album. Instead, it sticks pretty closely to what the album title suggests. A man (African Al Agami) rhymes verses in a fake Jamaican accent while two ladies (Danes Mai Britt Grondahl & Grith Höifeldt) sing the choruses in often fake Spanish accents, while the music incorporates pop, latin, funk, ragga, hip hop, R&B and a host of other styles. The mix resulted in their first single, "No Tengo Dinero" (unfortunately not a cover of the Righeira italo disco classic), almost making it into the Billboard Top 40 and becoming a hit worldwide. Alas, a sound so unique and, yes, so cheesy would not leave much hope for a follow-up, and their subsequent singles "Gigolo", "Easy Come Easy Go" and a remake of The Cars' "Drive" (!?) did not fare near as well. But it was fun while it lasted!

Video for No Tengo Dinero

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1		Sweep
2		Easy Come, Easy Go
3		No Tengo Dinero
4		Flamenco Funk
5		Drive
6		Road To Carlos
7		Running
8		Gigolo
9		Obsession
10		Little Locolito

Ya Kid K - One World Nation (The Kids Shall Overcome) (1992)

Surely everyone knows Ya Kid K (aka Manuela Kamosi), lead vocalist for eurohouse innovators Technotronic. And surely everyone knows that after their first album, she left the group to pursue a solo career. Her first solo track was "Awesome (You Are My Hero)" from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack in 1991, and it became a minor hit in the UK. A year later Technotronic's "Move This" was used for a Revlon commercial in North America and brought the group back to the top of the charts. Even though Ya Kid K was no longer a member, she got a "featuring" credit and appeared prominently in the video (unlike Technotronic's first hit, "Pump Up The Jam", where her vocals were credited to model Felly, who also appeared in the video in her place). This success led to an album deal with SBK Records. "Move This" was featured on the album, but this inclusion did little to garner interest in it. Which is too bad, because had people picked it up, they would have discovered an album with much to offer, with pop, house, techno and hip hop songs aplenty. Backed by a bunch of popular producers, including Technotronic's Jo Bogaert, Gail "Sky" King, Dan Hartman, Biz Markie and the lady herself, the album is a fun, danceable mix of singing and rapping. "Let This Housebeat Drop" (featuring a hot vocal by Lonnie Gordon) and "That Man" were released as singles but failed to make much of an impact and she was dropped from the label. A couple years later she rejoined Technotronic (along with previous postee Daisy Dee) for their album Recall, and was the featured vocalist on their first single from the album, "Move It To The Rhythm". The album was nowhere near the success of their debut, unfortunately, and this new version of the group disbanded. Ya Kid K released a couple more singles over the years, and popped up on occasional Technotronic singles, but she has yet to return to the spotlight she deserves. She still occasionally performs with her sister Karoline, however, who has achieved great success as a pop-rap solo artist in Europe under the moniker Leki. Check her out, she's amazing!

Video for Move This

Video for Let This Housebeat Drop

Download One World Nation (The Kids Shall Overcome)

1		Move This
2		One World Nation
3		That Man
4		Jump It Out
5		You Told Me Sex
6		Come Back Home
7		Let This Housebeat Drop
8		Life
9		Break It Down
10		Risky Business
11		Melt In My Arms
12		Question Of Why
13		Let This Housebeat Drop (French Version)
14		Come Back Home (French Version)

Qkumba Zoo - Wake Up & Dream (1996)

Qkumba Zoo were an eclectic duo, Owl and Levannah, from South Africa. (Actually, they were presented as a trio, but 'member' Tziki is credited only with 'energy' in the liner notes, so her contribution seems minimal at best). Their music was an odd mix of tribal-ish beats and vocals, obviously influenced by their homeland, and euro-house beats. They released this album, then titled Big, independently in South Africa, but were soon snatched up by a major label in North America looking to capitalize on the euro-house and world music crazes, and the album was repackaged and renamed. The first single "The Child (Inside)" set North American dancefloors on fire and reached number one on Billboard's dance charts (thanks to mixes by Junior Vasquez and the Berman Brothers), and even reached the Hot 100. But the sound was perhaps a bit too eclectic (a whole album of this sort of thing does wear a bit thin), and although they did release a more downbeat second single,"Cloud Eyes (I'm Scared, You're Scared)", they never had another hit. They released another album independently as QZoo, and then recorded years later as Innaskinz, but to little interest.

UPDATE: Just got a message from Owl. No offense intended friend. :) Here it is:

"So, there I was surfing the net, and I came across you illegally putting up my album for free download, and saying something about "wearing a bit thin". Perhaps I could forgive these indiscretions if you blogged about our latest album: www.qkumbazoo.bandcamp.com. Take a listen to these songs: "http://soundcloud.com/qkumba-zoo/let-the-light-in", and "http://soundcloud.com/qkumba-zoo/torn-between-you-and-the-sky". Cheers :) Owl, from Qkumba Zoo www.qkumbazoo.co.za"

UPDATE #2: Owl wrote again and would like me to share the following: "Hi Nasty G. Owl here, from Qkumba Zoo again. Perhaps you could mention that both "Wake Up & Dream", and "Letthelightin" are now available on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon etc. Thanks a mil!!"

Video for The Child (Inside)

Video for Cloud Eyes (I'm Scared, You're Scared)

Download Wake Up & Dream

1		Rain
2		The Child (Inside)
3		Cloud Eyes (I'm Scared, You're Scared)
4		Flesh And Blood
5		Big
6		Into The Night
7		Weeping
8		Mermaids
9		Happy Earthday
10		Time Of Wonder
11		Big Mothership