“I WANT TO TEAR DOWN THE BARRIER THAT SEPARATES AFRICAN MUSIC FROM THE MAINSTREAM. I WANT TO GET INSIDE THAT SPACE AND BRING ENOUGH AFRICAN FLAVOR IN THE ROCK N' ROLL WORLD TO CREATE A DISTINCTIVE SOUND”
- FRANCK BIYONG -
new EP…RADIO MASODA REMIXED
feat. AINT4PERFECT, Yann Jankielewicz
& MAX DOBLHOFF…A CELebration fOR
FELA aNIKIULAPO KUTI’S BIRTHDAY…
out october 15TH 2024
"Leading the charge for a forthcoming remix E.P. of choice tracks from Franck Biyong’s ‘Radio Masoda’ album comes this
dramatically re-envisioned mix of Franck’s gently swaying version of Kenyan Benga legend Daudi Kabaka’s ‘Jela Kubwa Na Viboko’.
A Kenyan producer from a later generation, the mysterious Aint4perfect (AKA Woni Kimani) has deconstructed the original’s
sunshine-infused romance and created a thunderous Afro-Electro beast that could easily have been dropped by Ibiza icon
DJ Alfredo in 1987.
With 12 years as a collaborator of the afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen (also co-composer and director of Tony’s Blue Note masterpiece
‘The Source’), who better than the Paris based saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer Yann Jankielewicz to remix
Franck Biyong’s tribute to the maestro, ‘Oladipo’?
You can really drift along and enjoy these remixes…from unhinged production to 1987 Balearic, solid housey reworks to slow burning
afro trance, these are 4 tunes of brilliant music from across the spectrum and across Afrolectric sonic waves. Big love to our
independent operators for keeping the scene alive and inspiring”
(Justin Turford / Ex-Friendly)
Released on TANGENTIAL MUSIC / Distribution by BELIEVE DIGITAL
new single…OLADIPO
[ Yann Jankielewicz Remix ]
feat. tony allen & chief udoh essiet
out october 9TH 2024
“The stunning original is propelled by Chief Udoh Essiet’s celebratory vocals, pinpoint horns and Tony’s peerless drum patterns but
here Yann fires up the fuel tanks, delivering an unhinged afro-house bomba that will undoubtedly send dancers into a frenzy across
the globe.
The production is HUGE. Some of the original drums remain but the addition of tough digi percussion, wildstyle synths and some
brilliant cut-and-paste guitar witchcraft elevates ‘Oladipo’ into a new realm.
Chief Udoh Essiet’s vocals still proclaim and the horns still stab but the energy shouts dancefloor HIT!”
(Justin Turford / Ex-Friendly)
Released on TANGENTIAL MUSIC / Distribution by BELIEVE DIGITAL
‘RADIO MASODA’… NEW Album
AN AFROsound MUSic library…
OUT summer 2024
“We are delighted to be presenting ‘Radio Masoda’, the brilliant new album by the Cameroonian master musician and composer Franck Biyong. Produced as an inter-African ‘dance’ record and with an impressive list of international collaborators that includes the late Tony Allen, Sandra Nkaké and members of Kwashibu Area Band and Egypt 80, the creative freedom allowed to his guests and world class musicianship make this a genuinely joyful experience.
As Franck explains - “We conceived this album as a tribute to the classic/golden age of African music, and how Congolese rumba served as a bedrock for artists and musicians all across Africa. There is also an "Afro music library" aspect to the record as it presents influences
of many of the African music originators and legends.”
Dedicated to his mentor Manu Dibango, ‘Radio Masoda’ masterfully blends Central Africa’s widely influential Makossa magic with Afrobeat, Congolese rumba and soukous, Ghanaian highlife and other regional styles to create something that sounds both familiar
and fresh.
A highly prolific artist, with over nineteen albums released, Franck has explored decades of African music styles with an historian’s detailed eye and an artist’s need to reinvent.
His deftness at cherry picking what he needs from traditions and blending them together with contemporary production techniques makes this a record for now”
(Justin Turford / Ex-Friendly)
Released on TANGENTIAL MUSIC / Distribution by BELIEVE DIGITAL
SONGLINES MAGAZINE #199
AFRICA SPECIAL july 2024
featuring franck biyonG
“Frustrated by the state of popular African music, Franck Biyong decided to create his own ‘Afrolectric’ sound
inspired by Le Grand Kallé, Fela Kuti, Manu Dibango and the greats of yesteryear. Franck cuts an elegant figure both
on- and off-stage. The tall, bespectacled Cameroonian could pass for the academic professor his parents always hoped he
would become. Certainly, his aesthetic approach towards production, composition and guitar playing has a pedagogic side,
allying explorations of his heritage with a prescient notion of what the musical future holds”
(Interview & Article by Daniel Brown)
Released June 13th 2024
‘MOONWATCHING 2’…NEW ALBUM
AFRICAN ROCK GUITAR HERO
OUT DECEMBER 15th 2023
The brand new album Moonwatching 2 tells a story of self-‐assertion and current societal challenges. And it incorporates
Franck's African musical influences into his style from all his eras. He sounds defiant, loud and proud and it is unmistakable
that his inner, wild lion is fighting with the rigid structures of the Western world.
Franck moves the limitations of African music with “Moonwatching II”, extending the palette of newer sounds
in creative guitar music. As Afropop and Nigeria's Afrobeats are recognized worldwide, African rock is almost missing,
although it’s one of the fundaments of Western rock music.
Is Franck Biyong the African Jimi Hendrix? Well ... Let’s put it this way: “Moonwatching II” combines the abrasive sonics of a James
Blood Ulmer with the melodic structures of early progressive and art-‐rock. So yes, Franck (who by the way never intended to copy
Jimi) naturally deals with similar topics and sounds in his music…
Driven by eerie melancholy, surreal guitars, ghost voices and strong musicianship, the psychedelic music does not get transfigured through the gentle but clear melodic lines. With Moonwatching II, Franck Biyong swaggers from Funkadelic style rock before leading
us to Frippertronics-like sound scapes...
Released on AKHETATON RECORDS / Distribution by BELIEVE DIGITAL
AFRIMA (ALL AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS) UNVEILS NOMINEES LIST FOR 2022 EDITION
Franck Biyong backs two nominations
for rock & jazz categories
The International Executive Committee of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), in conjunction with the African Union
Commission (AUC), on Wednesday September 14, released the official list of nominees for the 2022 edition.
Culled from a total of 9,067 entries submitted- the highest number ever recorded by the awards, since its inception - the AFRIMA
jury selected a total of 382 nominations across 39 categories, to represent all five regions in Africa, as well as in the diaspora.
Importantly, the public voting portal for the 2022 AFRIMA edition would be live on Sunday, 25th September, 2022. Meanwhile, the
2022 All Africa Music Awards will now be held on January 12-15 in 2023. In partnership with the African Union Commission, AFRIMA
is a youth-focused music platform that recognizes and rewards the work and talents of African artistes across generations.
