Catalogue       Group                                          A side/B side

Number

AFROL 0101    Orch City-Five                   Cuando Lo Saber/Libongi Na Mama

(Sung by Theo Franck-Lassan

& Charles Senkatuka)

AFROL 0112 Orch City-Five                      Bolingo MT/Alobi Na Ngai Nalimwaki

(Sung by Theo & Ch Senkatuka)

AFROL 0115 Orch City-Five                      Etali Yo Te/Voy La Pindare

(Sung by Theo & Ch Senkatuka)

AFROL 0130 Orch City-Five                     Zonga Cherie/Gondosiana

(Sung by Theo & Charles Senkatuka)

AFROL 0139 Orch City-Five                      Mobembo Na Air-Congo/Air-Congo Mobembo Mokuse

AFROL 0139 is from Cheeku’s collection and the others from Ebay. Orch City-Five are clearly Congolese, especially given Mobembo Na Air-Congo’s hefty plug for an airline with one of the world’s worst safety records, and the records most likely date from the 1960s.

Were they pressed in Kenya? I’ve seen them described as being from Kenya, France and Belgium by Ebay sellers. Because of the BIEM logo on the label I reckon they are European as BIEM is the umbrella organisation for mechanical rights societies and neither Kenya nor the Congo are members. By rights, then, they don’t belong in this discography but I’ll keep them in as it would be good to discover more about the band.

A fuller discussion on the history of the band can be found on the World Service blog here.