Universal Music Group East Africa has taken another major step in preserving, celebrating, and reintroducing East Africa’s rich musical heritage with the acquisition of Melodica’s extensive catalogue of golden oldies.
Following its acquisition of AI catalogue music, UMG East Africa has now made a bold move by acquiring Melodica’s large and diverse catalogue, which features some of the region’s most iconic classic bands and artists, including Orchestra Grand Piza, Angora Youngstars, Orchestra Sentima, Congo International, and many more.
The catalogue represents an important era in East African music, capturing the sounds of the 1980s when Lingala and Benga dominated the streets, dance halls, radio stations, and live performance spaces across the region. From Congo through Zambia to Kenya, bands brought people together through unforgettable rhythms, live instrumentation, and timeless storytelling.
Many of these recordings are yet to be digitized, making this acquisition a key milestone in UMG East Africa’s mission to preserve classic African music and make it accessible to a new generation of listeners. Through digitization and re-release, the music will introduce younger audiences to the golden era of East African sound while giving older generations a nostalgic reminder of a time when live bands shaped the cultural heartbeat of the region.
As part of this new chapter, UMG East Africa is proud to announce the release of “Mandalala” by L’Orchestra Grand Piza, a single that marks a new phase for the Kenyan music industry and the wider East African catalogue space. Orchestre Grand Piza holds an important place in the history of Lingala and Congolese-influenced music in East Africa. Associated with the Bana Moja and Diabim labels, the band became part of a vibrant 1970s and 1980s music movement that connected Congolese sounds with audiences across Kenya and Uganda.
Orchestra Grand piza Spotify
Orchestra Grand Piza Apple Music
Their single “Mandalala,” originally released on the Bana Moja label and manufactured by Melodica Music Stores in Nairobi, remains one of the standout recordings from this era, with Makengo Roy credited as songwriter.With the release of “Mandalala”, UMG East Africa continues to bridge the past and present, bringing timeless music back to audiences across streaming platforms while honoring the roots of East African popular music.
