"Malaika" / "Consuela Biaz" is a double A-side single by German band

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

and the first single taken from their fifth album ''

Boonoonoonoos ''Boonoonoonoos'' is the fifth studio album by Boney M., released in September 1981. Background Despite producer Frank Farian having announced by the end of 1979 that Boney M. were to take a break, recording sessions for a new album began in the ...

'' (1981). It peaked at #13 in the German charts, their lowest placing so far after their commercial breakthrough. Boney M. would use the double A-side format in this period, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. "Consuela Biaz" was first promoted as the A-side in Germany where the group performed it in pop show

Musikladen ''Der Musikladen'' (german: The Music Shop) was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s '' Beat-Club'' under a new name, and in turn was replaced by ''Extratour'' ...

. After a promotional visit to Spain where the group found "Malaika" had become a Top 10 hit, the title was remixed and then promoted as the A-side. It was the second consecutive Boney M. single not to be released in the UK and Japan.

Malaika

The original German and Spanish 4:30 single mix featured no percussion ad-libs and most notably, after the second verse it has a key-change to a drum / handclaps / a cappella chant before the song quickly fades. When producer Frank Farian remixed the song for the 12" single and a new 7" edit, he added more percussion and synth and deleted this key-change part and replaced with an outro with himself singing "Wimoweh, wimoweh" (deliberately borrowed from another African tune "

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").
Lead Vocal:

Liz Mitchell Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pul ...

. Backing Vocals: Liz Mitchell,

Marcia Barrett Marcia Barrett (born 14 October 1948) is a Jamaican-British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M. Early years Barrett was born in Saint Catherine Parish, British Jamaica; her parents brought her to Croydon, En ...

, Frank Farian,

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(Cathy Bartney, Patricia Shockley, Madeleine Davis).

Consuela Biaz

A ballad story of a fictional character. A slightly different mix appeared on the original pressings, most notably including the line ''Tell me, is our dream about to end'', sung by Frank Farian just before the second verse. The full remixed second version (5:20) appeared only on the Hungarian 7" single and the French 12" single until it was finally issued on ''

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'' in 2008. A 4:57 edit appeared on most single versions.
Lead Vocal: Liz Mitchell. Backing Vocals: Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett, Frank Farian.

Releases

7" Single * "Consuela Biaz" (Early version) - 5:05 / "Malaika" (Original single mix) - 4:30 (Hansa 103 350-100, Germany) * "Malaika" (Single remix) - 5:02 / "Consuela Biaz" (Single remix) - 4:57 (Hansa 103 350-100, Germany) * "Malaika" (Single remix) - 5:02 / "Consuela Biaz" (Unedited single remix) - 5:20 (

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SPSK 70518, Hungary) 12" Single * "Malaika" (Long Version) - 5:42 / "Consuela Biaz" (Single remix) - 4:57 (Hansa 600 400-213, Germany)

References

{{authority control 1981 singles Boney M. songs Hansa Records singles Songs written by Frank Farian 1981 songs