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  • 01. Kwaku's Thing
    02. Funkum
    03. Iponohinime
    04. Africa
    05. Lovin' You Baby
    06. 200 To 500 Years Ago
    cover

    ANTHONY `REEBOP`KWAKU BAH

    Free The People

    [engl] This is the 1973 solo album by Ghanaian percussionist Anthony Kwaku Bah, who was given the nickname „Reebop“ by American jazz legend Dizzie Gillespie. He passed away early at the age of 39 in Stockholm in 1983, but before made himself a name for his works with UK 70s rock heroes TRAFFIC and German Krautrockers CAN, amongst others. If you might expect here the prototypical Afro Beat and Afro Rock you mostly know from British bands, you will be surprised that this is only one part of the deal. Yes, there are African elements to be found, buried somewhere in this boiling cauldron where polyrhythmic grooves are the base for jazz improvisations by the brass section, that range from naughty swing and bebop, to freaked out free jazz and enchanting soul jazz the way it was popular in the late 60s. The arrangements are utterly lush with so much going on here in every aspect that you would get lost if there was no trace of melody to be discovered, but there they are and they tell you fantastic stories of exotic places that only exist in your wildest dreams. Kwaku Bah’s rhythm patterns grab you by the horns and pull you into a world of their own. Hypnotical, irresistible, hot and vivid. The tunes combine jazz, soul, funk and each one is constructed like a self – contained story. One could imagine these tunes being used as library music for 70s movies from action to romance. All pieces though are characterized by the constantly pulsating rhythm. To avoid drifting into the field of insubstantial disco dance music, the performances witnessed here were executed with the highest possible emotional intensity and dedication. Lay back, close your eyes and float away on a raft of sound upon the wild river of grooves and melodies. Some haunting Exotica jazz passages with a typical „jungle“ feel get thrown in for the good measure. There are even vocals in an African language hard to identify, which create and even more mysterious atmosphere. This is just an introduction part of another powerful speed funk groover but the vocals stay and make this a clear standout track. Saxophone and guitars seem to have a duel here. You will not sit still while having this tune „Iphonohimine“ coming down on you like a thunderstorm. Blues, Afro Beat, Psychedelic Rock, Funk, it can all be found in here and the band goes wild into an everlasting improvisation that deprives you of your breath. Can this record get even better? Do not ask, just enjoy what comes next. If you think that some melodies by the giant brass section sound a bit too catchy just reach out beyond these harmony lines and find yourself in a thicket of grooves, pulsations, bits and pieces of melody with a dense, sultry atmosphere. Some smaller parts might make you think of cruise ship big bands and white suits, but everybody will soon drop these and dance in their underwear for the hot blooded power funk base of the tune called „Africa“, which will take over one’s soul and set it on fire. So clean, so nice and so filthy and dangerous at the same time, this album is a masterpiece of it’s style. The exciting and very sensual funk rock of „Lovin‘ you baby“ with crazy fuzz guitars and a dark and haunting approach is another reason to kneel down when you put this record onto your turntable. Great clean lead guitars give it a latin garage rock edge Carlos Santana would commit serious crimes for. If you love bands like OSIBISA, Eric Burden & WAR, GINGER BAKER AIRFORCE, SANTANA, Miles Davis, all around 1969 to 1973, this is what you always wanted to listen to. Grab your copy now
    Format
    LP
    Release-Datum
    09.11.2020
     
  • 01. Free The People
    02. Treachery
    03. Good People
    04. Express Yourself
    05. Mr. Somebody
    06. You Can Make It If You Try
    07. Akwa Idim
    08. Sugar Node Bitter
    cover

    SEA LIONS

    Free The People

    [engl] The year is 1978 and one hot thing from the musical underground is Reggae music from Jamaica, the USA or UK, where most of the acts had musicians of Caribbean descent. Reggae had the groove, the rebel spirit and the relaxed attitude all in one, to enchant a big part of the world’s inhabitants. And while at least Jamaica as a relatively poor and so called „Third World“ country proved to spawn Reggae acts of highest quality, literally nobody dared to look further and dig deeper into the underground except of a few maniacs who were not satisfied with spinning Marley over and over again. And maybe they stumbled over the 1970s Afro Beat sound from countries like Zambia or Nigeria and then got interested. What did they find in the simmering metropolises of this still mysterious continent? Somewhere in Nigeria they would have certainly caught a glimpse on mind blowing performanes of THE SEA LIONS, a six piece group mixing the then hip Reggae and Afro Beat stylesto generate fresh and furious music with a hypnotizing atmosphere. Polyrhythmic beat patterns build the foundation, the utterly fruitful soil for the heartwarming melodies wailed out by the guitars and the commanding vocals with their conjuring charme. Great organwork builds the link between the groove section and the melody instruments. You can imagine what a pleasant experience this band might have been live back in 1978 when their sole album „Free the people“ got released. And this album, of which copies in only good conditions already fetch prices of 450,00 US$, while nice clean pieces might go up to 1200 US$, lives up to the expectations one might have from watching a live show by the SEA LIONS. The sound is vivid, transparent, powerful and clean enough to make the music a real pleasure listening to, but earthy enough to present nothing but the band going wild here. The songs all have similar pace, not too fast, but swinging and pulsating to spread their energy to and among the listeners. The melodies are simple but come from the depth of the heart. This feels typical for African 70s music and despite being kind of reduced, these melodies keep haunting you still even hours after the record been taken off the turntable and put back into its sleeve. They bring images of an ever pulsating city by night, warm climate, palm trees, people at the bar, a witches cauldron of sounds, smells, voice and pictures. And you feel the magic floating through the air while this groove will not let you go so easily. You can either dance your soul out to this ultimate reissue or you can sit down, listen and let the music tell you a story of the dark corners of the big city, the narrow alleys that lead you into a boiling labyrinth of mystical dreams. And in songs like „You can make it if you try“ you will find the whole magic of the African world, a world so fascinating for us Europeans but still so unapproachable in some ways and dangerous for the weak. Do not try to resist, this is your pleasure. Grab a copy and the SEA LIONS, carry you off to their place. I haven’t heard such a killer Afro Beat and Reggae album with songs this exciting and wild in a long time. If you equally love Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Segun Bucknor and Fela Kuti, look no further. Here is the spiritual essence of all these great artists merged into one giant act.
    Format
    LP
    Release-Datum
    09.11.2020
     
  • 01. Sorrow Sorrow Sorrow
    02. Gbomojo
    03. Son of January 15th
    04. La – La – La
    cover

    SEGUN BUCKNORS REVOLUTION

    Son Of January 15

    [engl] "Segun Bucknor was one of the most important figures in the Nigerian music scene of the 70s, despite having only a brief career with his afrobeat unit which in 1972 released this superb album of which originals usually not turn up at any price. A reissue like this on JET RECORDS therefore is long overdue to enable every woman and man with a fondness for African popular music of the 70s to take a closer listen to this gem and fall in love immediately. What do we get to listen here? Well, the album consists of four lengthy tracks with long instrumental sections that generate a swallowing atmosphere of sheer simmering heat and awakes the primal desire to dance within each and every listener. The first tune „Sorrow sorrow sorrow“ showcases the talents of the band’s brass players with a very prominent lead trumpet and saxophones duelling with each other. In jumps the organ as lead instrument for another long part and despite grooving on repetitive rhythm figures created by bass guitar, drums and percussions with brass instruments and organ adding more intensity to it the solo eruptions and duels in combination with Segun Bucknor’s commanding soulful vocal delivery really brand their progressions, lines and hooks into the listener’s mind. „Gbomojo“ then combines the dark side of the early 60s post bop jazz with a relaxed, yet fidgety beat that draws influences from both, funk and rocksteady. The brass section creates haunting melodies with a goosebump factor. Then the organ freaks out and embarks on a leading part for a moment. More electric jazz comes to the surface as an important influence for Segun Bucknor, who stated Ray Charles as one of his heroes. Well, one of quite some more as it seems. The ongoing groove of the tune and especially the ticking of a special percussion instrument which is very prominent in the arrangement make this a rather hypnotizing affair. This tune is an all out instrumental but trumpet and saxophone take over the lead vocal duties here. Is this what John Coltrane might have emerged into if he was still alive in 1972? Back to his roots but with more of a groovy approach? Who knows? Segun Bucknor did it. The title track that centers around the assassination of the popular Nigerian prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on January 15th 1966 is again a prime example of haunting afro beat that quite obviously differs from the American funk music of the day. The tune is based on a dense polyrhythmical groove network which builds the fruitful soil for the leading brass section to grow a forest of captivating melodies with more of these commanding vocals thrown in, telling about the political situation in Nigeria around those days and how the people overcame the dark period of time. Too much darkness and tragedy might spoil the fun in some way so the closing track with nearly eleven minutes of length titled „La – La – La“ comes as a more enlightened groover with happier lyrics and hot blooded rhythmical base upon which fascinating melodies lead a good life. Again the brass instruments get their solo parts but this is more of a dance track. Again the arrangements are a dense plait of instrumental lines, harmonies, vocals and rhythm figures. It is an utter joy to try to follow each instrument individually in this dense sound. All in all this album really gets you in case you have an affinity for jazz, for funky grooves, for long tracks and for a simmering atmosphere. A classic that still got lost in time to be rediscovered by a new generation of music lovers nearly 50 years after the initial release. Haunting!"
    Format
    LP
    Release-Datum
    18.12.2019
    Format
    CD
    Release-Datum
    18.12.2019
    EAN
    EAN 0710473185080
     
  • 01. Call a spade a spade
    02. Married life
    03. Forgiveness
    04. No wrong show
    05. Love of parents
    06. People in the world"
    cover

    THONY SHORBY NYENWI

    Sweet Funk Music

    [engl] Who said that all Nigerian afrobeat from the 70s was dark and though provoking with a melancholic edge despite the ongoing powerful grooves and a more or less political message denouncing the the methods of the country’s leaders to increase their own wealth and power while the simple people suffer. Well, this 1978 album by bandleader Thony Shorby Nyenwi proves this idea wrong. What we have here is a sacredly rare gem, fetching 300 € for a copy in playable condition. A crown jewel of Nigerian afrobeat and funk music that is an utter joy listening to. Thony Nyenwi's music is a monument of the genre carved in rock. His vocal melodies are more at the lighter and happier side of life, somehow hypnotizing with reduced note progressions on repetitive rhythm figures that rush through your whole body to make you groove along. A fine funky wah wah guitar sound and a mind blowing keyboard sound including electric piano, farfisa organ and others hook up to add colour to the stoic rhythms. The atmosphere literally cooks. This is certainly more modern with a slightly more polished feel than the political music of Fela Kuti or Segun Bucknor, but still bears an unparalleled intensity that makes this album a dance floor sweeper at each club. Coloured lights are flashing into the white haze from the fogging machines when people in glittering bell bottom trousers and twinkling shirts happily get into the groove. 70s galore. Well, the folks can also shift down a gear and rock out a sweet reggae tune that later on turns into a smooth funk, to add more variety to this black wax jewel. No matter what Thony and his mates do here, they do it with passion and divine talent. The arrangements are a dense network of sounds, beats, melodies, voices and it goes on and on throughout the whole record. You as a fan of 1970s black music, funk, reggae, soul, all mixed up in a typical Nigerian way, will be enchanted and become swallowed by the holy cloud emerging from the speakers. A beautiful discovery after such a long time that will bring more joy to a new generation of black music aficionadoes.
    Format
    LP
    Release-Datum
    18.12.2019
    Format
    CD
    Release-Datum
    18.12.2019
    EAN
    EAN 0710473185073