[engl] It takes a lot of swag to wear a hat as big as the hat that I.G. wears on the cover of Bomp. But I.G., a.k.a. Bobby I.G., a.k.a. I.G. New Yorker, had swag by the bucket load. That hat tells you everything you need to know about I.G. and, indeed, about Bomp – it’s a big funky slice of Nigerian cowboy disco magic. I.G. was a player in the thriving Enugu boogie scene, a scene, in the east of the country, that also produced Goddy Oku and William Onyeabor. With Mr Mighty Flames, Willie N’For on bass, Austin Onwurah on drums and all the bells and whistles of the Godiac Studios close at hand, a Nigerian disco classic was inevitable. ‘Disco Bomp’ and ‘Disco Power’ are straight-ahead floor-fillers. ‘Funk ina Ghatto’ has a slower, dirtier groove. ‘World of Misery’ takes a slight calypso reggae detour, before ‘Take Me Home’ brings it on home, with an unabashed plea for ‘loving’ and some delightfully wonky synth lines from another Mighty Flame, Frankie Song. Bomp was I.G.’s only album. It’s a startling one-off disco boogie classic that was clear in its ambition and perfect in its execution. A bit like the hat, really.

[engl] In 1977 Jake Sollo returned to Nigeria to record his first solo album, Coming Home. His long-term band, The Funkees, had imploded in London. And his big break with the Afro super band, Osibisa, was cut short when he went on strike with Kiki Gyan and promptly got sacked. Rather than sit at a bar and feel sorry for himself, Jake returned to Nigeria and got his mates together – including the aforementioned Mr. Gyan – and headed into the EMI studios in Lagos. The result was Coming Home, a triumphant album that combined the raw power of The Funkees with the slick tricks he learned in London. The opening instrumental, '404', is the track Carlos Santana would have recorded if he'd been born in Nigeria rather than Mexico. 'Raise Your Hands' and 'I Just Wanna Dance' are slick boogie monsters and 'Deiyo Deiyo' sees Jake displaying some mad synth skills on Africa's only Prophet-5, a hot piece of hardware that was transforming music in Europe and America. Coming Home is the sound of an artist at the heights of his power. And a precursor of the skills and sounds that would make Sollo the most sought after producer in Nigeria.

[engl] Jembaa Groove is a Berlin based Afro-Soul group founded in late 2020 by Yannick Nolting (Bass, Composer, Producer) and Eric Owusu (vocals, percussion, songwriter). They first met fortuitously at a playground in Berlin early 2020 whilst collecting their young sons from kindergarden and soon after realised they were onto something special. Speaking the same musical language, the two musical nomads quickly realized the fruitful outcome of their musical encounter. Digging deep into both their backgrounds and musical identities, they came up with a new and yet authentic vibe ready to be spread across the world. After seeking for the right companions for the upcoming journey and stumbling on a few of Berlin’s finest musicians, they finally formed Jembaa Groove, a 7-piece band that combines jazzy sounds from Berlin’s uprising underground music scene with traditional West-African sounds from Ghana and Mali, such as Highlife, Adowa and Wassoulou. The music of Jembaa Groove is as much influenced by the soulful rhythms and baritone chords of 70’s black America and contemporary artists like Lee Fields and Ikebe Shakedown, as it is by highlife artists such as Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas, with whom Eric has been touring and recording for many years. Garnering a smattering of support from the media world like KEXP, KCRW, Worldwide FM, Rinse FM,WDR Cosmo and enough stations round the world off the back of their “Bassa Bassa” track, Jembaa Groove are causing a storm with their hybrid West African meets US soul & jazz sound.

[engl] He was Nigerian guitar God, famous for his incendiary lead breaks with Aktion and Monomono. She was one of Nigeria’s first female band leader who went off to the US and became a big deal in the New Jazz scene there. It should be no surprise then that when Jimi Lee and Monah Finnih got together in 1980 for A Stroll In The Moonlight, an Afro Jazz cosmic funk masterpiece was born. Intricately arranged, beautifully produced and showcasing musicianship of the highest order, A Stroll In The Moonlight was a notch above anything else that was coming out of Nigeria at the time. “I Love Myself” is the perfect amalgam of a tight, horn-driven Lagos groove and an American New Jazz sheen. “People of the World” is pure Afro Funk, brightened by Jimi Lee’s sunny, twangy guitar. “Son of A Man” brings reggae to the table and “Iya Alakara” is a Lijadu Sisters style cosmic paean to beefcakes and plantains. Taking a stroll with Nigerian music’s oddest couple is a slinky, funky affair that comes highly recommended, but be warned: You’ll work up a sweat.

[engl] Jungle Juice is a paean to the redemptive powers of boogie – a slab of New York ghetto grooves getting its freak on in the jungles of Africa. Joe Kemfa promises a magical party and that's what you get - from the straight-ahead party grooves of ‘Jungle Magic Music’ to the more slinky and sinuous ‘Jungle Juice.’ Hailing from Warra in Nigeria's Delta region, Joe Kemfa made his name with The Junkers and the Don Bruce Band. He recorded a few singles with Larry Ifedioranma from Ofo The Rock Company before disappearing to Europe. He returned in 1978 with two Germans in tow and, together with Cameroonian drummer Ali Ringo, they formed Aura, Joe's backing band on Jungle Juice. The best tracks are the freakiest. ‘I Got To Make It’ bemoans the cost of living, before becoming a stoned plea to the Lenleys, Joe’s very own Lijadu Sisters, to boogie it on a Saturday night. Freaky and funky, Jungle Juice is the sound of James Brown and Parliament jamming after a night on some nasty Delta home brew. One listen and you’ll want to get your hands on some Jungle Juice too.

[engl] Calling all students of late 70s Nigerian Boogie. Class is in and you?re about to get schooled by music professor Josephine Mokwunyei, aka Joe Moks. Spotted by legendary producer, Odion Iruoje, and nurtured by his protege, Alex Tony Okoroji, Joe Moks pioneered a wonky, hi-tech style of funk that would become the sound of 80s Nigeria. Her album Boys And Girls is brash, bouncy and fun, decorated by scatty synth lines and propelled by the ?magic hand claps? of Nigerian rhythm legends Steve Black, Goddy Igidigi and Ifi Okwechime. The title track and ?You Look Without Seeing? are spaced-out party starters. ?Closer Than Skin? boasts a super slinky bass line and ?Love Is Gonna Pay? is a slice of Bony M Euro pop. And, just beneath the froth, strong intelligent lyrics demanding respect and equality. ?Being In Love Is Being Involved? was the blueprint of new kind of relationship Nigerian women were looking for. Joe Moks only made one album. She made a few appearances on Victor Uwaifo?s TV show before becoming a professor of Music and Theatre Arts at the University of Benin. But forty years on, Boys And Girls remains a lesson in fun and intelligent Nigerian boogie. - Peter Moore, www.africanrevolutions.com

[engl] In 1974, a brash young designer called Augustus Kerry Taylor had an idea. He'd gather together the hottest musicians in Ghana and record an album of the heaviest and funkiest sounds coming out of America. And this time, he wouldn't just design the cover, like he'd done with Fela Kuti, he'd even release it on his new label, Emporium, as well. Local Accra legends Joe Wellington, Jagger Botchway, Leslie Addy, Officer Toro, Oko Ringo, Soldier and Steve answered the call. They were christened the Kelenkye Band and gelled immediately. Moving World, is a funky, disparate album that exudes a rare warmth, enthusiasm and togetherness. 'Moving World' and 'Brotherhood of Man' are hard, grinding funk. 'Jungle Music' has a more soulful groove. There's also a bit of reggae, 'Dracula Dance', and old-skool highlife, 'Wale Tobite'. Accra's leading DJ, Charlie Sam, declared his mind 'well and truly boggled.' The Kelenkye Band never recorded another album. Augustus Kerry Taylor shut down Emporium and went back to designing album covers. But in Moving World they delivered a perfect moment of funk alchemy that has rightly become the Holy Grail of 70's Ghanian groove.

[engl] Kiki Gyan’s star didn’t burn long, but it burned bright. Drafted into the Afro funk super group, Osibisa, at 15, he was millionaire by 18 and regarded as one of the best keyboardists in the world by 21. ‘Life was good, man,’ he told journalist Kweku Sakyi-Addo. ‘Too good!’. In 1983 he dived head first into the New York party scene. He took a lot of drugs, spent a lot of time in clubs and got together a team of crack local musicians to record Feelin’ Alright, his third and final solo album. All the Kiki Gyan trademark elements are present and correct. The album is unique a blend of highlife music with electronic funk and disco. ‘Rosemary’ follows the formula most closely and was a hit across Nigeria and Ghana. But on ‘Give It To Me’, ‘Love To Love You’ and the title track, you’ll hear a slicker, boogie-influenced sound that has made Feelin’ Alright one of his most sought-after albums. Kiki Gyan would never hit such heights again. His addictions eventually took hold and he died aged 47, destitute and alone. Feelin’ Alright remains one of the brightest stars in his extraordinary constellation.

[engl] First time reissued on CD! This is in fact more than just a rare record and definitely more than just a vinyl share for insatiable collectors who only judge a record by it's monetary value. This is a prime example of overflowing talent coupled with a simmering passion for music and the hunger for life right at the moment. The story begins on Jue 7th 1957 in a small Ghanaian village where Kofi Kwarko Gyan, nicknamed Kiki, was born into a middle class family. Soon his talent as a musician began to show when he started taking piano lessions by the age of 5 and went professional by the age of 12. He dropped out of school shortly after and began living a life on the road with regional Ghanaian bands. One trip abroad took him to London in the early 70s where his career received a giant push at the age of 15. He joined afro rock legends OSIBISA in 1972 as their new keyboardist after his predecessor had left the band. By the mid 70s Kiki Gyan had played with OSIBISA to giant audiences allover the world and met personalities from the international music scene such as Elton John and Mick Jagger. He was not only a steady keyboardist for OSIBISA but also a very popular session man for fellow African bands and musicians, among them OFEGE from Nigeria. He released a couple of solo albums and we take a closer look now at his second effort from 1979, “Feeling so good”. The music keeps what the title promises as this is a delightful example of joy manifesting in music. Everything is bright here, the grooves are complex and powerful, yet always accessible. The harmonies enchant you with their friendly approach. The African sun shines from each note played on this record. Gyan mixes Western disco sounds, funk, African traditional chants and reggae sounds into an ever flowing groove music that has lot's of melody and mesmerizes by the swirling percussion patterns. “Feeling so good” is an equally physical and spiritual affair and contains six lengthy tunes. Tunes that live from the tight interplay of all instruments, the crisp, clear and powerful production and a wild and steaming atmosphere. Kiki Gyan was on the step of entering the 'Hall of Legends' like Stevie Wonder did, to whom he often got compared to. His legacy remains huge, not only for African music but for all black music that ruled the early disco scene in the 70s and whose popularity is still at full blossom. Next to Fela Kuti and Geraldo Pino, Kiki Gyan can be called a true force in African pop music of the 70s!

[engl] Rare Philadelphia Tribal Afro-funk private pressing // - First vinyl reissue since 1974 // - Remastered from the original tapes // - Deluxe 180g vinyl edition (available on both black and clear vinyl) // - Limited to 500 copies, comes with obi strip & insert/liner notes // Malaku 'Daku' Thompson (born Philadelphia 1943, died 2004) was an amazing artist who was deeply involved in percussion and Africanism. Malaku was mostly active in the 70s, producing-recording music and performing percussion at African themed rallies. During the Pan African struggles of the 1970's Malaku changed his last name from Thompson to 'Daku'. Malaku Daku (who was deeply involved in his community) went on to become a teacher and writer of several children's books. During the mid 70s Malaku recorded and produced the album Love Drums From The Ghetto, an album that truly showed off his skills as an artistic genius. With this album Malaku Daku delivered an important contribution to the never-ending rich heritage that is African American music. When you listen to (and feel) these exploding pulsations and rhythmic-melodic drumbeats you have to realize that just one man is playing both the top and bottom drumbeats on no less than 8 congas at the same time! Traditionally, the drum was the heartbeat, the soul of most African communities. Drums have been an intrinsic part of African life for centuries and for countless generations, an ancient instrument used to celebrate all the aspects of life. In Western culture drumming is, most often, about entertainment but in Africa, drums hold a deeper, symbolic and historical significance. They herald political and social events attending ceremonies of birth, death and marriage. They spark courtships, they herald home-coming and going and they accompany religious rites and rituals, calling up ancestral spirits. They can also inspire passion and excitement and even cause trances, a momentary loss of consciousness to either the drummer or the listener. On the other side, drums are about communication and making music, two essential characteristics of community life. For centuries the 'talking drums' were a primary source of communication between tribes used to transmit messages sometimes across great distances. Absorb the rhythm of Love Drums From The Ghetto _ the singing, the many drumbeats, the repetitive vocal lines and moans merging with percussive tribal sounds produce a very trancy (yet funky) African ritualistic vibe which longs to connect with the tribal spirits of the motherland. Every track on this album comes with its own story and mythology explained by brother Malaku on the back cover of the LP. Recorded at the legendary Future Gold studio in Philadelphia and originally released in 1974 as a private pressing, this is such an unknown and underrated album that just begs for a place in your record collection. Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first official reissue of Love Drums From The Ghetto. Available as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies). Remastered from the original master tapes (found in a case, hidden in a wall by someone who demolishes houses_the tapes then made their way to a Discogs employee and to us). This release also comes with an insert containing an unseen manifest written by Malaku Daku himself.

[engl] With the Super Wings in mutiny and a trail for the manslaughter of his former bandmate, Spuds Nathan, still hanging over his head, Manford Best came out swinging with Come Go With Me. It’s a chirpy, calypso-influenced insight into the state of his mind and his first solo album. Recorded at Godiac Studios with the guys from Rock Town Express and a few of the Super Wings, Come Go With Me was the first album recorded on a new Tascam system that Goddy Oku had just bought back from London. The sound is crisp, clean and bright, perfectly suited to tracks like ‘Come Go With Me’ and ‘Good Morning’ and a welcome respite to the darker lyrics on ‘Nobody Cares’ and ‘Far Far Far Away.’ One of the stranger cuts is ‘There’s a Woman On My Mind (Mother)’. Manford regarded his mother as something of prophetess and would act instantly and without hesitation on the revelations in her ‘dreams’. Come Go With Me was self-financed and released on Manford Best’s own MacSeries Records label. Only 1,000 copies were pressed and he distributed them from the back of a Toyota van himself. A rare Afro gem, deserving of its place in the sun again.

[engl] The eastern Nigerian city of Calabar in Cross River State was colloquially known as Canaan City – a place of lush landscapes, alluring women and delicious cooking. When the Biafra War ended it became a land of milk and honey for bands as well, with jumping venues like the Taj Mahal and Luna Nite Club and a label called Clover, set up local entrepreneur Ben Okonkwo, releasing albums by bands like The Doves, The Visitors, Aktion and The Apostles. The youngest band on the Clover roster was Mansion, a teenage highlife group, led by singer and bassist John ‘Holy Mountain’ Ebiong. Okonkwo decked them out in flares, repackaged them as a funk band and put them in the studio with EMI super-producer, Kayode Salami. The result was Devil Woman, an astoundingly assured funk/rock album. The title track revels in a ‘60s psychedelic vibe. ‘The Love Song’ is a direct appeal to teenage hearts. ‘Heaven Here On Earth’ has an irresistible shuffling groove while ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ is what James Brown would have sounded like if he’d been born in the Cross River State. Devil Woman is an album designed to set young hearts aflutter and draw approving nods from seasoned musicians. It succeeds in both. - Peter Moore

[engl] Mary Afi Usuah trained as an a opera singer at the prestigious St Cecilia Academy in Rome and spent 13 years touring Europe with artists like Duke Ellington and Deep Purple. She matched vocal chops with Robert Plant performing with Led Zeppelin and blew away the top names on the Lagos scene when she returned to Nigeria. She also broke a few hearts with her killer smile, if some accounts are to be believed. African Woman marshals these experiences into an exceptionally powerful and diverse album. From the Tina Turner stomp of ‘What’s A Woman To Do’, to the Aretha-style musings of the title track, Mary takes everything she learned on the road to tell her story about her continent in a distinctly African manner. The boys from Akwassa were on hand to ensure that everything was kept extra tight and funky. Mary Afi Usuah only released two albums but she is undeniably one of the greatest female singers the African continent has produced. African Woman serves as her legacy, along with the remarkable number of Nigerian female singers she mentored and inspired. - Peter Moore, www.africanrevolutions.com / "I met MARY AFI USUAH in 1979 while I was the lead singer with TEE MAC COLLECTION. We were based at SURULERE NIGHT CLUB in Lagos, Nigeria. She came in from Calabar in the Cross river state. She was a beauty with her afro hair and had a very strong voice and very powerful on stage. Her performance was electrifying. She did a lot of shows with us and together we got the crowd rocking. A very dark complexioned lady, she was full of life and love. Her smiles would sweep any man off her feet instantly and I immediately recognized a talent that go all over the world. Her music is a blend of African rhythms, soul and funk with heavy bassline. I am glad to let you know that the vynil you have in your hands now contains music that will tickle all ears for a very long time. Happy listening." - Steve Black

[engl] In mid-seventies, Nigerian bands came and went with alarming regularity, rising meteorically from the slums to stardom and falling back again just as quickly. Masisi Mass Funk from Anamara State was one such band. But during their brief moment in the stratosphere, they produced a funk gem in I Want You Girl. The band was championed by Ebere Ikoro from the Hygrades. He took them under his wing after an ill-advised collaboration with Soly Dibong. They were originators not imitators, he said. He produced I Want You Girl and played on it as well. It’s easy to see what appealed to Ebere Ikoro. The title track has a Manfred Mann sixties vibe. ‘Care To Love Me’ is a wonky, off-kilter reggae calypso number. And ‘Ungrateful People’ bounces along with a Sly And The Family Stone chirpiness. However, it’s the gospel numbers that really stand out. ‘Heavenly Father’ rocks out with strident keyboards and plaintive vocals. And the relentless ‘He Is To Be Praised’ is an afro-funk-rock-gospel monster, guaranteed to raise your eyes to heaven while keeping your feet firmly planted on the dance floor. Sadly, Masisi Mass Funk only released one album, their star burning as quickly as it did brightly. They went on to form First Planet, an Afro Boogie band that tore up Lagos dancefloors in the ‘80s. But that’s another story for another day. - Peter Moore

[engl] The Mighty Flames were a crack bunch of Cameroonian musicians, drawn to Nigeria by the heavy funk sounds booming across the border like musical moths. For a short time in the late sentries they ‘owned’ Port Harcourt, destroying dancefloors with an incendiary sound that burned so heavily that it was phosphorescent. Metalik Funk Band is the band at their most deadly. Willy ‘Pazz’ Nfor is on bass, Nfrackie ‘Jazz’ Song on synth, Didi Lead on lead guitar, Emma ‘Wah Wah’ Baloka on rhythm and Stormy ‘Booga’ Jimmy on percussion. There is not a single dud track. ‘Music Is The Answer’ is a psychedelic head spin. ‘Funky Child’ is an irresistible call to the dancefloor. And I guarantee you’ll need a good lie down after listening to ‘Search Out! Watch Out!’. Sadly, things did not end well for the Mighty Flames. Their manager was a tyrant and when they tried to escape to Lagos with all the band’s gear he promptly had then arrested. Metallik Funk Band was their last album, but what a way to go out: with an incendiary batch of Afro Funk monsters that need to be in every funk lover’s collection.

[engl] Strut presents an all-time classic of South African music, the definitive remastered edition of Miriam Makeba's 'Pata Pata', her first album recorded for Reprise in 1966. The album marked a significant international breakthrough for Makeba. Moving to the US after the anti-apartheid film 'Come Back, Africa' gained international attention and staying there in exile, she quickly built her career in New York during the '60s, mentored by Harry Belafonte. Signing with Reprise after a period with RCA, she returned to one of her older songs: "I wrote 'Pata Pata' back in 1956, back in South Africa", remembered Makeba in her autobiography. "It was a fun little song and I was thinking of a dance that we do at home ("pata" means 'touch" in Zulu and Xhosa)". The track peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 12 and the album. Other songs on the album included a version of the traditional Xhosa classic, 'Click Song Number One' ('Qongqothwane'), the atmospheric 'West Wind', later famously covered by her friend Nina Simone, and a version of Tilahun Gessesse's 'Yetentu Tizaleny' which Makeba learned on a trip to Addis to perform for Haile Selassie at the Organisation Of African Unity.

[engl] She Is My Woman is Murphy William?s loose, funky and spontaneous call to the dance floor. It?s an infectious collection of good-time tunes that the band seem to be enjoying as much as the listener. Williams was a stalwart of the Nigerian music scene, joining Godwin Omabuwa?s Cassanova Dandies at 17 before becoming one of the two lead vocalist of The Apostles from Aba. He was famous for his distinctive four octave voice, a voice that legendary label boss, Godwin Tabansi decided was perfectly suited to the new disco sound that was gripping Nigeria. The title track gets the party started with Felix Liberty providing the good-time guitar riffs, Friday Pozzo on congas and Sonny Enang keeping it light on keyboards. The vibe is tight and bright, breathy a breezy charm into disc-tied versions of Igbo folk songs ?Selense? and ?Ima Obi O.? The undoubted highlight of the album is ?Get On Up?, a certifiable disco classic that would slay any dance floor anywhere in the world. It?s funky, it?s fun and by the time the lyrics implore the listener to get on up and dance their feet have already been convinced by the music. Put it on and it?s guaranteed to get any party started. - Peter Moore, www.africanrevolutions.com

[engl] Rhythm master Klaus Weiss knew he had a good thing going with NIAGARA. The first album was a gathering of every outstanding drummer and percussionist he could get hold of and despite the fact that there were only rhythm instruments featured , it became quite a memorable and unique record. Now for the second album "S.U.B." he felt he had to go other ways, and recorded with a complete rock outfit plus the one or another brass instrument. „S.U.B.“ is definitely worth being traded for 180,00 Euros and more among collectors for a clean original and when the needle hits the groove you will realize why. There is a tightly woven web of rhythms from drums and percussions, as the solid and ever pulsating base with a laid back but really present bass guitar adding more depth and power to the beats and clean rhythm guitars with a nifty wah wah effect for the extra kick. From time to time the guitars fire off a memorable steaming riff on top of the rhythm pulse and the horns answer the call for arms. You really have to look at the backcover to find out that this is a German outfit instead of one of these utterly hot and hip US funk rock cult bands of the time. NIAGARA aka Klaus Weiss waive the vocals so it is an instrumental record you face with „S.U.B“, but then this band goes so wild in some of the compositions, that you will be left breathless on your knees by all these simmering performances. Each musician participating in this project is a professional, but they all let the music erupt into a climax of sound you can only achieve, when you put your whole heart and soul into it. A masterpiece of funky and utterly unleashed rock music from the early 70s.

[engl] This well produced strong disco funk album is a hidden gem. The original is on many wants lists and rarely turns up. Heady disco funk from the glory days of the Miami soul scene in the 70?s. This smoking album by the group Obatala is tight in a good way. Core funk energy mixed with some added strings and horns. A mode that's funky club, but never straight disco at all. Titles include ''April'', ''Shades Of September'', ''Disco Party'', ''Funk-A-Fried'', ''Tight Rope'', and ''Work It Out''. A killer set throughout! - Marc Janssen, www.everland-music.com > Licensed by Henry Stone Music, Inc.