Junglelyd : Paracaídas

Who isn‘t familiar with Freddy Fischer and his Cosmic Rocktime Band, might need some words of introduction and guidance. Well, you hear Jazzrock which gets dragged on the dance-floor straightaway. You hear Disco. You hear that kind of casual elegance that you can also find in Manfred Krug’s songs of the seventies, when he presented the GDR with some Swing – at least for a brief moment. You just got to put all that into a fancy smoking and you have Freddy Fischer standing there. But unfortunately the recipe is not that easy. Otherwise you would hear such a snappy music on virtually every street corner with a whole choir of Fischer look- and soundalikes, not just the one Freddy. Anyway, the music has a certain groove. On the new record Freddy grinds the organ with such passion that Keith Emerson could only sorely look away. And Brian Auger would approvingly raise his eyebrows because he heard that he couldn’t teach Freddy how to get better on the keys. And the music is tight – Soul and mirror ball. The music glitters and plays – unlike Keith Emerson – only as much notes as needed to get the people on the dance floor. And then Freddy Fischer sings about love all the time and you got to have the courage to write a line like “Du bist meine Liebe, und ich lieb’ dich so” (“You’re my love and I love you so”). But Fischer just does it. You may want to call it Jazzrockdisco but it’s like the movies of the uncommunicative Finn Aki Kaurismäki: he’s the only one who could make such a movie; sentimental, warm and true. When someone else would try to do it, it would only be sentimental and become kitsch. But this comparison possibly is too far-reached and Freddy Fischer’s songs don’t want to be larger than they are. Because all of this can be – and with good reason – the plague: Jazzrock, Schlager and even Disco when it ruffles its feathers, becomes touchy-feely and pretentious. But this has got to be Freddy Fischer’s secret. And at the next show with him and his Cosmic Rocktime Band you’ll sing along to “Du bist meine Liebe, und ich lieb’ dich so”. It’s simply good, entertaining music from Berlin.

To call BBQ just a one-man band would be like calling his influences just rock'n roll. BBQ is the perfect mix of the most primitive blues, rock'n roll, R&B, and rockabilly sounds lightly assaulted with garage, soul and a punk aesthetic. BBQ, the one-man band, is actually 'Mark', ex-singer of the legendary Spaceshits and singer/drummer for the world-renown Sexareenos. 180gr.

It's always fascinating to see what great pop songs can hide in the garb of garagepunk. Dream Boogie, with their singalong-garage-pop-punk-powerpop simply manage that. After two seconds your first leg starts moving, after three and a half second the other leg is moving and after five seconds you’ll find yourself dancing in your room or optionally at the headphone station of the preferred record store. You can call it magic what this foursome Gothenburg based band is doing or just be delighted to be talking about all those little pearls that lays between the pop of M.O.T.O. to the sunshine psychedelic of The Black Lips. All this hides on their debut album and you’ll not get bored even when you’ve flipped the record for the hundredth time on the turntable. I would say "Sorry to disappoint all music lovers" saves every party. So now, go back to your system and turn the music up, even louder this time.

Kaleb Stewart of As Friends Rust and Cro(w)s plays acoustic rock and punk in the Gainesville, Florida tradition.

Klappcover

African Connection digs deep into the roots of Afrobeat and develops the genre by weaving in modern influences and a twist of rock and roll. The goal of the project is to build a strong international collaboration that not only unites musicians across continents, but also carries musical history into the present.

Klappcover

featuring members of Sons Of Cyrus, Mindscape and Bad Monkey. HFC are influenced by a lot of early punk and post-punk but also modern punk and rock bands like Yeah Yeah Yeah's and C.AARMÉ

includes download code

limited edition of 400 copies on brown vinyl

limited edition of 400 copies on petrol coloured vinyl

On ”Human Universals” The Carnation are leaving their new wave-infected sound for something rather different. While the harsh vocal delivery remains intact in places, the overall impression of the album is one of development. With the inclusion of synthesizers, dance grooves and Christian Bergman’s melancholic-psychedelic slide guitar parts the band has certainly come a long way since their debut “Gothenburg Rifle Association”.

Lubomyr Melnyk is a Ukrainian pianist and composer. Through his pioneering work in the 1970’s, he developed the technique of “Continuous Music” for piano, and with it a stunning new language for the instrument, based on its actual sound. By way of this new technique, he set several world- records on the piano, notably in Sweden in 1985 where he was recorded playing at over 19.5 notes per second – a speed that has never yet been matched, making him the fastest pianist in the world. Since the mid-1970’s, he has performed concerts with his music world-wide as well as radio recordings. Most of his works are for piano solo and duo, although there exist several works for orchestra and various ensembles. While his revolutionary piano playing was mostly ignored by the classical institutions in its early years, his music is gaining an ever-wider international awareness. This album features five recent works, that display the beauty and magic and virtuosity of his playing.

Human Abfall bestehen seit Herbst 2011 aus Menschen, die an unwirtlichen Orten wie Stuttgart und Berlin leben müssen – den Städten der Verachteten, wo wirklich niemand auch nur mal für eine halbe Stunde tot über dem Nachbarszaun hängen möchte. Trotz oder gerade wegen des unumstößlichen Molochs ihres Lebensraumes sind alle Augen und das Interesse der Öffentlichkeit auf die zurzeit, sagen wir, eigenständigste Punkband des Erdballs gerichtet. Das anziehende Soundgerüst besteht aus einem noisigen Gitarrensound mit knarzigen, dem Wave zugewandten Bassläufen und einem zielsetzend, minimalistisch scheppernden Schlagzeugbeat. Die Musik der Gruppe Human Abfall äußert sich in technikschwerem Rhythmus und ist mehr dystopische Stimmungsmalerei als einfach nur eindringliche Melodie. In den Texten werden Gefühle, Alltagsgegenstände, Zustände widergespiegelt und auf ein eindringliches Minimum reduziert. Keine Betroffenheit - denn über dieses Stadium sind Human Abfall längst schon hinaus. Der Sänger mit verirrt finsterer Miene verpackt den sperrigen Postpunk (nicht unähnlich Grauzone oder Campingsex) in Früh-80er-Deutschpunk (à la Mittagspause und S.Y.P.H.) mit verbraucht doppelbödigen Texten und schafft es trotz wutentbrannten, manisch wiederholten Dada-Parolen stets, dem Hörer eigene Bezüge zu persönlichen Realitäten zu entlocken. Individuen abstoßende, kafkaeske Erzählart verwoben mit den existenzialistischen Wirren des modernen Lebens in der Kampfzone des digitalen Kapitalismus wird wieder und wieder auf das Wesentliche verknappt. Von Stück zu Stück der Schallplatte entsteht der klaustrophobische Eindruck, ein Kurt Schwitters habe seine Schere an den literarischen Werken Jean-Paul Sartres, Simone de Beauvoirs, Albert Camus’ und Gabriel Marcels angesetzt, um die Collage der immer wiederkehrenden Textbausteine mit Hammer und Nagel dem Zeitgeist anzuheften. Eine ganz eigene Erzählart entsteht, weder literarisch noch musikalisch – mehr wie Armdrücken gegen die Wand. Man spürt die Stadt, den Beton, den Dreck. Man spürt den Teil der Gesellschaft über den niemand gerne redet. Vielleicht könnte man verkürzt sagen: Was Dürrenmatt für die Literatur, sind Human Abfall für die Musik.

Japanese Power Pop / Beat / Garage Rock

Japanese Power Pop / Beat / Garage Rock

limited edition in metal sleeve; improvisational noise rockband from Bletchley, UK

gatefold sleeve, with poster

mit Einlageblatt

limited to 666 copies with back patch and inserts

mit Einlageblatt

Klappcover mit bedrucktem Innencover

mit bedrucktem Innencover

"Here are The Courettes " - The first sign of life from The Courettes struck like a bomb in 2014. The first edition was sold out within a month and had to be reprinted three times, so far. Their music led the brazilian-danish duo to tour throughout Europe. Invitations to all major Sixtiespunk festivals followed. The numerous shows prove the obvious - the two are made for the stage. Naming two of their legendary shows: for once their real loud and illegal balcony show during Reeperbahn Festival (including a roadblock by the police) or on the other hand - their performance less than 24 hours after their son Lennon was born. You just cannot deny, The Courettes are a born live band. Even greater, that they have taken their time recording the second album "We are the Courettes". Together with producer Kim Kix (known for his band Powersolo) they have thrown such a big bang into the pit that you have no choice but to get your Chelsea boots out of the closet and swing your legs in style. The Courettes have redefined their musical spectrum with some sixties Girl Pop and Soul, without losing their typical dirty fuzz sound. "We are the Courettes" wades so deep in the sixties sound, that even the Brazilian horror movie legend Coffin Joe cast a few spells for this album. As if that is not enough, on 17.03. with "Voodoo Doll", the first single from the album, will be a real sensation, rather a revolution. More on that later, so keep your eyes open.

4-track ep by the Mod/Rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden

3-track ep on red marbled vinyl by the all female Pop Punk from New York, NY, with insert

reissue of 1985 Afrobeat/Funk album: A bona-fide Nigerian prince and probably the only musician to have ever played with Fela Kuti, Miles Davis and Bob Marley, Eji Oyewole combined African Highlife with western jazz to create a hybrid so that was as smooth as it was funky. His first album, Charity Begins At Home was an angry tirade against corruption in Nigeria. Me & You is his ‘relationship’ album, a brighter and happier set of songs that sees Eji all loved up, presumably with the mysterious ‘Cameleon’ featured on the cover. Eji’s flute is no longer a strident voice raised in anger. Instead, on ‘Me & You’ and ‘I’m a Dancer’ it is a playful line of seduction. On the wonky and woozy ‘Eniafelamo’ his sax is a post-coital salutation. Even the one political track, ‘Long Live Nigeria’, is a loved up call for peace, progress and trust. Chilled, assured and dexterious, Me & You is a sophisticated showcase of Eji Oyewole’s chops. ‘This is the beginning of an atomic musical evolution,’ he declares on the cover. ‘Brothers and sisters, stay cool.’

reissue of 1980 Nigerian Jazz-Funk/Afrobeat album: Nigeria had a unique music scene which began spreading rapidly in the 1970s. The era was based on unspoiled use of fuzz pedal, keyboards and indisputable influences of the Psychedelic Blues bands of the West. In 1980 Effi Duke & The Love Family came out with their debut Mr. Love. It was released by Homzy Records which was a home of many Afro-Funk records, going strong from mid '70s toward '80s. Effi Duke & The Love Family being one of their most energetic albums. The '80s were definitely more into a jazzy sound with disco slowly infiltrating the African music scene. What's so unique about Mr. Love is Effi Duke's love for guitar based Jazz and together with African rhythms and funky bass, his album is a Funk/Jazz/Disco hybrid. He's an incredible guitarist and also at the time of this LP an ex-Wings member. They were one of the most popular bands from Nigeria. Effi Duke was a key part of the scene with being member of The Wings, The Visitors, The Apostles, he played also the guitars on Mary Afi Usuah's fantastic second LP African Woman (which will be also rereleased on PMG) and on many other great albums including the incredible Folk 77 album.

reissue of 1979 Nigerian Funk/Afrobeat album: By the 1979 release of Whatever You Need, the Elcados were ready to party. “We got rhythm, we got sound,” they declare on ‘Funky Music’. “You’re going to dig it!' Starting out as the Moonrakers in Kanu in 1968, Steve Black, Rocky Mustapha, Tony Nosika and Frank Martins, spent the next decade gigging their way out of the north, including a surreal set with Khalifa Baba-Ahmed at the Miss New Nigeria contest. They released two rock-oriented albums in the mid ‘70s before hitting a disco/reggae groove on Whatever You Need. The album starts with the title track, a bouncy reggae number guaranteed to fill the dance floor. ‘Cross Over Reggae’ keeps the mood light before ‘The World Is Full Of Injustice’ delivers a bit of Rasta indignation. Funk monsters ‘Marry The Poor’ and ‘Funky Music’ bring it all home, reminding listeners that the guys didn’t drag out their best shiny suits just to smoke spliffs. Sadly, Whatever You Need, was the last record the Elcados released. But they went out with the glitter ball burning brightly, dimmed but a little by the fug of the righteous herb.

reissue of 1979 Nigerian Disco/Boogie/Funk/Afrobeat album: n 1979, Emma Dorgu decided it was time to act. He’d torn up the Lagos live scene with The Thermometers and conquered the airwaves with the single, ‘World People’. But there were injustices afoot, not just in Nigeria, but in South Africa and Zimbabwe and across the continent as well, and he felt that something needed to be done. Roverman was his politicized call to action. Blackman Akeeb Kareem lent him the instruments and let him rehearse in his sitting room. Dorgu sets his stall out early in the reggae-tinged ‘Free My People’ calling for freedom for South Africa, freedom for Zimbabwe, indeed, freedom for all. Thankfully political injustice hadn’t rid Emma completely of his urge to get on down. The New York ghetto funk of ‘Roverman’ and ‘Loving’ and the straighthead boogie of ‘Afro Fever’ leaven the message with a funky beat and an irresistible pull towards the dancefloor. On Roverman Emma Dorgu has achieved that that rarest of beats, an album that challenges your mind while it speaks to your feet. Protest music has never sounded so funky.

reissue of 1978 Nigerian Boogie album: Limited to 500 copies only! Emma Ogosi has worn a lot of different hats in his career: former air force officer, guitarist with Benin-based Pogo Limited, and husband and manager of Nigerian reggae superstar, Evi-Edna Ogholi. In 1981, he donned a sequined cowboy hat and released Nobody Knows. Nobody Knows is arguably the Nigeria’s best – and perhaps only – Disco Country album. Country music has always been influential in the country and Ogosi managed to channel Jim Reeves via the bright lights of Lagos’ burgeoning disco scene to produce an album of sparkling mournfulness. The album starts brightly with ‘You And I’ and ends with ‘Orindo,’ a horn-driven dance floor filler. ‘Nobody Knows’ and ‘A Lonely Child’ venture into ‘you done me wrong’ territory. And you can imagine Kenny Rogers covering ‘Give A Little’, albeit wearing flares and platforms and a moustache instead of a beard. Overall, though, Nobody Knows is as disco as the sharp suit and gull-wing collar Emma is wearing on the cover. But don’t be fooled – there are rhinestones on that there glitter ball.

reissue of 1978 Nigerian Funk/Afrobeat/Psych album: By the mid 1970’s in Nigeria, the Biafran War was a distant memory and the music scene in the eastern city of Aba was booming again. Bands like The Funkees, The Wings and The Apostles grabbed the headlines, but the more interesting stuff was coming from smaller groups like the Friimen. The Friimen, or the Friimen Muzik Company to use their official name, were influenced as much by pre-Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees as Jimi Hendrix and James Brown. In Beni Tudumey they had the best keyboardist in the city, and in Dan Igbaji, Charlie Eze and Ken Okogbue its tightest rhythm section. Throw in Gbemi Saka Toju channeling his inner Barry Gibb and you had a band quite unlike any other in the country. The result is We Can Get it On, a hybrid of West Coast ballads and dancefloor chuggers. One moment they are thanking God for making the mountains (‘The Creator’), the next salaciously suggesting it’s time to make the mountains move (‘We Can Get It On’). Some of the songs simply state the obvious (‘Music Makes You Move’.) However, it’s the track, ‘Salt Sweet Style’, that sums up the Friimen best: “We have the salt. We have the sweet. We have the style.” It’s all present and accounted for on We Can Get It On. - Peter Moore

reissue of 1981 Gambian Afrobeat/Funk album: The Guelewar Band of Banjul are a band quite unlike any other – an explosive mix of soul and funk with local rhythms like Boogaraboo and Ndaga combined with a defiant insistence on singing in their local language, Wolof. They certainly blew a young Youssou N’dour away. He cites them as his biggest influence. Warteef Jigeen marks the point the band found its groove. The title track sets the tone early with parping horns and psychedelic guitar licks. ‘N.T.C. The Gambia’ and ‘Jilana’ seamlessly blend traditional percussion and plaintive sax. ‘Leen Te Koun’ and ‘President Diawara’ showcase some of the freakiest synth ever to come out of West Africa. It was Laye Ngom’s decision as bandleader to draft in his cousin as singer that elevates Warteef Jigeen. Moussa Ngom had paid his dues singing at traditional circumcision ceremonies and his rough, expressive vocals bring a level of melancholy and intensity to the album. It’s a melancholy and intensity that can only come from years of watching young boys take this painful journey to Gambian manhood, a journey, in a way, that Guelewar Band Of Banjul made on Warteef Jigeen.

reissue of 1976 Funk/Afrobeat album: The self-proclaimed funkiest band on the west coast of Africa, the Heads Funk Band, could arguably make that claim for the whole continent. Featuring the slick guitar of Felix ‘Feladey’ Odey, the slinky drumming of Eddie Offeyi and the swirling keyboard chops of Kevin ‘Fortune’ Coburn, nobody was funkier. And that’s not even taking into account the dance floor monsters they were releasing at the same time as Akwassa. Cold Fire was their second album as the Heads Funk Band. Where their first album, Hard World, was in a hurry to get you on the dance floor, on Cold Fire the funk is given room to breathe. The title track has a dark ghetto groove, straight from the mean streets of New York. ‘Got To Know’ has a loose, feel good vibe. ‘Put On Your Funky Shoes’ and the instrumental, ‘Funky Port Harcourt’ live up to their names. With Feladey laying down a hybrid chicken scratch/wah-wah sound over Eddie Offeyi’s assured drumming, and ‘Fortune’ Coburn supplying the free-range keyboards, this is a band at the height of their powers. Cold Fire is killer stuff and proof that in the mid-seventies Nigeria was producing the funkiest bands in the world. - Peter Moore

reissue of 1977 Nigerian Funk/Afrobeat album: 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.

1960's orchestrated pop tracks with Japanese vocals: If you are curious how Japanese pop music sounded in the early 60s, here is one of the most popular examples. So this reissue will hopefully open new channels for fans of abundantly orchestrated 60s pop to listen to Kyu Sakamoto, who sadly perished in an aircraft accident in 1985, which is up to now the biggest event of its kind in flight history. Anyway, what do we get to hear from this man, very young but already experienced at the time? Mysterious, soulful songs with big orchestral arrangements, tunes that show elements of latin music such as bossa nova, typical elegant Doo Wop and pop ballads of the day with a heartwarming melodies, some exotic tunes that draw influence from what western people might consider Japanese music, real or fictional. The most popular tune that became a hit all over the world is certainly ?Sukiyaki?, which was a big success in a German language version by THE BLUE DIAMONDS, a Dutch band of Indonesian origin. He did not spare any style popular in the 50s up to the early 60s. You'll hear elements of chanson among many others. The whole album is relaxed and beautiful with a friendly expression. The orchestra, the big band, whoever accompanies Kyu Sakamoto dresses all the compositions sung with passion and a pliable voice into a garment of absolute elegance. This album definitely gets you to feel great and joyful and fluffy. The use of Japanese language for the lyrics might more appeal to native speakers and those with a fondness for exotic aspects coming with albums but it just makes this record even more outstanding. It's a colorful and memorable effort.

reissue of 1978 Nigerian Afrobeat/Disco/Reggae album: With the Super Wings in mutiny and a trial 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.

reissue of 1979 Nigerian Afrobeat/Funk album: 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

reissue of 1978 Nigerian Afrobeat/Funk/Disco album: 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

reissue of 1986 Nigerian Boogie/Funk/Afrobeat album: At a time when bandleaders in Nigeria used titles as an affectation, Dr. Adolf Ahanotu was the real deal. He had a PhD in music compilation and Master’s degrees in education and communication. He also played a mean tenor sax, an instrument he mastered touring Owerri with the Mirabels. Ahanotu’s scholarly background is apparent in the impeccable arrangements and the way each track is labelled with its musical type. The banging opening track, ‘Sensation’ is disco, notes the helpful doctor. The legendary ‘Ijere’ is to be considered Remire or Afro Jazz. ‘Litany of Freedom’ is reggae, ‘Cupid’ is rock and ‘Tropical Moonlight’ classified as the blues. The mandatory ode to the nation, ‘Happy Nigeria’, is labelled as calypso. But these are not dry, scholarly pieces. ‘Sensation’ reeks of dance floor freakiness not the hallowed halls of academia. And listen to the pitch bend craziness on ‘Injere’. Sure, Dr. Ahanotu had studied the rules. But he wasn’t afraid to break them. From the freaked-out opening seconds of the title track you are left in no doubt: The doctor is in the house. Mastered and produced by Goddy Oku. - Peter Moore

reissue 1979 Nigerian Funk/Highlife/Afrobeat album: In 1979, long-time Highlife veteran Aigbe Lebarty decided to try his hand at high-energy disco funk. Checking the Lebartone Aces at the door, he borrowed the Sex Bombers from Prince Omo Lawal-Osula and created Unity, a sure-fire dance floor stomper that channels ‘Ring My Bell’ into a clarion cry for, well, unity ... and a good time. The title track is the undisputed highlight of the album. It rattles along in a wonky, skittish fashion, with the high-pitched toms dueling with the Sex Bombers in a musical game of Space Invaders. ‘His Highness Erediauwa 1 Oba Of Benin (Part 1 &2)’, sees Aigbe slips back into Highlife like a comfortable pair of slippers.

reissue of 1975 Nigerian Funk/Afrobeat album: Akwassa were among the best Afro-Beat bands coming from Nigeria. They released La'ila in 1975 and were one of the early Nigerian Funk bands to get an album out. They were related to the Heads Funk Band and most members were part of both bands. They managed to release two albums as Akwassa. Their debut La'ila came out on a well known Afro-Beat label Afrodisia Records. Akwassa were originally a duo made of Felix Day (guitar and vocals) and Kevin Coburn (organ, synthesizer and vocals). Felix Day is actually Feladey, the guitarist in Aktion (another top notch Nigerian band reissued by PMG). On La'ila the band used a lot of synthesizers and the overall sound is very pleasing. Overall the album has a raw and unpolished sound, but that's what brings that certain spark for being among the very best in the Afro-Beat genre.

reissue of 1977 Nigerian Funk/Afrobeat album: Nigeria has been one of these African countries with a rich western oriented music scene spawning some highly praised garage rock acts like OFEGE and some hot blooded steaming funk acts. One of these groups taking a turn on music that was happening a few thousand miles west in the USA about five or six years prior was AKWASSA and here we gotta listen to their second album “In the groove” and the title actually says it all. They play some funky music that would make James Brown (God rest his soul) or Betty Davis (Miles Davis' beautiful and highly gifted wife) go crazy for and they do it with a routine you would rather expect with American superstars. AKWASSA impress with a tight as a teenie's ass rhythm section grooving some hypnotizing beats that consist of wild percussions and an airy drumming tied together by some captivating bass lines. Upon this rhythmical basement you find a grinding organ scrubbing your senses and a clean wah wah driven guitar that erupts into fuzzed out solos from time to time. The mid ranged voice comes with a rich tone and nobody would question me if I'd tell him this was a US act. Well, okay, there is a little accent but at least his English is grammatically perfect. In the end it does not matter much for the voice is one instrument that adds a patch of color to the whole picture. How great to know this Afro Funk classic from the 70s can now be enjoyed by a young audience with an open mind. Old school funksters, take your chance, this is sheer bliss.

reissue of 1981 Nigerian Afrobeat/Boogie/Disco album: Grill by Gbubemi Amas is as smooth as the red cardigan artfully slung around his shoulders on the cover. Whether he is running through the scales on a cover version of ‘Fire and Rain’, or trying on his calypso highlife moves on ‘Ereyon’, you know Amas is a man with a smooth line for every occasion. He is also a man with impeccable enunciation. Listen to ‘Slow Down’. It features one of the most cultured sound checks you will ever hear in your life – “Willy, keep the bass a little bit tighter”. That Amas is now a theatre producer and writer in Cardiff in Wales will come as no surprise. ‘Slow Down’ is a stone cold class, and an undoubted highlight, just as it was on the excellent Comb & Razor compilation, Brand New Wayo. ‘Children’ is a bright dancefloor filler. So is ‘For You’. And ‘Listen’ showcases Amas’s disco ball cassanova moves. Articulate, cultured and classy, Grill is proof that in 80s Nigeria was producing a class of boogie funk that was as sophisticated as anywhere in the world.

reissue of 1979 Nigerian Afrobeat album: Bala Miller was famous for pushing boundaries. His first job was selling beer in the Muslim north. And as a musician he'd always try to sneak in 'local' flourishes while playing trumpet with Bobby Benson and Victor Olaiya. It was with his band, the Pirameeds, however, that he was able to realise his dream of incorporating northern tunes into mainstream highlife. Honed razor sharp from a residency at the Costain Club in Kuduna, the band recorded Pyramids, a breathtaking fusion of Hausa rhythms, jazz and funk. With its haunting trumpet line, tribal drums and imploring Hausa chants, 'Ikon Allah', the power of God, is Bala Miller vision writ large. 'Yo Gboko' is a New York-style street drama, played out on the dusty streets of Northern Nigeria. 'Opportunity Knocks' is a playful burst of ska and 'Stretch Your Nose' is a raucous James Brown fable about the dangers of lying. Bala Miller went on to become one of Nigeria's best-loved personalities. The Costain Club became a renowned meeting place for northern musicians. But his greatest legacy remain Pyramids, an opus that introduced Hausa rhythms and stories to the rest of Nigeria.

reissue of 1979 Nigerian psychedelic Disco/Boogie/Afrofunk album: Considered an acid boogie classic, Jungle Magic is a cosmic transmission from the early days of Nigerian disco. The bass lines are lethal. The synths are fat and squelchy. And the groove is non-stop and primal. Channeling the jungle gods of funk and introducing them to Donna Summers, the title track, ‘Jungle Magic’, takes you to a freaky place you didn’t know existed but never want to leave. ‘Love Forever’ brings a Calypso party vibe while ‘Fireman’ suggests Prince may have been listening to Benis when he wrote ‘Alphabet Street’. The album was composed and produced by Benis Cletin. He also played guitar and synthesizer and sang lead vocals. George Achini from the Mighty Flames stars on bass and Mambo Sticks, Nigeria’s leading disco drummer, lays down the rock solid grooves. Benis went on to release three more albums, which will be re-issued by PMG soon. Jungle Magic remains the album where he introduced his irresistible brand of psychedelic disco funk to world.