coloured vinyl

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.

Garage spiced r'n'r from France. Their music often gets compared to Thee O Sees, Mark Sultan, Gories, Mojomatics, Fuzztones etc...!!!

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.

limited to 500 copies

Klappcover

Japanese Power Pop / Beat / Garage Rock

Japanese Power Pop / Beat / Garage Rock

reissue of 1979 Venezuelian Disco album: This 1979 release has been the fourth solo effort of Venezuelan composer and musician Daniel Grau. The music has been settled at the pulse of its time for certain. Discofunk with a Latin melody and rhythm approach surely was the hottest thing among the dancing folks back in the day and the rather futuristical synthesizer arrangements turn these memorable tunes into a spacey and spicy affair. The sound is perfect and the performance equals its package. The compositions are quite long all in all and therefore have a hypnotical effect on the listener and dancer. The continuing pulsating groove comes in a repetitive manner creating a floating atmosphere. This record is surely a product of its era and made for disco lovers to dance on through the simmering nights, but unlike most mainstream disco albums this record opens the gate to another dimension touching the senses of everybody in reach when it gets played on the turntable. Next to the similar massive Donna Summer works like “I feel love” this is the true essence of disco music just entirely instrumental with an emphasize on synthesizer melodies instead of vocals. Drift away into your disco fantasy, folks!

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 1979 Nigerian Funk album: Before he was Nigeria's self-proclaimed Mr Lover Boy, Felix Lebarty was an upcoming musician in the country's Edo-Delta region. His big brother, Aigbe, was a legendary Highlife bandleader, but Felix paid his dues playing guitar with Thony Shorby Nwenyi and the Collection of Stars, along with fellow 'star' Mighty Flames bassist, Willy Nfor. Perversely, Girls For Sale was released after Lover Boy, the slick disco album that cemented his place in Nigerian music history. It is a collection of tracks Lebarty made early in his career, when his music was rawer and his pickup lines less sophisticated and less practised. In 'Come True', Lebarty actually admits to a girl that he hasn't got any money. He begs a girl to love him in 'Love Me Kiss Me' and pleads with a rival to give him a break in 'Don't Take My Girl'. He even takes a dig at Aigbe, his more successful sibling, in 'Mr Big Brother'. It's hardly what you'd expect from the disco god behind Lover Boy, who went on to have 19 children with 7 different women. To me, that's what makes Girls For Sale worth checking out. It's gritty, lo-fi and melodic, like The Apostles with a subtle a nod towards the Jackson Five, sung with endearing insecurity. What's not to like about that? - Peter Moore

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 1978 Nigerian Funk/Reggae/Afrobeat album: When Geraldo Pino rolled into town from Sierra Leone with his Heartbeats, Nigeria had never seen anything quite like them. Slick, tight and playing the latest James Brown-style funk on the very expensive equipment, they soon had the country in their thrall. ‘Made me fall right on my ass!’ a chastened Fela Kuti remembered in 1982. Fans of Geraldo’s disarmingly eloquent enunciation on early albums – re-issued soon by PMG – may shocked the gruff, rawer tones on Boogie Fever. The album starts with a jaunty reggae track extolling the virtues of ganja and, later, ‘Dance Fever’ sounds like it was recorded down in Trenchtown after Geraldo had taken a toke or two of his own advice. Even the more traditional funk tracks like ‘African Hustle’ have a darker, more threatening vibe. Not that that is a bad thing. Boogie Fever is the sound of consummate musician letting his hair down. Or in Geraldo’s case, letting it grow into a tight afro and not bothering to watch his Ps and Qs anymore. - Peter Moore, www.africanrevolutions.com / "Geraldo Pino came to Nigeria from Freetown in Sierra Leone in 1968 with his band THE HEARTBEATS and quickly changed the music scene completely. He was the first bandleader that brought sophistication into show business. He owned the best musical equipments, his costumes on stage was fantastic, his musicians were good looking guys with afro hair styles. His drummer then was Francis Foster who later played percussion with Paul Simon. Pino got the title of THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS in Nigeria. Girls loved him. I later joined his band with new set of musicians in 1974 as a singer while he based in Kano in the north of Nigeria. To survive in Nigeria those days as a musician you have to be very good on stage and Pino was. His stagecraft was exhilarating, his costumes were dazzling, he command the band and his audience wherever he played with his dancesteps and he became an inspiration to many Musicians. He later moved to Port Harcourt where he lived and died many years ago. Though he is dead, his music lives on through his many songs and this vinyl in your hands. His memory also lived with those who watched him on stage. Ladies and gentle men, this is GERALDO PINO!" - Steve Black

reissue of 1982 Funk album: One of the greatest soul funk albums of the 80s, and a darn record to find! The tracks are nice and tight, with sort of a smooth modern soul and a good dancefloor groove. Made by a vast collective of musicians in and around LA in the early eighties who recorded for the KMA and Jam-Power labels. Most famous from that collective became Chuckii Booker who went on to solo fame. Gift Of Dreams recorded two full albums for Jam-Power, this being the first and a bit more soulful of the two. Overall there are already many touches of electro, boogie and funk which makes this music being in such high demand. This beautifully restored reissue contains all the info and illustrations of the very first, full colour and pretty artsy LP-sleeve design. Licensed by David Wooley, Jam Power Records

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 1978 Nigerian Funk/Afrobeat/Reggae album: Don't let the floppy hat and rolling English countryside on the cover fool you. Harry Mosco's Country Boy is a certified floor-filler, bursting with Studio 54 era disco-funk as well as a token reggae monster, complete with its own dub version. Harry Mosco always had swagger. A founding member of The Funkees, he'd stride out on stage in tight pants and dark sunglasses, commanding the attention of a population distracted by war. When The Funkees split in London, it was clear that his star would rise the fastest. Released in 1978 by fledgling Taretone label, Country Boy went on to become one of the best-selling Nigerian records of all time. The first few bars of ‘It's Too Late' are guaranteed to get on the dance floor. Sam El'Salahi's slinky bassline on ‘I Feel Funky' will keep you there. And ‘Harry's Party' is a celebration you never want to end. The title track, and its dub doppleganger, are a reggae-tinged chance to catch your breath, before ‘The Wanderer' drags you back on the dancefloor until the house lights come on.

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.

reissue of 1978 Modal/Soul-Jazz album

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.

reissue of 1979 AFrofunk album: Nation Building is a real forgotten gem from the late '70s and is among the very best Afro-Beat Disco Lps ever. Berkely Ike Jones is one of the icons of the Nigerian scene being the guitarist and founder of BLO (forthcoming on PMG). BLO were one of the very best progressive bands from Nigeria and managed to release several albums for EMI (Nigeria) and Afrodisia Records. BLO are definitely a ground-breaking band, that managed to further establish the entire Afro-Funk genre. At the time Ginger Baker of Cream went to travel to Nigeria and invited Berkely Ike Jones to be part of session-band Salt. They went back to UK and toured in Europe. Berkely Ike Jones played with many bands like with Ofege on their Try and Love album and he also appeared on many other great albums by artists like Steve Black, Lijadu Sisters, Tee Mac, Kris Okotie, Sonny Okosuns Ozziddi, 'Blackman' Akeeb Kareem, Mixed Grill, Don Bruce And The Angels and Felix Lebarty. Nation Building is his solo project recorded in the late 1970s on Skylark Records. The original LP is extremely rare and very expensive, so this is your chance to grab your copy and listen to some really great Afro-Beat music.

reissue of 1980 Nigerian psychedelic/cosmic Afrofunk album: It’s hard to get a handle on Nigerian musicians Nash Dodoo, Charlie Cuul and Jonas Caulley. In 1980 they released an album of face-melting gospel boogie as the BML chapels. And in the same year, calling themselves the Beta Yama Group, they put out Free Love, a belated love letter to San Francisco’s Summer of Love and an album altogether focused on more worldly concerns. Free Love is a small slice of Haight-Ashbury transported to the Polygram Studios in Lagos. ‘Te Revoir’ is Mamas and Papas jamming with Sergeant Pepper’s Beatles. ‘Free Love’ offers a respectful nod towards Je T’aime-era Serge Gainsbourg. Sure, ‘Revolution’ gets hard and funky and ‘Rain’ flirts briefly with a calypso reggae sound, but the majority of the album is cheesecloth and flowers in your hair. Insanely rare – and worth buying for the freaky cover art alone – Free Love is a funky, reverb heavy call for love, peace and sweet, sweet loving. What more could you want from an album?

reissue of 1980 Venezuelian Disco album: This 1980 album from Venezuela shows the typical trademarks of its creator Daniel Grau. Spaced-out disco grooves, this time even with some nifty female vocals aspirated gently upon the lightfooted waves of synthesizer melodies and pulsating rhythms. An exception is the second track „Con en cielo en tus ojos“ which is a lush and utterly relaxed floating Latin pop number with a repetitive vocal line breathing an atmosphere of peace. It is one of these positive tunes that make you feel at ease with everything in this world. There is definitely more color on this album than expected from listening to the „Disco fantasy“ record which in fact was a strong piece already. No wonder that this long out of print gem fetches prices up to 200 Euros among collectors. If you are a fan of what Donna Summer released during the same period of time and love this silky yet vivid feel of the steady pulse the rhythms offer, than you'll have to grab a copy of this beautiful reissue. This is one of these albums that should have been legendary among the dancing public in the clubs by the time of its release peppered with memorable tunes that even work well 36 years and a massive development in popular music later. Let's look behind the surface and dig out the real jewels of this genre!

previously unreleased recordings 1976 - 1978; American underground Rock/Funk/Jazz/New Wave

reissue of 1976 Nigerian Funk/Afrofunk album

reissue of 1980 Nigerian Disco/Afrobeat 12"

limited edition of 1000 copies, insert included

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1956

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, recorded in 1959

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, recorded 1952 - 1958

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, recorded in 1955

includes polylined printed company inner sleeve and circular poster

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1959

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, recorded in 1959, previously released as "In Milan"

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, recorded in 1956

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1954

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, recorded in 1952 to 1956

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1956

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, includes bonus track "Clarion Calls", recorded in 1959

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve

reissue of 1970 debut album in gatefold sleeve

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1957

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, includes bonus track "A Night In Tunisia", recorded live in 1958

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1958

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1961

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1956

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1957

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1959

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1959

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1960

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1959

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1957

limited edition reissue on 180 gram vinyl, gatefold sleeve, originally released in 1962

reissue, originally released 1960

reissue in gatefold sleeve, originally released 1970

reissue, originally released 1974

reissue in gatefold sleeve, originally released 1980

reissue of 1980 Comedy/Funk/Rap album

reissue, originally released 1974

reissue in gatefold sleeve, originally released 1972

reissue in gatefold sleeve, originally released 1972

reissue, originally released 1972

reissue, originally released 1972

reissue of 1975 Funk album, produced by James Brown

reissue of 1974 instrumental Funk album by the James Brown backing band

reissue of 1972 instrumental Funk album by the James Brown backing band

reissue, originally released 1971

reissue in gatefold sleeve, originally released 1973

reissue in gatefold sleeve, originally released 1972

reissue, originally released 1970

reissue, originally released 1971