Anybody know this label?
http://www.retroafric.com/
I'm listening to this Gaby Lita Bembo & Stukas disc right now and it's outstanding. Never heard of the label before the other day, when I wandered into DustyGroove and this disc caught me eye. Looks like they're doing some good work, some 18 releases strong already. Anybody heard any of these and can comment?
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 4 July 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)
wow, i'd never heard of the label but it looks great.
― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 4 July 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)
Loving the Super Eagles, though to my shame, I bought it as a bootleg. That's how a lot of African music stores make their money, I guess...
― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 5 July 2005 16:36 (twenty years ago)
don't know much about the label itself, but i think stern's is their distributor.
the albums i've heard range from very good to excellent. the ghanian highlife (et mensah/king bruce and the black beats) and soukous (franco/orchestre veve/etc.) stuff is great, and i've heard wonderful things about thu zahina.
― zzxjoanw, Tuesday, 5 July 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)
three months pass...
As per Stormy's request...
Recently picked up the Geraldo Pino comp Heavy Heavy Heavy, and can't think of enough good things to say about it. I'd been interested in the dude since I heard the title track on the Afro Rock, vol. 1 comp (which is really fantastic in its own right, probably my fave afro comp after Nigeria 70). This disc is a comp too, taking tracks from his two albums recently repressed on vinyl for SoundWay. I don't really do vinyl, so the CD'll be ok for me.
Pino's from Sierra Leone, and was apparently a huge influence on the nascent afrobeat/funk scene of Nigeria and Ghana. Most of the liner notes are actually quotes from a Fela bio where he's talking about Pino's influence on his sound - he keeps callin him "this motherfucking Pino," which amuses me for some reason, but I wish there'd have been a bit more contextual information.
Anyway, onto the music - it's FANTASTIC. Pino's got a huge James Brown influence, to the point where one of the songs replicates the JB intro announcement...y'know, the "from the man who brought you (insert hit)! (hit)! (hit!)" etc. But his actual sound is a little more of a straightahead dance groove, and leans heavily on a funky, funky jazz organ and some awesome wah guitar that throws some acidic leads in every now and then. Lyrical concerns tend to be primarily party/chixxx and African pride/unity. Pino's got a great voice, too. There ain't a ton of sonic variety to be found, but whatever, like that matters when your base sound is this cool. Highly recommended sez I.
Really interested in picking up that Super Eagles comp too.
― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)
Yeah, a great label - everything I've heard from them is superb. The Gaby Lita, mentioned at the top of the thread, is one of my favorites this year. And Mose Se Fan Fan's "Belle Epoque" is a classic.
― TRG (TRG), Wednesday, 2 November 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)