We love a good EP or compilation of well thought out and curated selections that both introduce us to music that might not have been on our radar and gives us something to dig for as well as filling our record bags with new music to put into rotation of our DJ sets. BBE has put together a solid 12″ for their upcoming Afro Disco EP featuring four amazing cuts, two of which we were familiar with while the others have really opened our ears to something new and refreshing.
Four scorching cuts pulled from the deepest corners of the BBE Africa vaults, collected on one heavyweight 12″. From Ghanaian dancefloor obscurities to Fela-schooled Afrobeat and a rare Hugh Masekela side project, this is peak-time African disco, boogie and highlife-funk for DJs and diggers alike. All killer, no filler. Absolute essential Afro Disco!!!
A1. Rim & Kasa – Love Me For Real (8:28)
Cult afro-disco from Ghanaian master drummer Rim Kwaku Obeng, lifted from the 1982 Too Tough LP. A Latin-tinged groove with sweet lead vocals and a wild synth finale, the collectors’ floorfiller from a genuinely legendary “lost” catalogue.
A2. Sidiku Buari – I’m Ready (5:28)
Rolling boogie business from the Ghanaian athlete-turned-bandleader’s 1979 Disco Soccer album. Ga chants and West African percussion riding a late-’70s NYC disco pulse.
B1. Eji Oyewole – Unity in Africa (Kasowopo Kasekan) (8:06)
Horn-heavy highlife-funk from the Ibadan-born prince who played with Fela, Miles Davis and Bob Marley. Scorching brass solos, deep percussion and a pan-African message to match.
B2. Ojah with Hugh Masekela – Afro Beat Blues (6:48)
Rare, Fela-influenced heat from Masekela’s mid-’70s Ghanaian/Nigerian band Ojah, unearthed from the Chisa Records vaults.