|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
CRZR 1008LP
|
"In 1973, EMI Records Nigeria released the 45 rpm disc 'Fuel for Love' b/w 'Soundway,' credited to a mysterious band called Wrinkar Experience. The record was a finely-crafted gem of pop-rock and funky soul as had never before been heard coming out of the country's nascent rock scene, and it ended up being the biggest selling Nigerian single up until that point. The success of Wrinkar Experience effectively demonstrated that was a market for homegrown pop and rock, and sent record labels scrambling to sign similar bands, kicking off the Nigerian rock revolution that is still being celebrated and discovered by new generations today. But while Wrinkar Experience launched the movement, the group itself would be short-lived: after another hit single in 1973, the band's frontman Danie Ian split for a solo career. The remaining principal players in the group -- Cameroonian musicians Ginger Forcha and Edjo'o Jacques Racine -- tried to keep the Wrinkar name going before giving it up and rebranding themselves as Rock Town Express. Rock Town Express's debut LP Funky Makossa was recorded in 1974 for ARC Records, the cutting-edge studio and label established in Lagos by English drum legend Ginger Baker. The album showcased in long format the qualities that had only been hinted at on the Wrinkar Experience singles: bright, confident pop melodies, articulate lyrics, and darkly potent funk-rock. Comb & Razor Sound is proud to present a new, fully-authorized reissue of Funky Makossa, featuring the seven tracks from the original release, plus 'I Am A Natural Man' and 'I Don't Want To Know,' from Wrinkar Experience's seldom-heard third and final single."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
PMG 043CD
|
PMG present a reissue of Rock Town Express's second self-titled album, originally released in 1977. "There was a time in the 1970s when the best band in the Nigeria was actually from Cameroon. Rock Town Express, formed out of the ashes of Wrinkar Experience by Yaoundé boys, Edjo'o Jacques Racine and Ginger Forcha - hit it hard, hit it loud and hit it funky. Racine and Forcha had been recruited from Cameroon by Dan Ian and after only six months, left them stranded in Nigeria's troubled east. Their first album as Rock Town Express was released on Ginger Baker's ARC label in 1974. This, their second eponymous album, features a more subdued sepia toned cover but rocks even harder. The horror of the Biafran War weighs heavily on Rock Town Express. The guitars wail, the horns pop and the synths swirls in a maelstrom of pain and anger. 'Peaceful Solution' implores people to live in peace and harmony. 'Spaceville Rape' bemoans the wanton destruction that comes with war. And 'Nobody's Man' is the defiant cry of an ex-soldier determined to make his own way in the world. Rock Town Express is an angry and dark transmission from Nigeria's east that the war may have been over, but the scars were still yet to heal." --Peter Moore.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
PMG 043LP
|
LP version. PMG present a reissue of Rock Town Express's second self-titled album, originally released in 1977. "There was a time in the 1970s when the best band in the Nigeria was actually from Cameroon. Rock Town Express, formed out of the ashes of Wrinkar Experience by Yaoundé boys, Edjo'o Jacques Racine and Ginger Forcha - hit it hard, hit it loud and hit it funky. Racine and Forcha had been recruited from Cameroon by Dan Ian and after only six months, left them stranded in Nigeria's troubled east. Their first album as Rock Town Express was released on Ginger Baker's ARC label in 1974. This, their second eponymous album, features a more subdued sepia toned cover but rocks even harder. The horror of the Biafran War weighs heavily on Rock Town Express. The guitars wail, the horns pop and the synths swirls in a maelstrom of pain and anger. 'Peaceful Solution' implores people to live in peace and harmony. 'Spaceville Rape' bemoans the wanton destruction that comes with war. And 'Nobody's Man' is the defiant cry of an ex-soldier determined to make his own way in the world. Rock Town Express is an angry and dark transmission from Nigeria's east that the war may have been over, but the scars were still yet to heal." --Peter Moore.
|