Homowo by Basa Basa
One of Ghana’s most sought-after LPs emerges from obscurity as a high quality reissue on the new Vintage Voudou label from the Netherlands. First released in Nigeria in 1979, this LP (also known as Basa Basa Experience - Together We Win) is a unique collaboration with Themba ‘T-fire’ Matebese, who propelled Basa Basa’s sound, inspired by Ghanaian traditional music, soul and afrobeat, into another dimension, adding disco elements, synthesizers and the production aesthetics of the next decade. Contains extensive liner notes and fold-out poster.
The new Amsterdam based label Vintage Voudou focuses on re-releasing a carefully picked selection of rare tropical music on vinyl, paying special attention to sound quality and print work. Vintage Voudou was founded by Alex Figueira (Fumaça Preta / Conjunto Papa Upa), originally as a club night in Amsterdam dedicated to vintage tropical dance tunes. In 2013 he joined forces with Edo Bouman (Bombay Connection), opening the Vintage Voudou record shop in the heart of the Red Light district in Amsterdam. Basa Basa is Vintage Voudou’s first release, and is a collaboration of Edo Bouman and Thomas Gesthuizen aka DJ Gioumanne.
Tracklist
| 1. | Homowo | 6:12 |
| 2. | Konya | 5:54 |
| 3. | Black Light | 3:36 |
| 4. | African Soul Power | 4:08 |
| 5. | Together We Win | 4:33 |
| 6. | Love, Love, Love | 4:42 |
| 7. | African Soul Power instrumental | 4:59 |
| 8. | Shey An Kuri | 4:29 |
Credits
Basa Basa Experience:
Joe A. Nyaku – Drums, vocals & percussion
John C. A. Nyaku – Bass, vocals, percussion & bamboo flute
Wallace F. Tay – Lead guitar & vocals
Harry K. Nasser – Assorted percussion
Augustus O. Nortey – Rhythm guitar & vocals
Amadu Tabajira – Congas & bongos
Credits:
Produced by Themba Matebese
Arranged by Basa Basa Experience and Themba Matebese
Synthesizers & keyboards – Themba Matebese
Studio manager – Lak Adeniran / Engineers – John Malife, Jibril Ogunmade
Recorded December 1978 to January 1979 at Decca Studios, Lagos
Sleeve artwork by Susan E. St. George
Coordination, licensing & research – Edo Bouman
Research & liner notes – Thomas Gesthuizen
Graphic design, prepress & logo – Edgar Walthert
Sound restoration – Colin Young (See Why Audio)
Mastering & cutting – Frank Merritt (The Carvery)
Printing - Karlis Spade (Greenprint)
Photos courtesy BAPMAF Music Archives (Ghana), Joe Nyaku and Themba Matebese
License
All rights reserved.Tags
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Ghanaian band Basa Basa Soundz started out as one of the house bands in Accra's legendary club the Napoleon in the early '70s. With the assistance of Fela Kuti they recorded two albums in Nigeria before reinventing themselves as Basa Basa Experience, teaming up with South African producer and multi-instrumentalist Themba 'T-fire' Matembese to record their final album, Together We Win aka Homowo.