"We went way down to the mother land / In the beggining there was Africa..."
Frase de apertura en "Na Waya" del la sensacional obra de afro-beat , funk la del combo Ghetto Blaster y su "People" grabado en 1985 es una de esas perlas de imposibles y que se adhieren con pacífica naturalidad en todas y cada una de sus piezas, aunque deudoras de la producción de la época acaban sobreviviendo con su brillo y la astral conjunción melódico rítmica. Un disco para empezar las vacaciones, un disco para sudar la noche y sonreir al despertar.
Aquí su historia:
"The Ghetto Blaster adventure starts in 1983, when two French musicians (Romain Pugebet and Stéphane Blaes) ask Pascal Imbert to produce them. He decides to go with them to Lagos (Nigeria) by car in order to make a record with the musicians he knows over there.
This
trip from Paris to Lagos was filmed as a musical documentary by
Stéphane Meppiel (producer-director), François Kotlarski
(cameraman) and Eric Münch (sound engineer). Martin Meppiel,
Isabelle Soto and Nathalie Vierney also end up joining them in the
adventure.
Over there, Kiala Nzavotunga (guitar and lead vocals), Ringo Avom (drums) and Udoh Essiet (percussion) - ex musicians from Fela & Egypt 80' - join the French musicians, as well as Betty Ayaba (vocals) and Willy N'for (bass and lead vocals) - a musician with Sonny Okossun at that time. After several months playing their afro-beat/afro-funk music at the Black Pussy Cat, a Nigerian bar where people spend the night dancing to juju and afro-beat music, Ghetto Blaster decide to try their luck in Europe.
They arrive in Paris in 1983, on Stéphane Meppiel's barge, moored at Nogent-sur-Marne (94). The barge becomes their home and rehearsal studios and moves into Paris in 1984 to be moored beside the Gare d'Austerlitz. The film of this story is broadcast on Antenne 2 in 1984.
The same year, Ghetto Blaster brings out "Preacher Man / Efi Ogunle", a maxi-single on Island, Chris Blackwell's label.
In
1985, Ghetto Blaster brings out the album "People" on the
Mélodie label (executive producer Jacques Goldstein). This album,
recorded and mixed in five days in the Marcadet studio (Paris), makes
their music known to a wider audience. They do a tour across the
United States in 1988 - playing in such places as Boston, New York,
Miami and Los Angeles - and play with some of the greatest, opening
concerts for Fela Kuti, Kool & the Gang, Archie Shepp, James
Brown, Maceo Parker and Manu Dibango."Over there, Kiala Nzavotunga (guitar and lead vocals), Ringo Avom (drums) and Udoh Essiet (percussion) - ex musicians from Fela & Egypt 80' - join the French musicians, as well as Betty Ayaba (vocals) and Willy N'for (bass and lead vocals) - a musician with Sonny Okossun at that time. After several months playing their afro-beat/afro-funk music at the Black Pussy Cat, a Nigerian bar where people spend the night dancing to juju and afro-beat music, Ghetto Blaster decide to try their luck in Europe.
They arrive in Paris in 1983, on Stéphane Meppiel's barge, moored at Nogent-sur-Marne (94). The barge becomes their home and rehearsal studios and moves into Paris in 1984 to be moored beside the Gare d'Austerlitz. The film of this story is broadcast on Antenne 2 in 1984.
The same year, Ghetto Blaster brings out "Preacher Man / Efi Ogunle", a maxi-single on Island, Chris Blackwell's label.
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