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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. |
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