Andre Solomko
Recalling You

It was the mid 80s. A musical revolution was already steamrolling throughout the French West Indies when the band Kassav’ produced what was to become the sound of the decade. With a now wider use of synthetic and digital tones, the "zouk" wave literally swept away to sea the biguine and cadence from the West Indian musical landscape.While this took place, some musicians chose to make an alternative use of the new techniques brought on by the advent of synthesizers. Musicians like Serge Fabriano.It was back in 1980 that Serge, a talented young musician from Guadeloupe, while studying for a degree in “Arts & Informatique” (Computers & Arts Cycle) at the Université De Vincennes near Paris, discovered early computer-generated digital music (MAO in French) thanks to his roommates, who both taught computer-generated graphic arts.In 1982 Fabriano and his Fabriano Unité Zion project recorded, with the help of Alain-Jean Marie, Mario Canonge and Pierre Labor, Cosmik Syndika*, which to this day remains a masterpiece of made-in-Guadeloupe Caribbean jazz.The following years saw him tour the US and Canada as well as several other countries. By 1986 he was back in Guadeloupe, teaching music in the secondary schools of Point-à-Pître and Sainte-Rose. While doing this, his ongoing passion for the budding MAO led him to kit himself out: the Yamaha CX5M (MSX Music Computer), the Macintosh Plus, the legendary synthesizers DX7 and DX11 and several other early rhythm machines became his new toys.Him and his partner at the time, Marie-Reine Lamoureux, who was also both a teacher and a musician, as well as a member of the Fabriano Fuzion project, decided to involve their pupils in his electronic musical experimentations. They recorded an album, composed of five tracks deliberately titled Demain, under the name Digital Caresse (the idea behind this was that instead of hitting the percussions to make music, one stroked the computer keyboard to coax a sound). The combination of the children’s choir, enchanting wonky flutes, saturated electronic beat and cosmic atmosphere perfectly outline the purity of this rough diamond.Thirty-two years after its confidential release, Digital Caresse is still a testimony to tenderness in binary mode and has become a myth among the aficionados of electronic music.

Welcome to the funky zone of Boogie Butt, the label that brings you the bass with some musical flavor and boogie synthesizers. On this 4 tracks EP cooked by Lord Funk, you’ll find on A side “Blow Your Mind” featuring Djazzafonk on guitar & jam synths and “Knock Me Out” a killer P-Funk. On B side, you’ll have between the dope boogie of “Luv Girl” or, last but not least, “Do It (If U Like)” for the hypest dancefloors. Don’t miss it!

This new Oriki Music compilation includes serious 1970’s Afro dancefloor hits, surely a promising favorite among deejays, Afrofunk and Tropical music revival aficionados.Vinyl diggers can finally play some of Ivory Coast’s hardest to find deep funk, Afrobeat, Manding and Tropical rhythms tunes recorded by such legends as Moussa Doumbia, De Frank Jr, or Francis Kingsley.The consistent liner notes focus on the original label history, Société Ivoirienne du disque, based on interviews with the producer. Original unreleased pictures of the artists and 1970’s Abidjan city, a great artwork and a limited press gatefold double LP and digipack CD make it a beautiful collectible object.Compiled by pioneer African music digger and respected deejay Greg de Villanova, a legend among Afro/Tropical music collectors and deejays, it signs the great return of the dormant French record label, which released such wonders as Orchestra Baobab’s A Night At Club Baobab or Moussa Doumbia’s Keleya.

Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new official album reissue of Dreamer of Life by Greg Yoder: A killer AOR private press LP infused with Folk, Jazz and Soul notes and maybe one of the best albums from the Hawaiian Scene in this style.Originally from San Francisco, Greg Yoder moved to Hawai'i in the early seventies and after achieving some local fame in the Waikiki area, recorded this one-off LP in 1976 at Audissey Sound studios, in Honolulu. The music is smooth and soothing, mixing xylophones, percussions, sweet guitars and brilliant orchestrations. In short, Dreamer of Life is full of hidden hits and faultless from the first note to the last.Following his various projects at Favorite Recordings, DJ and producer Charles Maurice recently unveiled this masterpiece by selecting the song “Things Were So Easy” on the AOR Global Sounds Vol.2 compilation. And after the label contacted Greg Yoder about it, the idea of reissuing this amazing album quickly became obvious.After its various compilations reissues over the past 2 years, Favorite Recordings is more than ever keen to enlighten rare-groove forgotten music and will quickly follow-up with great new full albums and compilations reissue projects in 2016.Fully restored and remastered with great attention to sound quality, Dreamer of Life by Greg Yoder is presented in a deluxe vinyl version, housed in a tip-on jacket, as CD and in Digital versions.