Kalita Vinilo y CD

Review: Kalita Records have secured rights to a first ever reissue of Wilson Boateng's 'Asew Watchman' and 'Mabre Agu' tunes as well as serving up two new extended mixes from Amsterdam-based producer and DJ Mendel for more useful dance floor deployment. Originally privately released in a small run by Wilson himself, these sought after highlife tunes were recorded in London and put out in 1988 and have been pretty much impossible to find ever since. They are phenomenally upbeat and feel good sounds with plenty of highlife melodies, lush synthesizers, disco and boogie beats finished in a truly authentic Ghanian style.

Review: The hard-digging record fiends at Kalita are back with more brilliance. This one is the first-ever retrospective of work by Jamaican-born artist Desmond Chambers. The first tine is a proudly politically aware tune previously only avialbel on his 1987 album Tiger Born, while the single 'The Morning Show' has before now only been available as the B side of little known single 'I Have Seen Love In Your Eyes.' The two other tracks are mega cult, hugely loved acid-infused dub snakers with boogie-infused rhythms. Original copies will cost you a huge amount so make sure you snap this one up asap.

Review: The IgG Band was a student medical group from the 80s. They served up superb prescriptions of funk, soul and disco put out a highly sought after record Ultra/Sound that has become a real holy grail for lovers of this sound. It has more than stood the test of time since it was put out privately on band member Clifford Becker's Infusion Records imprint. Their original MO was only to play music to please themselves but by now it has pleased thousands of us. Standouts include the sombre lament of 'Another Love Gone' and upbeat dance floor sounds of 'Funky Music.'

Review: This 12" on Kalita marks first ever official reissue of the highly sought after Michael Paul reggae-soul-disco gem 'Reggae Music.' It is something of a megabit that never was after first coming on the New York-based Revolver Records. Since then it has been hard to find, and even if you do find a copy, many are said to have some real sound quality issues. Either way it is now a bit of a grail for a certain sort of DJ so to have it here, remastered and nice and loud, is big news. As well as the languid and steamy original, there is a killer dub version on the flip.

Review: Were you aware of the burger highlife phenomenon that swept through Ghana in the 1980s? Taking the West African sound of highlife and infusing it with the synths and drum machines of disco and boogie, a vibrant fusion culture emerged with hit upon hit of infectious, funky-as-hell party gear undeniably rooted in African culture. This diligent compilation from Kalita looks to some of the most important artists from this wave of electrified highlifers, including Thomas Frempong and George Darko, and of course looking between the cracks for the more obscure gems that should get even the well-schooled excited to check this one out.