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2LP
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HC 059LP
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Double LP version. Vaudou Game return to Hot Casa with Otodi, their first album in two years. No one had been through those doors in years. Unchanged, seemingly untouched, just a guard watching over it -- one wondered whether the place would ever see the light of day again. Built in the 1970s by Scotch, there were only twenty such places in the entire world. Twenty studios, all identical. Most had undergone a digital makeover in the 1980s, but not this one. Situated in Lome, Togo this studio had stayed true to its original form. Silent and uninhabited but waiting for one thing, and one thing only: for the sacred fire to be lit once again. Through thick layers of dust, the console was vibrating still, impatient to be turned on and spurt out the sound so unique to analog. That sound is what Peter Solo and his band Vaudou Game came to seek out. The original vibrations of Lome's sound, resonating within the studio space, an undercurrent pulsing within the walls, the floor, the entire atmosphere. A presence at once electrical and mystical, sourced through the amps that had never really gone cold, despite the deep sleep that they had been forced into. In taking over the studio' s 3000 square feet, enough to house a full orchestra, Vaudou Game had the space necessary to conjure the spirits of voodoo, those very spirits who watch over men and nature, and with whom Peter converses every day. For the most authentic of frequencies to fully imbibe this third album, Peter Solo entrusted the rhythmic section to a Togolese bass and drum duo, putting the groove in the expert hands of those versed in feeling and a type of musicianship that you can' t learn in any school. This was also a way to put Otodi on the path of a more heavily-hued funk sound the backbone of which maintains flexibility and agility when moving over to highlife, straightens out when enhanced with frequent guest Roger Damawuzan's James Brown-type screams, and softens when making the way for soulful strings. Snaking and undulating when a chorus of Togolese women takes over, guiding it towards a slow, hypnotic trance. Up until now, Vaudou Game had maintained their connection to Togo from their base in France. This time, recording the entire album in Lome at Otodi with local musicians, Peter Solo drew the voodoo fluid directly from the source, once again using only Togolese scales to make his guitar sing, his strings acting as channels between listeners and deities.
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CD
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HC 059CD
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Vaudou Game return to Hot Casa with Otodi, their first album in two years. No one had been through those doors in years. Unchanged, seemingly untouched, just a guard watching over it -- one wondered whether the place would ever see the light of day again. Built in the 1970s by Scotch, there were only twenty such places in the entire world. Twenty studios, all identical. Most had undergone a digital makeover in the 1980s, but not this one. Situated in Lome, Togo this studio had stayed true to its original form. Silent and uninhabited but waiting for one thing, and one thing only: for the sacred fire to be lit once again. Through thick layers of dust, the console was vibrating still, impatient to be turned on and spurt out the sound so unique to analog. That sound is what Peter Solo and his band Vaudou Game came to seek out. The original vibrations of Lome's sound, resonating within the studio space, an undercurrent pulsing within the walls, the floor, the entire atmosphere. A presence at once electrical and mystical, sourced through the amps that had never really gone cold, despite the deep sleep that they had been forced into. In taking over the studio' s 3000 square feet, enough to house a full orchestra, Vaudou Game had the space necessary to conjure the spirits of voodoo, those very spirits who watch over men and nature, and with whom Peter converses every day. For the most authentic of frequencies to fully imbibe this third album, Peter Solo entrusted the rhythmic section to a Togolese bass and drum duo, putting the groove in the expert hands of those versed in feeling and a type of musicianship that you can' t learn in any school. This was also a way to put Otodi on the path of a more heavily-hued funk sound the backbone of which maintains flexibility and agility when moving over to highlife, straightens out when enhanced with frequent guest Roger Damawuzan's James Brown-type screams, and softens when making the way for soulful strings. Snaking and undulating when a chorus of Togolese women takes over, guiding it towards a slow, hypnotic trance. Up until now, Vaudou Game had maintained their connection to Togo from their base in France. This time, recording the entire album in Lome at Otodi with local musicians, Peter Solo drew the voodoo fluid directly from the source, once again using only Togolese scales to make his guitar sing, his strings acting as channels between listeners and deities.
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7"
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HC 058EP
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The French Afro funk band is back from Togo with a forthcoming album called Otodi. Otodi was the name of the recording studio in Lomé, closed in 1987, that band leader Peter Solo and his crew reopened during the spring 2018 to record the 13 brilliant all analog songs featured on the album. Here comes a 7" single. Pure Afro funk with Togolese soul.
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12"
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HC 051EP
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A 12" single from the incredible French Afro funk band, including remixes by Osunlade, under the collective name of Yoruba Soul. Since their first acclaimed album Apiafo (HC 032CD/LP, 2014), these Lyon (France) natives never turned down the heat. When it came time for them to harness their Afro soul sound for a second time, they turned their attention to their analog strengths. Kidayu (HC 046CD/LP, 2016) is the name of the second opus which means "sharing": it's exactly what those versions of "On Se Pousse" are about, a great meeting of two ardent defenders of Afro soul sounds.
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CD
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HC 046CD
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When recording Kidayu, the album from Vaudou Game, Peter Solo immersed his Lyon companions in the flourishing Afro-beat rhythms of the 1970s along with traditional song. Marked at times by James Brown-style shouts, Kidayu pairs voodoo harmonies with funk and blues. Born in Aného-Glidji, Togo, the birthplace of the Guin tribe and a major site of the Voodoo culture, Peter Solo was raised with this tradition's values of respect for all forms of life and the environment. At an early age, he made a makeshift guitar, and his music propelled him into the spotlight. Mastering traditional percussion instruments, his desire to discover the world and to carry his practice forward led him to England, where he became immersed in gospel music and then to France, where he calls home today. The idea of integrating the haunting voodoo lines, sung in honor of the divinities, into energetic '70s Afro-funk, is, in Solo's mind, an obvious extension of the analogy he found between this voodoo tradition and trance inducers such as the soul, funk, and rhythm 'n blues of James Brown and Otis Redding. Solo had a vision of codifying the musical scales that are found in sacred songs of Beninese and Togolese vodun music. Entirely produced, recorded, mixed and mastered using vintage material and instruments produced in the '70s, old cassette tapes were the "grigris" (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption of their music and allow them to thrive as a tight-knit group. "Kidayu" means "sharing" in Kabye, the language spoken in northern Togo, and sharing, is the philosophy of Vaudou Game. In songs like "Natural Vaudou", "Chérie Nye" and "La vie c'est bon", the unbeatable trance rhythm inherited from James Brown and Fela Kuti are evident. Across Kidayu, Vaudou Game sound like the big bands from the golden age of Ethiopian dance music but it's in songs like "La dette", "Revolution" and "Elle décide" where they show their greatest inspiration - James Brown. In using the original form of ecstatic voodoo rituals, he decorates his songs with guitars, keyboards, bass, rhythms and counter rhythms, and a steaming pair of brass. On Kidayu, Solo is joined by: Vicente Fritis - keyboards/backing vocals; Jerôme Bartolome - saxophone/percussions/backing vocals; Guilhem Parguel - trombone/percussions/backing vocals; Simon Bacroix - bass/backing vocals; Hafid Zouaoui - drums; Stephane Pauze - sound engineer.
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LP
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HC 046LP
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LP version. Gatefold sleeve. When recording Kidayu, the album from Vaudou Game, Peter Solo immersed his Lyon companions in the flourishing Afro-beat rhythms of the 1970s along with traditional song. Marked at times by James Brown-style shouts, Kidayu pairs voodoo harmonies with funk and blues. Born in Aného-Glidji, Togo, the birthplace of the Guin tribe and a major site of the Voodoo culture, Peter Solo was raised with this tradition's values of respect for all forms of life and the environment. At an early age, he made a makeshift guitar, and his music propelled him into the spotlight. Mastering traditional percussion instruments, his desire to discover the world and to carry his practice forward led him to England, where he became immersed in gospel music and then to France, where he calls home today. The idea of integrating the haunting voodoo lines, sung in honor of the divinities, into energetic '70s Afro-funk, is, in Solo's mind, an obvious extension of the analogy he found between this voodoo tradition and trance inducers such as the soul, funk, and rhythm 'n blues of James Brown and Otis Redding. Solo had a vision of codifying the musical scales that are found in sacred songs of Beninese and Togolese vodun music. Entirely produced, recorded, mixed and mastered using vintage material and instruments produced in the '70s, old cassette tapes were the "grigris" (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption of their music and allow them to thrive as a tight-knit group. "Kidayu" means "sharing" in Kabye, the language spoken in northern Togo, and sharing, is the philosophy of Vaudou Game. In songs like "Natural Vaudou", "Chérie Nye" and "La vie c'est bon", the unbeatable trance rhythm inherited from James Brown and Fela Kuti are evident. Across Kidayu, Vaudou Game sound like the big bands from the golden age of Ethiopian dance music but it's in songs like "La dette", "Revolution" and "Elle décide" where they show their greatest inspiration - James Brown. In using the original form of ecstatic voodoo rituals, he decorates his songs with guitars, keyboards, bass, rhythms and counter rhythms, and a steaming pair of brass. On Kidayu, Solo is joined by: Vicente Fritis - keyboards/backing vocals; Jerôme Bartolome - saxophone/percussions/backing vocals; Guilhem Parguel - trombone/percussions/backing vocals; Simon Bacroix - bass/backing vocals; Hafid Zouaoui - drums; Stephane Pauze - sound engineer.
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7"
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HC 045EP
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When faced with the decision to take a different direction at the risk of getting lost in a synthetic sound or to further explore the same musical path, Vaudou Game, a tight-knit group with a solid groove, did not need to consult the oracle for very long. When it came time for them to harness their Afro-funk sound for a second album, they turned their attention once again to their analog strengths. Vintage material, instruments produced in the '70s and cassette tapes were the "grigris" (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption.
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CD
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HC 032CD
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Vaudou Game is a contemporary live band of six members playing an authentic Togolese funk based on voodoo chant scales, and led by Peter Solo, a singer and composer born in Aneho-Glidji (Togo), birthplace of the Guin tribe and place of the voodoo culture. He was raised with those traditional values of human and environmental respect. Apiafo is a 12-track album, entirely recorded, mixed and mastered with old analog tapes, and played with vintage instruments, recalling the sound of bands like Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou or El Rego. Peter Solo invited his uncle, Roger Damawuzan, famous pioneer of the '70s soul scene in Togo, to sing on "Pas Contente" & "Wrong Road." The result of their collaboration is without a doubt two amazing future dancefloor classics. The idea of integrating these haunting lines, sung in honor of the Divinities, into an energetic '70s Afro-funk style, was, in Peter Solo's mind, an obvious extension of the analogy he found between the voodoo tradition and trance-inducers such as soul, funk, as well as the rhythm 'n blues of James Brown or Otis Redding. Vaudou Game will be touring all over the world to promote this new Afro-soul classic album.
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LP
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HC 032LP
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LP version. Vaudou Game is a contemporary live band of six members playing an authentic Togolese funk based on voodoo chant scales, and led by Peter Solo, a singer and composer born in Aneho-Glidji (Togo), birthplace of the Guin tribe and place of the voodoo culture. He was raised with those traditional values of human and environmental respect. Apiafo is a 12-track album, entirely recorded, mixed and mastered with old analog tapes, and played with vintage instruments, recalling the sound of bands like Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou or El Rego. Peter Solo invited his uncle, Roger Damawuzan, famous pioneer of the '70s soul scene in Togo, to sing on "Pas Contente" & "Wrong Road." The result of their collaboration is without a doubt two amazing future dancefloor classics. The idea of integrating these haunting lines, sung in honor of the Divinities, into an energetic '70s Afro-funk style, was, in Peter Solo's mind, an obvious extension of the analogy he found between the voodoo tradition and trance-inducers such as soul, funk, as well as the rhythm 'n blues of James Brown or Otis Redding. Vaudou Game will be touring all over the world to promote this new Afro-soul classic album.
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7"
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HC 029EP
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Vaudou Game is a contemporary live band playing authentic Togolese funk based on voodoo chant scales. Led by Peter Solo, a singer and composer born in Aného-Glidji (Togo), birthplace of the "Guin" tribe and a place of voodoo culture. Solo invited his uncle, Roger Damawuzan, famous pioneer of the '70s soul scene in Togo, to sing on "Pas Contente," and the result is an amazing future dancefloor classic. "Lazy Train" is a raw funk track which will only appear on this 7" as an exclusive for DJs. Both tracks were entirely recorded, mixed and mastered with old analog tapes, and played with vintage instruments.
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