orlando julius: disco hi-life

Hot Casa Records proudly presents the reissue of Disco Hi-Life, a real treasure album composed and interpreted by Afro-soul maestro Orlando Julius. Following up the 12" release, here comes the remastered version of a real mindblower from 1976, including four unreleased tracks, all recorded with the best Nigerian musicians between Ginger Baker's studio in Lagos and the American Star Studio in West Virginia. Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode was born in 1943 in Ikole-Ekiti, Nigeria, and is considered a main figure of Afro-soul music history. One of the first African musicians to sign to a major label (Polydor), he delivered many hit singles as a composer and effortlessly performed live as a tenor sax player and singer. He worked and met with some of the greatest, including Louis Armstrong, James Brown (for his Nigerian tour with Bootsy Collins), The Crusaders, Gil Scott-Heron, and Hugh Masekela. In the middle of 1975, just after they finished the recording of The Boys Doing It album with Hugh Masekela, they all flew to Ghana and Lagos. It was holyday and Orlando had also plenty of time to focus on his own songs. He wrote "Disco Hi-Life" in Yoruba and "Children of the World" in English and he immediately planned a recording session including 12 of the finest musicians, such as singer Dora Ifudu Avery, Adelaja Gboyega on keys, Kenneth Okulolo on bass guitar, Butley Moore on drums, Fela's collaborator Tunde Williams on trumpet, and also Ade, who helped sing "Love Peace & Happiness." Originally released by Nigerian label Jofabro in partnership with the UNICEF association for the "International Year of the Child," it was only available in a small promotional quantity. This is the very first official reissue of this dancefloor masterpiece.