As exciting as it can be to follow the comings and goings of contemporary music—with all its hype acts, hotly-tipped cult successes and, on occasion, genuine innovations—there's just as much to be said for the singular delights of discovering a long-overlooked gem of the past.
That much is established fact by this point, a truth attested to by the rich culture of crate-digging record collectors and unabashedly nerdy sub-genres built around a keen interest in the buried treasure of bygone eras. Reflective of this, plentiful independent record labels have been established over the last twenty-odd years with the express purpose of reissuing fan-favourite rarities so as to shed new light on albums that may have been unduly overlooked in their time.
Italy's Arabusta Records is one of the latest to throw their hats into the ring, offering with their debut release a first-time reissue of Já Bô Corre D'Mim, the 1984 sophomore solo album by Tchiss Lopes, a globe-trotting artist who, originally hailing from Cape Verde, ultimately settled in Italy; but not before visiting countries as disparate as Brazil and Poland in his capacity as a worker aboard a cargo ship.
This geographically-varied life-experience can be heard in Já Bô Corre D'Mim, a lively, passionate record in which the accordion-centric Funaná of Lopes' native Cape Verde is combined with heartfelt reggae, gregarious funk and—in the case of 'Bô Soriso Ê Tudo'—even heartstring-tugging acoustic balladry. The resultant auditory brew lends Lopes a distinctive artistic identity that might well have afforded him a considerable fame, but such commercial success was not to be and, as a result, the album's scarce original pressing today changes hands for well over £100.
Released both as a limited edition on coloured vinyl and a standard edition on black vinyl, Arabusta's rerelease of Já Bô Corre D'Mim is one that has evidently materialised by virtue of the label's passion for this vintage cult favourite. It's the black vinyl edition that we're reviewing here but, as usual in such cases, we'd imagine that any comments about one version would apply to the other. And a good thing too, as our example is nothing short of superb; pressed to a roughly mid-weight slab of wax, the vinyl sits flat on the platter during playback and boasts near-faultless audio, with tidy sonics and spotless playback free of any audible surface noise on either side. Couple that with a defined soundstage that brings out the plentiful detail in Lopes' voice and his group's deft instrumentation and you have a commendable reissue easily enjoyed by any with an ear for upbeat, feel-good ambience.
Packaged in a cover that faithfully reproduces the artwork of the scarce original issue, Arabusta's reissue of Já Bô Corre D'Mim boasts bold colours, sharp definition in its image and solid cardstock that feels sturdy in hand. Also included is a full-colour, double-sided insert boasting new English language liner notes on one side and full lyrics on the other (including, where applicable, English language translations).
With their debut release, Arabusta Records prove themselves to be a reissue outfit well worthy of close attention in the future. This new reissue of Já Bô Corre D'Mim proves itself to be of admirable quality and, indeed, those with an appreciation of Cape Verde's rich musical heritage will doubtless find themselves enamoured by Lopes' distinctive vision. In this first-time reissue of his sophomore solo album, a true rarity has become available once more.
