Saâda Bonaire – S.T.

Prior to this Captured Tracks compilation, copies of Saâda Bonaire’s first and only single “You Could Be More As You Are” fetched a fortune, and their other songs from 1982 and 1985 had remained unreleased, collecting dust. Saâda Bonaire was the brainchild of Bremen DJ Ralph “von” Richtoven, who had a vision for an anomalous amorphous pop-art project fusing Eastern and Western music, with no real band members, just a rotating cast of musicians. Richtoven formed the project in 1982, with his then love interest Stefanie Lange, and her friend Claudia Hossfeld on vocals, neither of whom had singing experience – just a mutual love of fashion and poetry as demonstrated by their feminist storytelling lyrics and bold if not controversial aesthetic in Saâda Bonaire press/album photos. They recorded their first and only single on EMI with British reggae producer Dennis Bovell (Matumbi, Slits, Pop Group) in Kraftwerk’s Cologne studios. Richtoven infused the track with exotic flare by convening Kurdish folk musicians he met at a local immigration community center. Likely because of how over budget production went, EMI dropped the act, and they disappeared into obscurity save for niche scenes like clubs in Greece. Now Saâda Bonaire are back on the map, charming new audiences and dance crowds. The sound is truly one-of-a-kind, combining disco, dub, funk, and pop styles with various ethnic influences, enticing grooves, danceable elation, and sultry, husky vocals.

– Lauren Fay Levy

Recommended – A1 You Could Be More As You Are, D3 Your Touch, B1 More Women, C2 Shut The Door