TAKE A LOOK OUTSIDE

This is the fourth, and until now, unreleased album by Kapingbdi, a?six-piece band from West Africa, which billed itself as African Jazz-?Funk-Rock from Liberia.?It is a skillful mix of African and Western elements, with a spiritual heart and?dynamic grooves. In January 1985 and shortly before the group disbanded,?they recorded nine tracks for an aborted LP project at Masterpiece studio in?Detroit, U.S.A. In 2019 the music was carefully remastered from the original?24-track master tape. For Kapingbdi, music is not for its own purpose, but?serves to carry a message born of the African experience and perspective,?intended for all people.?Recorded 1985 on 24 tracks at Masterpiece studio in Detroit/ U.S.A.?In late 1984, Kapingbdi traveled from their home country of Liberia to embark on a?US tour. Their Hey Brother LP, which had been recently released in America,?gained the attention of promoters and music lovers alike. Within 16 days, the band?performed seven concerts in small clubs such as the Maple Leaf Lounge in New?Orleans and the Motor Bar in Detroit. In January 1985, the musicians assembled at?the Detroit Masterpiece studio to record nine new songs for their fourth LP. There?was a four week break before Kapingbdi were scheduled to tour Japan. Kojo?Samuels, The Bandleader, flew back to Liberia, whilst the remaining musicians?spent their spare time in the U.S.A. When Kojo returned from his travels, there were?a few surprises in store. Firstly, four of the five Africans applied for Green Cards and?were successful. This gained them the right to live permanently in America.?Secondly, the fifth was involuntarily detained, having been arrested on drug?trafficking charges. Thirdly, three of the four had married the next-best Americans in?no time at all. The last was initially untraceable, but later appeared as an employee?of a chicken wing stall. After nine years and three LP releases, the band came to a?sudden end. Subsequently, their tour of Japan and other concerts in Europe were?canceled, as well as finalizing the work on Kapingbdi`s fourth album. Kojo rescued?the 24-track tape from Detroit and took it to Germany, where it laid in his basement?for decades. The breach of trust by his fellow musicians was too painful, which is?why he tried to forget the recordings. Almost 35 years later, the missing fourth?Kapingbdi album is finally released. Transferred directly from the master tape at?Tonmeisterei in Oldenburg, then mixed and mastered at Audiomoto Studio in Berlin.?To this day, it features the last recordings of the band. The cover photo, which was?shot in Detroit, was to form part of the design for the original release of the fourth LP.?Take A Look Outside, as Kojo says today, has become Ka??Tracklist ? ?1.Africa-I-Deh 4:00 2.Take A Look Outside 4:53 3.Yakunde 6:08 4.Don`t Mess With The Music 3:42 5.Matumba 3:25 6.African Locomotion 5:12 7.Times So Hard 4:52 8.The Prayer (23rd Psalm) 8:34 9.Mama Africa 2:39