Steve Monite always knew he would be a pop star. It’s just that it’s taken him four decades to be discovered. Six years ago, Soundway Records released 2016’s Doing It In Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria, a collection of forgotten songs from the country’s golden age of funk. One of those tracks, Monite’s ‘Only You’, became a sleeper success. A restless whirl of fat electro-funk bass, spacey synth bursts and dramatic drum claps, it sounded like it’d been beamed in from the future in a dusty record sleeve. Frank Ocean covered it during a live performance, followed by Theophilus London and Tame Impala, who released their version online. Then Soundway’s remix hit dancefloors across the world, turning its singer into an overnight sensation: a faded obscurity, back from the dead, now rendered in glorious Technicolour. Soundway Records’ reissue of his album ‘Only You’ is now out on digital platforms and coming beautifully remastered on vinyl in October.
Soundway: Paula Juana with Steve Monite
DANAÉ — Black Girl Magic — BubbleTease Communications
Ruf Dug & Lovescene — Make This Right — Wolf Music Recordings
Suzy Q — Tonight — RFC Records
Yta Jourias — Adome Nyueto (Bosqu Edit) — Hot Casa Records
Steve Watson — Born to Boogie — Killroy
Rufus Thomas — Do the Funky Chicken — Stax Records
Oby Onyioha — Enjoy your Life — Soundway Records
Victor Uwaifo — Osalobua Rekpama — Soundway Records
Jeff Phelps & Antoinette — Now You’re Gone — Engineered For Sound, Inc.
Steve Monite — Only You (Disco Jam) — Soundway Records
Nkono Teles — Time For Fun — Taretone / Tabansi
Brief Encounter — Human — Sound Plus
iLEVEL — Minefield — Virgin
Steve Monite — Things Are Falling Apart — Soundway Records
Steve Monite — I Had A Dream — Soundway Records
Steve Monite — Welcome My Love— Soundway Records
Charles Amoah — Sweet Vibration — Soundway Records
Rendezvous — Sai Galaxy — Soundway Records
Los Musicos del Centro — Esquirlas — Soundway Records
Root — Felbm — Soundway Records