Gaspar Lawal

𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟬 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 - 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 ‘𝙆𝙞𝙩𝙖 𝙆𝙞𝙩𝙖’ 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙-𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙛 ‘𝘼𝙟𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨é’ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨.

"Lawal’s style was forged through decades of high-level percussion work with the likes of Stephen Stills, Barbra Streisand, George Clinton & Funkadelic, Manfred Mann, Alexis Korner, Vangelis and Ginger Baker’s Air Force band. Dissatisfied with existing genre labels and production norms, Lawal began recording his own album in 1976 at Vangelis’ own studio in London’s Marble Arch before switching to long, drawn-out night shifts at Surrey Sound Studios, using downtime between The Police’s sessions for Outlandos D’Amour.

Lawal meticulously self-produced, composed, and overdubbed the album over four years, assembling an elite group of musicians from both Nigeria and the UK. The instruments used were often hand-built, including a powerful one-of-a-kind drum carved deep in the Nigerian bush. “This music is not about trends, about what is commercial or a “sound” of a particular moment,” explains Lawal, “it is about music to be felt, that gives pleasure. It is nurturing and meditative." Although record executives didn’t know how to categorise Ajomasé, the people responded.

Legendary DJs like John Peel and Janice Long gave it UK radio play – a rarity for African records at the time. Demand skyrocketed and, with Rough Trade stepping in to distribute the vinyl, the album found an international audience. In 1982, Peter Gabriel personally invited Gasper to perform at the first WOMAD Festival, leading to a new era of live performances and global recognition. Yet despite its impact, Ajomasé has never been reissued – until now. This new edition brings a spiritually resonant, rhythmically rich and genre-defying work to a new generation of listeners. featuring liner notes by Gasper himself and audio remastered from original tapes by Whitfield Street Studios and The Carvery."