Saâda Bonaire’s Long-Lost ’90s Recordings Getting Released
Saâda Bonaire, the little-known ’80s studio concoction led by DJ Ralph “Von” Richtoven, was canonized in 2013 by Captured Tracks when the label compiled all their known recordings into a double album that included production from Dennis Bovell and vocals from the group’s pair of lead singers Stefanie Lange and Claudia Hossfeld. Hossfeld left the group in 1984, shortly after they put out their one commercially-released single, but Richtoven kept on recording music intended for the group through the mid-’90s, though when their ’80s material was released he said that all that had been lost for good.
But Richtoven eventually stumbled across a cassette tape labeled “Saâda Bonaire ’91,” and that led him to hit up Andrea Ebert, who had joined them as a vocalist. She found a suitcase of tapes in her basement that included recordings put together around New York City in the early ’90s. Those are being released later this year as the album 1992, which features contributions from Mike Ellington, Paul Lindsay, DJ Matthias Heillbronn, and rapper Jimmy Lee Patterson. Lange remains as one of the group’s vocalists, alongside Ebert, who was added to the group as well.
Today, they’re sharing a cover of James Brown’s “Woman.” “I always knew our tastes were a bit ahead of the times. Maybe we should have stopped staring out into the great beyond for inspiration and just stuck with the local marketing program,” Richtoven said in a statement, continuing:
But what for? Short term status and fast money? If the market doesn’t agree with what we’re doing, it’s not my problem. If that’s arrogant thinking, then call me arrogant! I still get chills running down my spine when I listen to “Woman” and “To Know You Is To Love You”. Deep inside, I know we achieved our musical potential.
Check it out below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Woman”
02 “To Know You Is To Love You”
03 “Extremes”
04 “So Many Dreams”
05 “Running”
06 “Okay It’s Over”
07 “That’s Right”
08 “Lovelife”
09 “Your Prince”
10 “7th House”
11 “Move From The Heart”
12 “Follow Your Mind”
1992 is out on 5/6 via Captured Tracks.