J.E. MOVEMENT - Ma Dea Luv

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Towards the end of the 1980s South Africa's recording industry was booming like never before. Searching for a sound that could cross over to all in the country's segregated society while also eyeing international success, a new duo emerged that laid waste to competition and quickly had its 'bubblegum' predecessors sounding obsolete. Drawing on new international trends and crafting lyrics for local ears, J.E. MOVEMENT — a duo made up of James Nyingwa and Elliot Faku — exploded onto the local scene with their debut album 'Ma Dea Luv'. The future had arrived.

A talented bassist and composer, Nyingwa was at the time employed as an in-house producer at TRS Studios in Plein Street in downtown Johannesburg, run by two Greek immigrants, George Vardas and Chris Ghelakis, and had played a hand in popular acts like the NEW AGE KIDS and SIDNEY. Together the four formed a close bond as friends and musical partners on what would become CSR Records, savouring recording original hits while also cashing in on cover versions as BLACK BOX.

Six tracks on the groundbreaking 1988 album give firm nods to UK Street Soul, US New Jack Swing and Stock Aitken Waterman's 'Hit Factory' sound and infuse them with an African rhythmic flair and homegrown lyrical sentiment. Though not expressly political, the title track was received by many as a play on words referencing then-jailed and banned Nelson Mandela (coming after similarly styled 'I'm Winning My Dear Love' by YVONNE CHAKA CHAKA in 1986 and 'We Miss You Manelow' by CHICCO in 1987), giving it an added potency for those in the know. 'Jack I'm Sorry' was a minor hit in the townships, while 'Marco', 'Friends', 'Funkytown' and the eponymous closer are similarly bass and drum-driven, with hiphop-styled vocals.

Key to the new sound was new gear. Producer Vardas remembers: "Automation was a very new thing at the time. We were working on a thing called the Roland MC500, a very basic, pre-computer sort of dedicated sequencer. We discovered that you can do some very primitive basic automation, and I was playing with the filter on something, making the thing go from dull to bright. Today it’s elementary, but at that time it was a revelation. James freaked out. His eyes lit up and he was freaking out. We were like jumping around in the studio.. You know when you’re young and you’ve got all these dreams about success and what you can do … That MC500 was James’s favourite thing. He wanted to like sleep with it, basically. That’s how much he was in love with the MC500!"

Dave Penhale, head of DPMC who released the New Age Kids, remembers: "James had paid his dues and he had extra time to spend in the studio. So with all guys [talented musicians], they are trying to create new stuff. They would never want to copy or to follow a trend, they were actually pushing the boundaries and setting the trend ... It moved very far away from the bubblegum kind of sound that was dominating at that time. I suppose, with all the synths and all that kind of stuff, it was almost like EDM ... it’s relevant."

J.E. Movement followed Ma Dea Luv with Bad Girls in 1989 before Nyingwa was tragically stabbed to death in 1990 on his way one night from the studio to a nearby party in Hillbrow, downtown Johannesburg, cut down while still in his 20s, his killer never brought to justice. A third, posthumous album, Guilty was released in 1990.

Afrosynth Records is proud to release J.E. Movement's groundbreaking Ma Dea Luv, reissued for the first time, out in mid-2025 on vinyl and digital platforms. Pre-order it now via Rush Hour.