The occasional label dedicated to African music surfaced during the 1970s. One of them, albeit one of the smallest, was Oyegbata - its catalogue prefix, OYE, suggests that the name on the label, 'Ovegbata', was a misprint, and it may be that the reference was intended to be to Oyegbata, an Ondo (Nigeria) chief in the late 1800s. Afro Express's single 'Oya' b/w 'Shango' (OYE-001; 1977) seems to have been the company's only release; it appears to have been prompted by the Nigerian 'FESTAC 77' festival. Manufacture was by Phonodisc, as the injection-moulded label indicates. Looking at that label, more effort seems to have gone into embellishing the group's name than the company's name on it.
Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.