Mind Twister - Apples

" First ever official reissue of rare Afro-funk LP from 1978.
Restored by See Why Audio and remastered by The Carvery
All formats include rare photos and a new interview with bandleader Frank Ikpefuran; producer Odion Iruoje.

"There was always music in the family so I always had that interest. I hung around friends in St Gregs (St Gregory’s College, Lagos), I must have been 19 years old when I met Clifford. We used to hangout on the Island, watching bands play and jamming with them. We listened to Jimi Hendrix, Santana idris muhammed

One of our popular hangouts was Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island, where the house band played Salsa, Pop and South American music, Yom Yem was the singer.

George whose dad was a diplomat met us there and things evolved, pretty fast, we started jamming with Clifford on the guitar, his brother Gerard on the bass and George on the guitar. We chipped in with song ideas, with the group contributing arrangements until we were satisfied.

I arranged an audition with Mr Odion Iruoje and he was happy with the material, he said something like, “this is what I’m looking for”. So we arranged recording dates and cut the record.

The core band was;

Clifford Nadi (Rhythm Guitar).
Frank Ikpefuran (Drums, Vocals)
Viera Georges (Vocals, Lead Guitar)
Gerard Nadi (Bass)

We tried to push it but for some reason it wasn’t a huge hit despite being played by several radio djs. There were plans for a follow-up but George’s dad was posted and he had to leave town.

The band had a natural sound, which stemmed from the chemistry we had. It was a strange chemistry, we were an odd combination from different backgrounds but when we played, something happened. Unfortunately, the magic could only work when we all were there. If a member was absent things fell apart.

We used to play at a night club in Suru-Lere run by Tee Mac every Saturday. We had a small following there. Jimi Lee and the Lijadu sisters also played there. You could call our music a mixture of rock, soul and afrobeat.