Don’t Stop

Don’t Stop is the third album retrospectively released by Ghia. As the subtitle Early Works & Artefacts 1984-1987 implies, it features some of their earliest compositions as well as tracks that were recorded during the same period as their Curaçao Blue LP. The album is a fusion of diverse music styles. Listeners will delight in a range of genres, including electro, funk, soul, jazz-funk, synth pop, and even rap/hip-hop, all woven together as a cohesive work that remains mostly instrumental. As a whole, Don’t Stop represents Ghia’s funkiest and most experimental release to date. Notably, the LP features a rap version of Hermann Hesse’s controversial German poem Armer Teufel am Morgen nach dem Maskenball (Poor Devil the Morning After the Costume Ball) from 1926, accompanied by a drum machine rhythm and funky guitar. This poem depicts a person who drank too much the night before, telling the story and describing his hangover. The title track Don’t Stop and the thrilling minimal electro-funk tune 3 A.M. at Moëf Gaga both evoke old-school electro influences. The latter references the Spanish discotheque Moëf Gaga, located on the Balearic coast, which the dynamic duo of Lutz Boberg and Frank Simon frequented during their 1980s holidays. While the exact music played at 3 A.M. is unknown, listening to Ghia’s track will undoubtedly capture the mood of the place.