Jo Tongo - Those Flowers LP [The Outer Edge]

Format: LP in printed sleeve.
CAT: EDGE-037

• First ever reissue of this sought after Afro Disco-Funk / Reggae LP
• Fully licensed
• 350gsm heavyweight picture sleeve with hype sticker
• Mastered & cut by Frederic Stader

Following on from the acclaimed reissue of Sa Discossa earlier this year, Jo Tongo’s third solo album, Those Flowers, is once again taking centre stage.

Originally released a mere eighteen months after Sa Discossa, this 1982 gem appeared on the small Context label, and in Tongo’s own words, both records are “like twins”. Recorded with many of the same musicians, Those Flowers continues the vibrant fusion of disco-funk and reggae, this time dedicating one side to each style, and leaning slightly more heavily into its Western influences.

But there’s more than just groove beneath the surface. Tracks such as “People Need Peace” and “We Human Beings” channel his recurring themes of resistance, identity and freedom. The synth intro to the track mimics the ominous hum of warplanes, and the lyrics speak directly to global struggles: reminders that his music is both deeply personal and powerfully political. “I paid for these ideals in my career,” Tongo reflects, alluding to the personal costs of his outspoken stance against colonialism and injustice.

Even so, Those Flowers has joy at its core. Songs like “Ain’t No Man Like A Real Friend” celebrate trust and loyalty, while the album’s title track offers a tender ode to love and kindness—“to pick flowers from the soul,” as Tongo puts it. These songs reveal the inner world of a man who has always seen music as a reflection of life.

This reissue marks the second instalment in The Outer Edge label’s African Edge series. Fully restored and remastered, Those Flowers is ready to bloom again: another vital chapter in Jo Tongo’s legacy.